Dear Honorable Councilmembers,

Regarding the Exposition Light Rail agenda item 8-A, the Friends of Sunset Park Board has the following three concerns:

(1) safety issues, (2) noise issues, and (3) the proposed land swap with SMC.

1. We support the letter from the Pico Neighborhood Association Board (see below) wconcerning the proximity of the proposed Expo maintenance facility to Stewart Park. The park is built on land fill, with the seepage of methane gas associated with land fills. The combination of this gas and possible ignition and explosion hazards posed by the maintenance yard could result in a serious health and safety issue that cannot be ignored. This must be studied carefully before any decisions are made about the location of the maintenance facility. Many of us still remember the 1985 explosion in a Ross department store in the Third and Fairfax area. 23 people were injured, and the explosion was apparently caused by methane gas ventings. The safety of residents must be the highest priority of city government.

2. Aside from the safety issue, we continue to be concerned about the negative impact of daily 5 AM to 1 AM noise from the maintenance facility operations on nearby residents and the effect on their health and quality of life.

3. Regarding the proposal that the city “work with SMC on identification of Airport residual land as replacement parking and possible terms for a land swap,” we respectfully remind the City Council about the issues that arose when SMC developed its Bundy Campus and proposed to use all of Airport Avenue for access to the Bundy Campus parking lot. The eventual resolution was that college traffic was restricted to “exit-only, eastbound-only” on the eastern portion of Airport Avenue.

The Level of Service (LOS) at the intersection of Airport, Dewey, Walgrove, and 23rd, at the west end of Airport Avenue is already rated “F” for northbound and southbound drivers. 23rd St. already has 24,000 daily car trips on a street that, according to city policy, should have no more than 15,000.

In addition to the terrible traffic congestion on 23rd St. during both morning and evening rush hours, Sunset Park residents living south of Ocean Park Blvd., both east and west of 23rd St., are already at risk from speeding cut-through traffic on their narrow streets and through the alleys behind their homes as commuters try to by-pass gridlocked sections of 23rd.

The FOSP Board will strongly oppose any plan to funnel additional SMC traffic into the intersection of Airport, Dewey, Walgrove, and 23rd.