Newsletter
Fall 2004
High Speed Train Threatens Communities, State Parks
 The City Project has submitted public comments on behalf of a diverse
alliance opposing high speed trains through state parks throughout
California, including Taylor Yard and the Cornfield along the Los
Angeles River, and surrounding communities. Our concerns extend
to potential impacts on each of the state parks, and on environmental
justice.
Many public leaders see the revitalization of the Los Angeles
River corridor as a key to the economic and environmental enhancement
of Los Angeles, and a thread that could provide Los Angeles with
a greater sense of community. Central to the River's revitalization
is the Cornfield, a site from which the history of Los Angeles
flows, and Taylor Yard, which stretches for two miles along the
River's banks.
Taylor Yard is adjacent to one of last remaining remnants of
soft-bottomed, water flows in the predominately concrete Los Angeles
River. Over 300 species of birds find this section of river an
essential stopover along the Pacific Flyway. Migrating birds stop
for food and rest, and some birds are found year-round, nesting
and breeding. About half of the total recorded birds in Los Angeles
County have even been spotted along the soft-bottomed portions
of the river.
A high speed train will hurt the Cornfield and Taylor Yard and
surrounding communities. The DEIS/R does not analyze those impacts.
It must.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation shares our
concerns, and explicitly draws on The City Project's work in their own
public comments. "The California Department of Parks and Recreation
recognizes that the Greater Los Angeles Region is an area that
is under-served in regard to park facilities and that many of the
area's residents, particularly those least able to afford it, are
either unaware of, or feel isolated from, state and federal parklands
and recreational facilities. This Department on behalf of the people
of the State of California has invested $78,000,000 in the purchase
of the Taylor Yard/Cornfield properties in this decade specifically
to address these disparities. This effort will be undone unless
alternative routing or a fully subterranean system is chosen to
bypass all impacts to these properties."
The DEIS/R fails to provide the public with a clear and full
disclosure of the impacts of high speed rail on environmental quality,
environmental justice, active recreation, and human health. The City Project will continue to monitor high speed rail development to
safeguard diverse communities and state parks. The City Project's comments (1.1 MB [PDF]) are posted on
our website and at www.hsrlandimpacts.org.
|
