Return of the Subway?

Long considered dead, a Red Line expansion of the MTA subway has found some new, strong support from L.A.'s city council.

The council voted unanimously Wednesday to support an expansion west to Fairfax Blvd. (Of course, the city council has no jurisdiction over the subway, so the vote was more ceremonial than anything.)

Writes the L.A. Times:

The MTA two years ago said it wanted to extend the subway to the Fairfax district, part of its original plan from the 1980s, because of the population density there.

The 17.4-mile Red Line now has a spur along Wilshire Boulevard ending in Koreatown at Western Avenue.

But others say spending local funds on subway construction would be a mistake.

"To invest in $300 million per mile — money we don't have — just makes no sense. We can't afford to pay for it," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, an MTA director. In the wake of construction problems, such as the sinkholes in Hollywood, he proposed the measure, passed by voters in 1998, that prohibits using local sales taxes on subway construction.

Another obstacle is in Washington. After a 1985 methane gas explosion near the corner of Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), who represents the Westside, sponsored legislation barring the use of federal funds for tunneling in the area. Waxman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The City Council's motion urged the reversal of those bans and directed city staff to work with the MTA for the subway extension.