Metro staff reports that they and their experts have concluded that there would be limited ridership loss to the Metro system if no subway station is built on Wilshire Boulevard between Bronson Avenue and Lorraine Boulevard, immediately adjoining the communities of Windsor Square, Wilshire Park, and Windsor Village. The news about ridership was presented during the April series of five public meetings held to update communities along the route of the proposed Purple Line Subway Extension from Western Avenue to Westwood and beyond.  In a slide shown at the meetings and available online here, Metro presented seven bullet points that reemphasized conclusions first revealed in a March 2010 community meeting held at Wilshire Methodist Church:

• Public divided on need for station
• Station spacing issue
• Limited density around station
• Crenshaw LRT not planned to extend north of Expo LRT
• Even without station, construction staging to occur on Metro owned property
• Limited ridership loss without the station

At the March 17 community meeting–and again in April–Metro predicted that, 25 years from now (in 2035), there would be 1300 fewer riders on the entire Metro Rail system if an additional station is NOT built at Crenshaw. Metro said that the cost to add a station to serve these 1300 people would be approximately $153,000,000.

The Windsor Square Association board of directors has regularly reviewed the idea of adding such a subway station ever since politicians (not transit planners) initiated the surprise concept in 1983. Our Association’s repeated conclusion—that adding such an extra station in a NON-Center so close to Western Avenue is inappropriate—has been substantiated by the passage of time. In recent years, it has become generally accepted that any future light rail extension of the Crenshaw Line now planned with a northern terminus at Crenshaw and Exposition should be further west, and NOT come to Wilshire and Crenshaw.

The WSA recognizes that, even with Measure R taxes for which we County residents have voted, funds to improve public transit are scarce. Those scarce funds are best utilized to keep extending the Purple Line as far west as possible. It would be a waste of money to build an extra, unneeded station at Crenshaw and Wilshire.

We also wanted to post a quick reminder that the monthly Windsor Square Board Meeting will be held tomorrow, March 22nd, at 7:30 pm, in the Board Room at Marlborough School.  As always, all interested Windsor Square residents are invited to attend.

To Neighborhood Leaders:

Captain Davis of the Whilshire LAPD Station and Captain Blake of the new Olympic LAPD Station will be the featured speakers at the next Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Coucil meeting:

Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00pm

The Wilshire Ebell Clubhouse

743 S. Lucerne Blvd (at the corner of Lucerne and Wilshire). Parking is available across the street from the theater in the lot on Lucerne.

Please come and meet your Los Angeles Police Captain and Senior Lead Officers. They will be speaking on crime prevention and if you have issues you would like them to address, please email the GWNC at info@greaterwilshire.org.

The following is updated information about the Olympic and Wilshire stations:

Olympic Community Police Station
1130 South Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 382-9102

Olympic station Senior Lead Officer (”SLO”) assigned as liaison to Windsor Square:
Senior Lead Officer Joseph Pelayo
(213) 485-5950
31762@lapd.lacity.org

Wilshire Community Police Station
4861 West Venice Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(213) 473-0476

Wilshire station Senior Lead Officer assigned as liaison to Windsor Square:
Senior Lead Officer David Cordova
(213) 793-0650
31646@lapd.lacity.org

Please direct any questions you may have to security@windsorsquare.org

Under the city’s Water Conservation Ordinance, it is illegal to water outdoors when it’s raining. Violators are subject to citation and fines under the municipal code. Enforcement is handled by the department’s 15-member Water Conservation Team who patrol the city investigating water waste and issuing citations.

“Our water supplies have been cut and our snow pack in the Eastern Sierra is precariously low,” said David Nahai, CEO and general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “We are now in a situation where all of Los Angeles must be in a water conservation mode 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. Let the storm water soak your yards while saving our precious fresh water for drinking, showering and other necessities of life.”

Customers should shut off irrigation systems for a week or more following rain without affecting the health of grass, plants and other foliage. LADWP conservation experts estimate the average residential customer would save about 800 gallons by not watering outdoors for a week, which also results in savings on water bills. Additionally, customers can take advantage of the Department’s rebate program by installing weather-based “smart irrigation” controls that automatically gauge whether watering is necessary. The rebate is available to all LADWP customers. For more information, call 1-888-376-3314 or log on to www.bewaterwise.com.

To date, the Water Conservation Team has issued 1,100 citations to water wasters. The first violation is a warning. Subsequent violations are subject to fines ranging from $100 to $600 depending upon the number of citations issued and severity of the waste.

The LADWP encourages customers to report water waste by calling 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397) 24 hours a day or or sending an e-mail to the water conservation team at waterconservationteam@ladwp.com

Update on law suit, new police boundaries

Windsor Square residents heard about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting uses at the Scottish Rite Masonic Lodge and Auditorium and the passage of Measure R at the annual Windsor Square Association annual town hall meeting in November at the Ebell Club.

More than 100 residents heard from Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, representatives from the Los Angeles Police Department and members of the association’s board of directors.

Elected to the 2009 board of directors were: Katie Badami, Michael Barton, June Bilgore, John Carpenter, Bill Cutler, Sean Elliot, Michael Genewick, Scott Goldstein, Larry Guzin, Regina Chung, Fred Rheinstein, Presilla Wright, Debbie Hassan, Wendy Savage and John Welborne.

Windsor Square Association president Mike Genewick updated residents on the ongoing upkeep of the Larchmont Boulevard median, between First and Third streets.

“We are still maintaining the median at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000 a year,” Genewick said.

Councilman Tom LaBonge assured residents the city was moving closer to “curb to curb” repaving of Wilshire Boulevard.

“With 4,000 buses a day traveling Wilshire, their weight has torn up the curb lanes. The money is being set aside to pay for the project.”

He also explained that the rezoning of Larchmont Boulevard was on its way to the City Council. According to the proposal, maximum building height will be 35 feet for new developments, and 50-foot width of storefronts.

John Welborne, WSA vice president for Planning and Land Use of the Windsor Square Association, updated residents on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the uses at Scottish Rite Center Masonic Lodge and Auditorium. He said the matter of leasing the site for for-profit events has been solved.

“Now the building is for sale for $19.5 million,” Welborne said.

Capt. Eric Davis, commander of the LAPD’s Wilshire Division assured residents that crime was down in the area and that detectives had several leads involving a recent home invasion robbery in Larchmont Village.

Davis t introduced Capt. Matt Blake, the commander of the new Olympic Station that will open Jan. 4.

“There has been a lot of fear about having two police stations,” Blake said. “Windsor Square is the jewel of the Olympic station. If we are doing everything right, you won’t see any changes.”

He explained the new station would cover 6.2-square miles, which is an incredibly small area for the LAPD to patrol. “The smaller the area, the quicker we can get to your calls,” he said. “We will have an extra 80 police officers to work this area.”

Blake said the division between Wilshire and Olympic stations will be Plymouth Boulevard.

“I’ve heard your concerns, but I really believe you will be happy with this,” he told a cautious audience.

Blake invited residents to attend an open house for the new station on Jan. 17.

Date: December 3,2008

Tome: 7:00pm

Place: Wilshire Presbyterian Church

300 Western Blvd

Los Angeles CA

Parking: Please park in Lot at 3 rd and Oxford

Please note that this is NOT a Windsor Square Association event. We are posting this information purely as a matter of convenience for Council District 4 and any neighbors who may want to attend this meeting.

THANKS YOLIE!

Squeaky Wheel Trophy

It's officially fall in Windsor Square - and here are some of the things falling, or about to:

Free Trees:

If you would like to add some green to your parkway, the city will oblige. Here's what you can have gratis: one 15-gallon tree, installation, staking and the initial watering. (You can have more and bigger, but you must pay for the additional.) Here's how to get your greenery: simply e-mail your request to WSA Board Member Scott Goldstein at canopy@windsorsquare.org. He'll do the rest.

Not quite free Public Transport:

On the November 4th ballot, in addition to some other choices, you will have an opportunity to increase the Los Angeles County sales tax by

VEHICULAR HANKY PANK ON THE PARK MILE

The Park Mile is a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard between Wilton on the East and Highland on the West. In the late 1970s, long thought out and very detailed zoning of The Park Mile was put into place. The objective was to insure a moderately trafficked strip lined with low height offices and multiple-family residential buildings right next-door to the single-family homes of the adjoining single-family residential neighborhoods.

To minimize potential traffic and parking problems, specifically not permitted under the ordinance are retail stores, light manufacturing and trade schools. The heaviest traffic would be in the morning and early evening commute hours. Also, landlords are required to provide free, on-site parking for tenants and visitors.

Time lapse dissolve to the late