Westwood, Century City Leaders Applaud Subway Approval

The Metro Board of Directors approved a subway extension to Westwood and Century City on Thursday, but community members say they were ready for the trains to arrive... yesterday.

The board  of a $5.6 billion expansion of the Purple Line from downtown to Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The location of the Century City subway stop at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars involves tunneling under Beverly Hills High School—the subject of passionate local debate. Beverly Hills has indicated a .

But during the Metro board meeting public comment period, several Westwood residents testified in favor of the Constellation Boulevard subway stop.

Constance Boukidis, a Westwood Neighborhood Council board member, said community groups in Westwood overwhelmingly favor the Constellation location.

"This Westside Subway will tunnel under over 100 homes in Westwood and within one small block of Fairburn [Avenue School]," Boukidis said during the meeting. "We in Westwood love our children just as much as those in Beverly Hills yet no one in Westwood is complaining... Make this a subway that will serve the greatest number of people for centuries to come, not one that accommodates the interests of a select, privileged few."

The following community groups and neighborhood associations support the Constellation station: Westwood Community Council, Westwood Neighborhood Council, Comstock Hills Homeowners Association, Holmby-Westwood Homeowners Association, Westwood Homeowners Association, Westwood South of Santa Monica Homeowners Association, Tract 7260 Homeowners Association, Century City Alliance, Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association, Cheviot Hills Traffic Safety Association, Overland Avenue Community, West of Westwood Homeowners Association, and Westwood Gardens Association.

"I wish this subway gets started already—don’t delay it anymore," said Wolfgang Veith, a North Village resident and member of the Westwood Community Council. "Dig, baby, dig!"

Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, said the subway will invigorate Westwood Village as a shopping and entertainment destination.

"It's going to make Westwood a much more attractive destination when people know they can hop on the subway, not have to fight traffic, not have to look for parking and go to the Geffen, the Hammer, UCLA, and the village," Sann said.

Now the subway just needs to be built quickly, Sann said. He said he is confident any legal battles between Metro and Beverly Hills will not delay the subway's arrival in Westwood.

"Any litigation that Beverly Hills brings will be resolved long before the subway reaches Westwood," Sann said. "We hope they file that litigation immediately, get it resolved and let's get the subway moving."

Susan Bursk, director and CEO of the Century City Chamber of Commerce, said Metro's approval of the subway stop at Constellation Boulevard was the right choice. Bursk and the chamber recently .

"We do believe Metro has done their due diligence," Bursk said.

She is optimistic Metro and Beverly Hills will be able to resolve their differences, but said a court battle is likely.

"I'm hopeful that the facts make the decision of what the location is," Bursk said. "Whenever you have a lawsuit, it takes more time away, but Beverly Hills has to do what they feel they need to do."

The real loss would be excluding a Century City stop on the Purple Line altogether, Bursk said.

"I think it would be very sad, as Supervisor Yaroslavsky said, that if you can't put it under Santa Monica Boulevard and it can't go under the high school, it would really be tragic to not have a stop in Century City," Bursk said.