Study Backs Light Rail Transit Line for Inglewood

A new study recommends constructing a light-rail transit line from the Westside through Inglewood to ease traffic congestion at the Forum, Hollywood Park and Los Angeles International Airport, officials said Friday.

Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent and Los Angeles Councilman Robert Farrell, co-chairmen of the study sponsored by the Southern California Assn. of Governments, said Friday that such a line would provide much-needed transportation for commuters in Inglewood, South-Central Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, View Park, Windsor Hills and Hyde Park.

The proposed line would originate at Wilshire Boulevard, running south on Crenshaw Boulevard to Imperial Highway. There, it would intersect with the Century Freeway, becoming part of a countywide mass transit system now under construction.

The study, known as the Airport Southwest Area Transportation Study, was to make recommendations to meet transportation needs of residents living in a 39-square-mile area, including portions of Inglewood and the city and county of Los Angeles. The area falls between the Santa Monica Freeway and Imperial Highway on the north and south and between the Harbor and San Diego freeways on the east and west.

There is no money earmarked for the recommendations in the study.

“People (in the study area) have not had their transportation needs addressed well by the county,” Farrell said in a prepared statement.