www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/01/29/news/doc4b6377d94e6a1758815390.txtAngels Flight Closure Hits Nine Years
Feb. 1 will mark the ninth anniversary of the Angels Flight crash that killed an 83-year-old man. Photo by Gary Leonard.
As Railway Remains Grounded, City Official Calls Lack of Progress ‘Pathetic’
by Richard Guzmán
Published: Friday, January 29, 2010 4:23 PM PST
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - There has been a lot of activity at Angels Flight Railway lately.
Olivet and Sinai, the two cars that run on the track, have been busy chattering back and forth on Twitter about their repairs and sharing pictures of their mechanical parts.
But one thing they have not been doing is shuttling people up and down the steep incline that separates Bunker Hill from the Historic Core.
Feb. 1 will mark the ninth anniversary of the accident, sparked by a problem with the gear and drive system, that caused one car to roll down the track and smash into the other, killing 83-year-old Leon Praport and injuring seven others. The funicular has been closed ever since.
Through the years repeated opening dates have been announced. Although the cars were returned to the tracks in late 2008 and test runs have taken place, Angels Flight officials are still not saying when the public will be able to use the railway. But they are once again implying that a resumption of service is imminent.
“We in fact believe we are very, very close to opening,” said John Welborne, the volunteer president of the Angels Flight Railway Foundation, the nonprofit that oversees Angels Flight.
“Angels Flight has been ready to open since April, but regulators said they wanted a few additional things done so we’re doing them,” he said. “The minute we know when we open we will tell everyone on Twitter.”
However, that kind of message is not reassuring everyone. In the last three months, Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry has written at least two critical letters on the subject of Angels Flight, one to Metro urging them to consider taking over the railway, and one to the California Public Utilities Commission.
“There is a tremendous concern about the fact that this February 1, [2010] will mark the ninth anniversary of Angels Flight not operating,” Perry wrote to Metro. “This is really pathetic.”
Long Wait
Angels Flight was originally opened in 1901 by Colonel J.W. Eddy to ferry passengers between the then residential Bunker Hill district and the commercial businesses below. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was closed and dismantled in 1969 when Bunker Hill underwent redevelopment into an office hub. It reopened in 1996 and charged riders 25 cents to travel up and down the hill.
Following the 2001 closure, delays in reopening were first blamed on legal settlements with victims of the accident; those were resolved in 2006. Welborne has also blamed rising repairs costs on the National Transportation Safety Board investigation that faulted the city contractor, the Yantrak Company, for improper design and construction.
Throughout the process, Welborne has worked diligently to raise money for the railway’s restoration. He said he has secured all but about $200,000 of the $3.5 million needed to get the trains running again.
Approval from the California Public Utilities Commission is required before the railway can reopen. After a Nov. 20 commission hearing, where the railway’s system safety program and security plans were approved, Welborne said he thought they were ready to open.
“In mid-December we were told there were a few other things the PUC wanted and we’re getting them done,” he said.
Those requirements include getting clearance from the Fire Department about evacuation procedures and testing new end gates.
In an email to Los Angeles Downtown News, Christopher Chow, a public information officer for the CPUC, said the opening depends on Angels Flight resolving several safety issues.
“The restoration of Angels Flight is near completion, however [Angels Flight] has not resolved a few open safety issues. After [Angels Flight] resolves all safety issues CPUC staff will conduct a final review and inspection,” he wrote.
Chow would not provide a timeline on when that could occur.
Doubts
Not everyone is convinced the hurdles can be overcome.
Perry has long pushed for Metro to assume control of the railway. Most recently, on Jan. 20, she wrote a letter to Art Leahy, CEO of the transit agency.
Perry cited the effects of the closure on the tourist trade and in particular Grand Central Market, which has lost Bunker Hill customers who are unwilling to walk up and down the 153 steps next to the railway.
“This situation should not continue,” she wrote. “It needs resolution and I would like to see it as a Metro operation.”
In a statement, Leahy said any decision to take over Angels Flight would have to be made by the agency’s board. He also noted that Metro is suffering from a budget shortfall that may impact its current operations.
Perry has also approached CPUC, and has been overtly critical of the overseers of the railway. In a Nov. 13 letter to Michael Peevey, president of CPUC, she wrote, “For whatever reason, Angels Flight has been promised to return to operating mode for several years and never gets there. The operator has shown contempt of the public by failing to resume the operation in a timely manner.”
Perry went on to note that the railway used public funds to reopen in 1996, and that it sits on land owned by the Community Redevelopment Agency. She urged the commission to set a timeline for reopening the railway.
Perry said if Metro does not have the money to take over Angels Flight, she will look for “other viable options.” She also said that in light of the history of missed opening dates, any word on a timely return from Welborne is not credible.
“I will be convinced when it’s opened,” she said.
Stay on Track
Despite the years of inactivity, board members of the Angels Flight Foundation think they should continue on the current course.
“I think many of the delays have not been the result of anything we have had control over,” said architect Brenda Levin, a foundation board member. “Obviously there’s been a lot of both federal and state intervention, and rightfully so, in the process. The combination of the construction efforts as well as the regulatory agencies that have oversight are what really take a long time.”
Michael Alexander, another foundation board member and head of Grand Performances, which runs a summer concert and event series near the top of Angels Flight, agreed.
“It’s a lot easier to say no than yes, because no one wants it on their shoulders if somebody gets injured, so everyone wants to be doubly assured that everything’s running right,” he said.
Alexander said handing the project over to Metro would not likely make things move any faster. He also said Welborne has a lot at stake.
“We have a dedicated individual who for one thing has been personally identified in various ways for not getting it open,” Alexander said, “so he’s got a real incentive to open and open safely as quickly as he can for his own good reputation.”
Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
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