By blasting a $2 billion light rail project that would connect SoFi Stadium to one of Los Angeles’ newest rail lines, Rep. Maxine Waters has made it her mission to stop a project she called “ridiculous.”
“To the extent that I can do something to stop it, I will,” she said Wednesday. “It’s a project that has proven to be completely unnecessary and far too expensive.”
The veteran lawmaker argues that the elevated streetcar, once touted as a highlight of the 2028 Olympics, won’t help working-class residents but the gentrifying community. She suggested the Inglewood Transit Connector, or ITC, would be more useful in transporting fans who flock to the multibillion-dollar cluster of stadiums that dominate the city of 107,000.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week, Waters (D-Los Angeles) argued that the money would be “better spent on programs that improve access to affordable housing.”
“This will not provide local residents with easy access to jobs or public services,” she said. “The ITC is designed primarily to connect transit users to the additional 2.5km of the K line with sports and entertainment venues. Shuttle buses could very likely achieve the same goal at a fraction of the cost, but they have not been seriously considered as an alternative.”
Buttigieg’s federal agency committed $1 billion to the project, about half the projected cost. But after the letter was sent to members of the House Appropriations subcommittee, its chairman, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), cut $200 million — a slice of the total funding — in a budget bill.
The final bill still needs Senate approval and could change. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) has supported the bill in the past but was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Projected costs for the project have doubled and delays make it difficult to know whether it can actually be delivered before the 2028 Olympics.
A view of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which would be served by a $2 billion shuttle project opposed by Rep. Maxine Waters, who represents the area.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Waters noted that home prices have increased 37 percent in four years in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and rents have also skyrocketed, leading to more evictions, increased debt and homelessness.
“ITC threatens to exacerbate this crisis by displacing longtime Inglewood residents and minority-owned small businesses and diverting resources from some of the most urgent needs of local communities in my district,” she wrote.
Waters’ objections put her at odds with another longtime black political figure in the area, Inglewood Mayor James Butts, who conceived the project and has been its most vocal advocate. The four-term mayor has courted billionaires and signed deals to build the SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome that transformed his community.
“You can’t come at the last minute with a little fairy tale about how terrible something is,” he said. The letter was “poorly conceived” and many points “totally invalid.”
Butts told the Times that Waters had not contacted him to discuss the matter.
He asked: “Who would lobby against a project that will last five to six years and provide paid employment to 17,000 people?”
The project, he said, is expected to add between 2,400 and 3,300 daily riders to the K line on event days and bring 25,000 riders to the subway system. It has broad support and has been approved by federal authorities.
“It’s a catalyst for the metro,” Butts said. “It’s going to reduce greenhouse gases. It’s going to take cars off the road. It’s going to eliminate the impact on Inglewood residents on game days and concert days.”
The battle over the project comes just over a week before the Paris Olympics begin. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials are watching the situation closely as pressure mounts to prepare for a Games that has drained the coffers of other host cities. City leaders have pledged not to spend money on building Olympic venues, but expanding bus service to the events is expected to cost as much as $1 billion.
Some opponents of the new line have called it an expensive perk, imposed because of the Games. Federal documents show it won’t be operational until 2030.
The three-stop, fully automated people mover is designed to traverse downtown Inglewood and transport fans to SoFi, the Kia Forum and the soon-to-open Inuit Dome.
Jeff Davis, a senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank, said the project was fast-tracked for the Olympics and that stadium owners could take on more of the financial responsibility. The Eno Center estimated the project would cost $470,000 per daily rider, far more than other federally funded transportation projects.
“The project is less about connecting underserved neighborhoods than it is about connecting the Rams’ new stadium and the adjacent office and entertainment complex,” he wrote in March.
Davis said Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who also developed Sofi Stadium and the surrounding entertainment complex, will reap the benefits of the train once it is built, raising questions about how much real estate interests should contribute to the increased value the rail will bring.
The opposition is a major shift for Waters, who three years ago wrote in favor of a $20 million subsidy for the line. Waters said she changed her mind when she learned that dozens of businesses would be forced to relocate and that the cost per station was more than twice that of the nearby K line.
“I should have paid more attention earlier, so I wouldn’t have found out so much later,” she said.
“I just think when our constituents look at how we make our decisions and what our priorities are, this is the worst example.”
Times reporter Liam Dillion contributed to this report.
