Inglewood small business owners will face one of the most painful and stressful times as they wait on pins and needles to learn if they will be forced to relocate should the City acquire the remaining funding needed to build the Inglewood Transit Connector.
The City expects to hear from the federal government at the end of the year on whether they will secure the remaining funds needed to construct the 1.6-mile transit connector that will stretch from Florence and Market Street to the Inglewood Sports and Entertainment District.
Transit stops are planned for Florence/Market, Manchester/Prairie, and Prairie/Hardy which will wipe out 44 businesses along its path. Total job losses are expected to be close to 500.
City consultants are now facing the monumental task of figuring out how they will pay for ongoing operation and maintenance costs. Ridership is expected to be less than 500 during the weekdays and hopes are tens of thousands of people will use it on weekends for large-scale events.
“We are looking at advertising, a fare box, and have transportation impact fees that will be on the table,” said Lisa Trifiletti, the lead consultant on the project.
It was pointed out that the transportation impact fees are minuscule considering the fees were approved by the council AFTER the construction of the two behemoth projects that will generate the most impact on traffic congestion in the City; the Intuit Dome and SoFi Stadium.
When Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. was asked by two writers from this website, who are also long-time residents, why the billionaire owners of the LA Rams, Chargers, and Clippers weren’t paying into the costs for the transit connector he went on a tangent about ex-post facto laws.
The City is about to put nearly 500 people out of work and displace 44 small businesses because they are preparing to welcome visitors for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. And even if it doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime to build it, the City will surely attempt to come up with a way to make us pay for its upkeep.
They’ve already tried it twice before.
The first time they wanted to create a special tax district on the entire City. Once 2UrbanGirls wrote about it, the application was put on hold. Then they tried to sneak it into a special election under Measure I and it was defeated.
What will they come up with next?
1 Comment
Folks cannot be displaced by highways, freeways and expressways it’s 2023 Let’s try an elevated tramway to make transportation issues more comfortable for non city residents to enjoy the games. Our city pharmacy, grocery, small businesses will be displaced. And replaced where with what? The city will be a pass through transit hub for suburbanites for many years to come. Or maybe Las Vegas style gaming will be allowed at our local casino?