7. Assignment of Proceeding

Timothy Alan Simon is the assigned Commissioner and Maribeth A. Bushey is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.

Findings of Fact

1. The parties, along with the Commission Rail Crossings Engineering staff, began settlement negotiations after the prehearing conference on September 30, 2009.

2. The settlement agreement provides for a split platform light rail station located east and west of Farmdale Avenue.

3. The settlement agreement provides for operational constraints such that no light rail vehicle will exceed 15 miles per hour while the cab is located in the Farmdale Avenue crossing.

4. The settlement agreement provides that approximately 19 school parking spaces will be lost, but these lost spaces will be more than made up by a new paved 26-space parking lot on the northeast corner of the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Farmdale Avenue.

5. The settlement agreement provides that an existing Dorsey High School driveway will be realigned to accommodate the pedestrian plaza for the at-grade pedestrian crossing, with a similar pedestrian plaza on the other side of the tracks, and that both plazas will include specifications for swing gates, pedestrian gates, and traffic signals to control pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

6. The settlement agreement provides that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will operate its Ambassador program at the Farmdale station for one year to assist the public in safely using the station and crossing.

7. All parties to the settlement agreement will coordinate and collaborate to identify and address any safety issues that may arise.

8. On balance, the proposed Farmdale station is a superior alternative to the pedestrian grade-separated, vehicular crossing closed option adopted in D.09-02-031.

9. D.10-04-036 certified the Addendum to the Final environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report for this project/or portions thereof.

Conclusions of Law

1. No party has identified a disputed issue of material fact so no evidentiary hearings are necessary. The record on this application can be closed and the matter determined at this time.

2. The attached settlement agreement is reasonable in light of the whole record, consistent with law and in the public interest.

3. These consolidated applications should be closed.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority is authorized to construct an at-grade crossing of Farmdale Avenue by the Exposition Boulevard Corridor Light Rail Transit Line including a station with split platforms east and west of the intersection of Farmdale Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. The crossing will be identified as CPUC Crossing No. 84S-105.00.

2. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority shall notify the Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division - Rail Crossings Engineering Section at least five (5) business days prior to opening the crossing to light rail vehicle traffic. Notification should be made to rces@cpuc.ca.gov.

3. Within 30 days after completion of the work under this order, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority shall notify the Rail Crossings Engineering Section in writing, by submitting a completed Commission Standard Form G (Report of Changes at Highway Grade Crossings and Separations), of the completion of the authorized work. Form G requirements and forms can be obtained at the CPUC web site Form G page at http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/formg. This report may be submitted electronically to rces@cpuc.ca.gov as outlined on the web page.

4. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority shall comply with all applicable rules, including Commission General Orders and the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. 

5. The settlement agreement among Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, protestant Los Angeles Unified School District, and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that provides for a station at Farmdale Avenue on the Exposition Boulevard Corridor Light Rail Transit Line, in Los Angeles County, attached hereto as Attachment A, is adopted. The parties must comply with the terms of the settlement agreement which include:

a. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority shall construct a station with split platforms east and west of the intersection of Farmdale Avenue and Exposition Boulevard, and such station must allow the rail train operator clear line of sight from the platform to the entire intersection.

b. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority must use its best efforts to acquire the property located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Farmdale Avenue and Exposition Boulevard and, after acquisition, must demolish the existing building and construct on the site a surface parking lot secured by a protective fence, with electronic gates and card-key entry, and a modular building for use by the Los Angeles Unified School District School Police. After completion, the property and improvements must be transferred to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

c. The Los Angeles Unified School District must transfer at no cost to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority a narrow strip of property of approximately 5,593 square feet along the northern boundary of the Susan Miller Dorsey High School campus for use in the eastbound station platform.

d. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority must modify the northeast entrance to the campus to accommodate the eastbound station platform and pedestrian plaza, as well as the southern entrance to the school campus from Rodeo Drive so as to allow extended length vehicles to use the entrance without scraping their undercarriages.

e. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority must operate its Ambassador program at the Farmdale station for six months before and after the revenue operation date. The Ambassador program will provide retired bus and train operators to educate the public about safe practices around light rail tracks and will identify unsafe behavior, as well as report any such behavior to the program manager. Ambassador program representatives will be present during peak school transit times of 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

f. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Los Angeles Unified School District must coordinate and collaborate with each other regarding any safety concerns that arise from the operation of the light rail vehicles.

6. In addition to Section 2.8 (c) and (d) of the settlement agreement, calling for data sharing and cooperation and collaboration between the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Los Angeles Unified School District to address any safety concerns that may be identified or arise, those parties shall include the Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division - Rail Crossings Engineering Section staff in any such data sharing, correspondence or meetings relating thereto.

7. Consolidated Applications (A.) 06-12-005, A.06-12-020, A.07-01-004, A.07-01-017, A.07-01-044, A.07-02-007, A.07-02-017, A.07-03-004, A.07-05-012, and A.07-05-013 are closed.

This order is effective today.

Dated July 29, 2010, at San Francisco, California.

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