That’s a headline you were very unlikely to see twenty, ten, or even five years ago, but things have changed. The LA Times is reporting that city officials are working to make sure that a subway through the Westside includes stops in Beverly Hills. “‘There is an incredible sea change of attitude from resistance to support for the subway,’ said Allan Alexander, a former Beverly Hills mayor who co-chairs the city’s mass transit panel.”

Two officials pushing for the subway’s construction have transformed from opponents to supporters, reflcting a similar evolution in the mindset of the area’s populace as traffic has steadily worsened. Congressman Henry Waxman, who won legislation in Congress in the ‘80s to make tunneling under Wilshire illegal, is now trying to overturn his ban. And LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who led a referendum in 1998 to ban using the transportation sales tax revenue to pay for building tunnels, now supports the subway (though not overturning the ban).

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Tagged: henry waxman, los angeles, politics, transit

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.