Someone Go Tell Richard Katz that Expo Line Isn't a Subway

Friday, July 08, 2005, at 06:55AM

By Eric Richardson

Newly appointed to the MTA Board, Richard Katz was on the KCRW show Which Way LA? Wednesday. Host Warren Olney kept asking about the "subway to the sea" that Antonio had talked about in his campaign. Interestingly, though, all of Katz answers were about Expo. It was sort of weird. Consider these exchanges:

WO: "Tom Bradley, when he ran for mayor in 1973, said they'd break ground on a new rapid transit system in 18 months. I remember asking him in, I think, his second and third terms when that was finally going to happen. Is the subway to the sea going to turn out to be that kind of situation?"

RK: "No, I think that what the Mayor is saying is that at the same time as we're doing the small fixes to fix commuting in Los Angeles ... we need to also be looking at the big picture ... and that includes taking the Exposition line west."

...

WO: "I don't want to be a one-note interviewer here, but back to the subway to the sea ... would expanding the Alameda Corridor be a more immediate priority?"

RK: "I think you have to look at both. Expanding the Alameda Corridor East certainly helps the movement of goods and helps the economy of Southern California. Being able to use the Exposition Line helps people get around Los Angeles better and helps people move from the Westside and the Southside in a much better fashion."

So what's the deal? Is Richard Katz anti-Red Line, or has Antonio quickly shifted his attention to a project that will get to Santa Monica a lot cheaper, albeit via a much slower trip?