UCLA’s neighbors were not humming to the tune of Mr.
Rogers’ “Won’t you be my neighbor?” when
they met to discuss the environmental impacts of UCLA’s
seemingly never-ending construction. In fact, most attendants
denounced UCLA as a poor neighbor.
On Wednesday night, worried Westwood residents congregated at
the UCLA Faculty Center to express their concerns with the
deficiency of the newly published Draft Environmental Impact
Report.
The updated DEIR, made available for public review on Nov. 1,
assesses the potential environmental effects such as construction,
traffic, air quality and noise caused by the increase of
construction on campus.
The influx of construction on UCLA’s campus is a result of
Tidal Wave II, which stems from the state’s request to
increase student enrollment and therefore the amount of students
UCLA can accommodate.
The first concern addressed by residents was that of the
allegedly illegal and irritating noise level created by the
existing campus bus terminal at Hilgard and Strathmore, a problem
that will only be aggravated by an increase in people and
construction, residents said.
“The (DEIR) is woefully inadequate in addressing the bus
issue,” said Strathmore resident Toni Gray, who insists that
“good neighbors keep their noise to themselves.”
Gray and other residents at the meeting proposed moving the bus
terminal to a location inside of UCLA in order to decrease the
inconvenience for UCLA’s neighbors.
“We’re not trying to eliminate bus service for
students, but wouldn’t most students rather be dropped off by
Ackerman anyway?” she asked.
Other neighbors, such as Paul Verdon, argued that the DEIR looks
only at the impact the construction will have on UCLA, not the
surrounding neighborhood.
“My main complaint is how the construction affects my
daily life in terms of peace and quiet,” said Verdon, citing
the new Hillel Center as contributing to the noise and traffic in
the surrounding neighborhood.
According to Verdon, UCLA’s neighbors are inundated with
noise every day that exceeds legal decibel levels.
A second concern addressed at the public hearing was the impact
that an increase in construction would have on traffic. Two UCLA
professors, Harvey Gonic and Bruce Dobkin, are among those opposed
to construction and its negative impact on traffic.
Gonic, who has been involved with UCLA since he first attended
as an undergraduate in 1947, said, “My inclination is to be
pro-UCLA. But in this area I am in opposition with UCLA because
Westwood is becoming more inundated with traffic to the point where
it is almost impossible to live here.”
Gonic believes that the situation will become more aggravated as
more students and housing are brought to UCLA.
Citing the increase in noise levels and the growth in traffic
that would be caused by construction under the current DEIR, Dobkin
said, “We all want the university to be among the best, but
it’s a question of how big of a price we’ll have to pay
to get there.”
These complaints can be submitted up until Dec. 16 in order for
them to be considered in the final report.