A PUC administrative judge had ruled that pedestrian bridges would be needed at both Dorsey and Foshay. But the PUC board said a bridge at Foshay was unnecessary, which displeased the Los Angeles Unified School District.
"The decision eliminates the single greatest threat to student safety" -- a street-level crossing next to Dorsey -- "but still puts children at risk by taking out important safety and law-enforcement projections put in by the judge who heard the case," said Michael Strumwasser, an attorney representing the school district.
In particular, Strumwasser said that the PUC failed to resolve another problem: Police officers at Foshay would be unable to cross the fenced-off train tracks to respond to crime on the other side of Exposition Boulevard.
United Community Assns. spokesman Damien Goodmon said his group would keep advocating for a rail tunnel or bridge at Dorsey: "We don't want a kid to die before rail safety becomes a concern."
The school board and activists have 30 days to petition the PUC for a rehearing. If that petition is rejected, the groups would have to petition the Court of Appeals or California Supreme Court to review the PUC hearing -- and the courts would have to decide whether to take up the case.
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steve.hymon@latimes.com
