The federal Department of Transportation yesterday issued their Full Funding Grant Agreement to Muni's Central Subway project, which means they can breathe a sigh of relief having secured $942 million in federal money. Meanwhile, that lawsuit we mentioned a few months back in which opponents are arguing that the Union Square stop will violate rules in the City Charter governing the use of park property has been filed, and Mayor Lee calls it "ridiculous."
Very vocal critic of the project Howard Wong of lawsuit-bringer Save Muni says that the Central Subway "will ultimately end up degrading the rest of the Muni system" and argues that, according to the charter, no structures with "non-recreational purposes" can be built in public parks unless approved by the voting public. He says that the station entrance at the southeast corner of Union Square is therefore illegal, and he seeks to halt construction on the Central Subway until the station can be taken to the voters. Also, he enjoys referring to the project, which will connect CalTrain to Chinatown and maybe, eventually, to Fisherman's Wharf, as "the Subway to Nowhere."
We often wonder who has time to get themselves so wrapped up in such fights and to bring such lawsuits, but hey, we all need a hobby. And we're sure Willie Brown is still sitting back and chuckling about all this, having called the Central Subway a "fast track to chaos" and referred to it as "the Central Circus."
