Iconic Palm Trees Along Miracle Mile To Be Removed For Purple Line Construction

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Dozens of palm trees will be removed along the Miracle Mile to make way for Metro crews to begin construction on the Purple Line, according to officials.

KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the landscape change will gradually take place over the next year at the three new subway stations at La Brea, Fairfax, La Cienega, and the existing station at Western.

Placards have been posted on some of the 60- to 70-foot-tall trees along medians starting from La Brea and Wilshire, where the first of about 82 trees will begin to be removed over the next year or so as construction moves west on Wilshire.

Metro's Dave Sotero said the agency simply has no other choice in order to make way for the Purple Line in the center of the street.

"They have to excavate underneath Wilshire Boulevard in order to create the station box for the subway," said Sotero. "And in those particular areas, we do obviously have to remove that portion of Wilshire Boulevard and anything that sits on top of Wilshire Boulevard."

As part of a compromise, Metro has pledged to plant double the number of trees that are removed at the various subway stations over the next several years.

Some existing trees will be removed and relocated to the project's staging yard at Wilshire and Crenshaw, according to officials.

Still, at least a few local residents were not pleased about the planned removal of palms from the medians where they have been for 30 years or more.

"I think they definitely should be potted up and moved somewhere else," said one woman.