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Metro Board Votes To Dedicate Wilshire/La Brea Station To Former LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted Thursday to dedicate the Wilshire/La Brea station to former Metro director and Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge.

The station, which is scheduled to open in 2023, will still have signs marking it as "Wilshire/La Brea," along with signage marking the dedication to LaBonge, according to Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti.

Tom LaBonge
City of Los Angeles Councilmember Thomas LaBonge speaks during a press conference as Delta Air Lines Unveils $229-Million Dollar Enhancement Of LAX Terminal 5 at LAX Airport on June 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Delta Air Lines)

MTA board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said the tribute was fitting for LaBonge, whose enthusiasm for the city and seemingly endless knowledge of its history earned him the nickname "Mr. Los Angeles."

"Nobody was more excited about transportation, about showing up for work, and it wasn't just for residents of Los Angeles," she said of LaBonge. "He was a big believer that all the international visitors that came to Los Angeles, he wanted them to have the exact same experience, he wanted them to love Los Angeles, he wanted them to show up at LAX and be able to navigate our public transportation system,"

Councilman Mike Bonin, who is also on the MTA board said, "Tom's enthusiasm for transportation was absolutely unbridled, and I know because as chair of our transportation committee with him as a member on it, I often tried to bridle it," he quipped.

"The only thing that could make (the dedication) more appropriate for Tom LaBonge is if you decided instead of Wilshire/La Brea, you actually put an underground stop at Griffith Park itself, that would be the ultimate Tom LaBonge move," Bonin said.

Meanwhile, the city announced Tuesday that Mount Hollywood Summit in Griffith Park, where LaBonge often hiked, will be renamed the "Tom LaBonge Summit."

LaBonge passed away at the age of 67 on January 7. The cause of death was not confirmed.

LaBonge represented L.A.'s Fourth District from 2001 to 2015. The district includes Koreatown, the Fairfax District, Hollywood and Los Feliz.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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