Feasibility Study for the Resurrection of the Red Car Trolley Services in the Los Angeles Downtown Area

ALIGNMENT CONCEPTS

Concept 1 operates as a reverse ”S” and was designed to serve the most prominent existing and proposed residential and tourist destinations, such as the L.A. Live, the Broadway Historic Core and the proposed Grand Avenue Project. This alignment would provide service to the residential developments along Hope Street as well as serve the new Ralphs market at the intersection of Hope and 9th Streets. It provides connections to the soon-to-be reopened Angels Flight, as well as to the Fashion District. These connections, in conjunction with the larger developments and the historic core, seek to provide an attractive downtown circulator for residents as well as a user friendly system that will attract and allow tourists to comfortably travel around the downtown area. This concept would travel from north to south along Hope Street, from the intersection with Hope Place, north to 1st Street, east to Broadway, south to 7th Street, west to Hope Street, south to Pico Boulevard and then north on Broadway to the intersection with Olympic Boulevard. Using Hope Street to serve the L.A. Live and Convention Center prevents the need to cross Metro’s Blue and Exposition Lines, which could pose operating issues because of high frequencies along the Metro Rail corridor once the Exposition Line begins service.

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Concept 2 provides a loop service around the downtown core area in order to connect the new and old downtowns. This concept focuses on providing service to the Bunker Hill area and the Music Center concert halls, Herald Examiner Project, Grand Avenue Project, South Park area as well as the Fashion District, L.A. Live, the Broadway Historic Core, and the Financial District. This concept would travel east along First Street to Broadway, south to 11th Street, serve L.A. Live via Figueroa, then cut back to Flower Street on Olympic Boulevard, and travel north along Flower Street to First Street.

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Concept 3 serves the major destinations within the downtown area and allows for short walking distances to others. This concept focuses on serving the largest tourist destinations, such as the Convention Center, Fashion District, the Broadway Historic District, Grand Avenue Project, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Music Center and Little Tokyo. Concept 3 differs from the others in that it would operate as a one-way loop through Little Tokyo and the Civic Center Districts, traveling along First Street, Grand Avenue, Temple Street, Los Angeles Street, and Second Street. This concept also looks at crossing the Santa Ana Freeway (101) to serve El Pueblo via Los Angeles Street. Operations along Temple would allow for the streetcar to also serve the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels, in addition to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Music Center.

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Concept 4 was developed in part to allow for a sensitivity analysis to be conducted on streets other than those presented in Concepts 1, 2, and 3. This concept looks at extending the streetcar through Little Tokyo, providing a direct connection to the new Metro Gold Line station near the Alameda Street/1st Street intersection, and providing direct service to the Fashion District along Maple Avenue and Los Angeles Street. Concept 4 travels along Los Angeles, Temple, Alameda, and First Streets through Little Tokyo and the Civic Center to the north. The alignment uses Los Angeles Street to connect north and south downtown and serves the Fashion District along Maple Avenue for two blocks before connecting to Grand Avenue via Olympic Boulevard. From Grand Avenue, the alignment uses 11th Street to cross over the Metro Blue and Exposition Line, and then turns south on Flower Street and west on 12th Street into the Convention and Staples Center area.

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Similar to Concept 4, Concept 5 was also developed to conduct a sensitivity analysis on streets in addition to those presented in Concepts 1, 2, 3, and 4. This concept extends the streetcar north of the 101 freeway to Chinatown and its Metro Gold Line station, as well as providing service to the Pershing Square area and its Metro Red Line station. This concept travels south from Chinatown along Alameda and Main Streets, crossing the 101 freeway and turning west onto Temple Street, south onto Hill Street, east on 1st Street, and south on Spring Street. To provide a connection to Pershing Square while minimizing conflict with the Metro Red Line, the alignment uses 5th and 6th Streets to connect to Hill Street. From Hill Street the alignment travels along one-way couplets (8th and 9th Streets) depending on the direction of travel, then south on Hope Street, turning west onto 11th Street to cross over the Metro Blue and Exposition Line, south on Flower Street and west on 12th Street into the Convention and Staples Center area.

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http://www.crala.org/internet-site/Documents/other_documents.cfm

Thanks! This is one step closer to reality!!!!

^^
Let's hope this becomes reality. *crosses fingers*...

A blast from the past? I'll welcome it with open arms! I can see this having a truly positive impact on downtown LA. Since your average suburban-minded, public-transit averse person who probably never had a reason to go to downtown in the first place, might now have a reason to go there and explore it by transit. On the surface, this really looks like a gimmick to pull people back into downtown. But hey! San Francisco does it shamelessly with its cable cars right? You ever see how packed those cable cars are? Heck, we even see it in our so-called "lifestyle centers" ala the infamous 'Grove' here in LA or the mono-rails in Vegas/Disneyland. Why not in downtown? Some gimmicks never work, while some work better than others. I would like to believe the latter is the case here. Gimmicks are often substantively hollow, no matter how shiny its exterior..but if done right I see the red trollleys really making it work for downtown, and possibly open new eyes to the city's core or maybe even change deeply rooted opinions about taking public transit in the minds of some Angelenos by connecting them back with some elements of the past of this great city(pre-1950's downtown LA was once bustling with people and trolleys), intertwining them with the present(LA Live, Grand Avenue, etc.) and giving them a glimpse of the future of downtown LA. What phenomenon will this be marketing to people?--'Nostalgia'..yes, the power of nostalgia..don't ever under-estimate it!!! People often are nostalgic of things that connect to them emotionally. If we connect people back with the past in a positive way, they will have a new found appreciation of, "what was?" and discover a passion for ,"what's next?" in downtown LA. Of course its gonna take more to get people into downtown than some nostalalgic-looking red trolley cars.

Maybe i'm just wayyy too much of an optimist. Many people still shun downtown LA, even as its turning around slowly, but to expedite the process we need everything in our arsenal to convince people to come back to the core. Who said we never had a core? For some people this will help them rediscover it. Anyway, if this becomes a reality, it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Not to mention most of these proposals connect with important parts in Downtown that don't as of yet connected by anything but busses. Like Fashion District, LA Live, Walt Disney Center, etc. all in one line? They must build this.

This would only work after L.A live and Grand Ave is Built

It should be built concurrently with the changing downtown.

^^
Let's hope this becomes reality. *crosses fingers*...

A blast from the past? I'll welcome it with open arms! I can see this having a truly positive impact on downtown LA. Since your average suburban-minded, public-transit averse person who probably never had a reason to go to downtown in the first place, might now have a reason to go there and explore it by transit. On the surface, this really looks like a gimmick to pull people back into downtown. But hey! San Francisco does it shamelessly with its cable cars right? You ever see how packed those cable cars are?

Well, SF's cable cars are geared towards tourists. But the historic trolleys on Market St. are geared for the locals.
No doubt the resurrected Red Cars will appeal to locals and tourists alike.

since the Pacific Electric system was so broad and far-reaching, I feel every place that once had a Red Car line is entitled to have its own mini Red Car system. San Pedro has one, Downtown is slated to have one. It would be cool to see one in Santa Monica - Marina Del Rey. Or Long Beach (downtown to the Belmont Shore area).

These red car trolleys wont be cable cars right.............

These red car trolleys wont be cable cars right.............

No. Cable Cars are propelled by mechanical means -- the railcar has a "hook" protruding under it that fits in a slot between the rails. In that slot is a cable that runs in one direction continuously via gears and pulleys. Cable cars cannot change speeds; they can only hook onto the cable or disconnect to stop or coast.

Trolleys are electrical-powered railcars that have a pole (a trolley pole) sticking up on the roof which maintains contact with an electrical power line. They have electric motors inside which can run the railcar at varying speeds.

Los Angeles did have an actual cable car line, back in the late 1800s. It was our first mass transit line (that was not pulled by horses).

I hope this goes through, it sounds cool

any word on where any of this is heading?

Hopefully it's not part of MTA BS at all. If we really want to this to become a reality...

The cable cars are novelty only really. I only rode them once in SF, never again. Bumpiest ride I've ever taken. Not to mention overpriced, packed, and super noisy!