LOS ANGELES | Public Transport

[phattonez]

We can start thinking about that when we get money for the Wilshire Subway. Although it's never too early, we need that as soon as possible too.

[James Saito]

I've heard nobody checks the ticket in LA Metro.
Is it true?
If so, why people bother purchasing the ticket?

[phattonez]

I've been checked once, only once. Metro is considering installing fare gates.

[Westsidelife]

Regional Connector Transit Corridor Study

Overview

Metro has initiated an Alternatives Analysis (AA) to study alternatives for connecting the Metro Gold, Blue, and Expo lines through downtown Los Angeles. This study will examine linking the future Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (in the vicinity of the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station) and the 7th Street/Metro Center Station (the terminus for the Metro Blue Line and future Expo Line).

Given the continued expansion and success of the Metro Rail system, the preliminary goals of this project are to:

• Accommodate expected ridership increases due to the opening of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (2009) and the Metro Expo Line (2010)

• Support the resurgence of downtown Los Angeles as a business, cultural and residential hub

• Improve mobility throughout the region

• Increase utilization of all rail lines

Initial transit alternatives to be considered in the AA will vary by mode, alignment, configuration, and station location. The analysis will include a public participation process and be consistent with CEQA/NEPA guidelines and Federal New Starts requirements.

The study area will encompass approximately two square miles of downtown Los Angeles and will include the communities of Little Tokyo, the Arts District, the Historic Core, the Toy District, Bunker Hill, the Financial Core, the Jewelry District, and the Civic Center. Project area map.

Meetings

Early environmental scoping meetings have been scheduled to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on the scope of the Alternatives Analysis (AA):

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
11:30am -1:30pm
Central Library, Meeting Room A
630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Wednesday, November 7, 2007
6:00-8:00pm
Japanese America National Museum
369 E. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Comments may also be submitted via phone, mail, or email. Visit Contact Us for more information. All comments must be received by the end of the early scoping period, Nov. 21, 2007.

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Source: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

[Westsidelife]

The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit together!

[redspork02]

Gold Line add-on studied
Train extension sought from Montclair to Ontario Airport
Fred Ortega, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/12/2007 10:18:24 PM PDT


Commuters might soon be able to use a train to catch a plane, if a study endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leads to funds to pay for an extension of the Metro Gold Line.
Current plans call for extending the line from Pasadena to Montclair.

The study, which is funded with $500,000 from the Southern California Association of Governments and the San Bernardino Associated Governments, will examine extending the end of the line from Montclair to the Ontario International Airport.

It will take 12 to 16 months and include community and government representatives from Ontario, Upland and Rancho Cucamonga, said Metro Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority spokeswoman Susan Hodor. The study will also involve public meetings to determine possible routes the light rail line would take to the airport.

Providing rail service to the Ontario Airport would accomplish Villaraigosa's goal of regionalizing airport services and relieving congestion around LAX, said the mayor's spokesman, Darryl Ryan.

"We want to make sure residents of Los Angeles and all over the country have transportation alternatives," said Ryan. "Extending the Gold Line to Montclair is important in that aspect."


Villaraigosa's support for the Gold Line extension is a departure from the mayor's past focus on transportation projects centered in Los Angeles, including the proposed "Subway to the Sea," said local officials.

"I see it as a definite warming up to the Gold Line and the benefits it will provide," said Duarte Councilman John Fasana, a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board.

Support for the project from Villaraigosa gives the project some leverage, said Habib Balian, CEO of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority.

"What MTA Board members are beginning to understand is that this is the only project ready to go in the county," said Balian, noting that the Gold Line extension's environmental studies have been completed and that the authority already owns the right-of-way for the project. "We can virtually be under construction a year from now."

But Villaraigosa's public support has to be followed up by tangible results - like MTA approval of $8 million a year to cover the line's operating expenses - in order to give the project a chance to become reality, said Fasana.

"That is a necessary step in order for (Gold Line officials) to pursue federal funding," said Fasana.

A decision about including that funding in the MTA's long-range plan should be reached by next spring, said Fasana.

Metro Gold Line officials plan on requesting hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds next year to kick off the first stage of the more than $1 billion project. If that money comes through, construction could begin next year and be completed by 2014.

Despite its distance from Los Angeles, the Gold Line extension could have major benefits for the city, said Michael Cano, transportation deputy for L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

"This could be a de facto traffic relief program around LAX and the Westside by expanding transit to Ontario Airport," Cano said. "There is definitely a relationship there, and it seems the city of Los Angeles is beginning to realize that."

[solongfullerton]

Wow! This means that the city is having public scoping meetings for 3 different lines now in less than a months time!!! May be I'm getting my hopes up, but this has to mean that the MTA is getting very serious about making progress on our rail system in the near future.

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by phattonez

I've been checked once, only once. Metro is considering installing fare gates.

I've seen you say this before and I'm amazed. I ride on average 1-2 times per week and I've been checked maybe a couple dozen times over the last 3 years or so. It's almost entirely on the blue line (my home line) so they must check the blue line much more than the others. But I've been checked on the gold line (Union Station and Memorial) and the red line (7th/metro, and 2 or 3 times on the train).

[phattonez]

This thread should have so much more activity, many lines are under construction, under consideration, and are already being studied.

Expo Line
Eastside Extension
Purple Line
Pink Line
Foothill Extension
Crenshaw Line
LAX People Mover (as a part of the Crenshaw Line)
Downtown Connector

I just wish that the Sunset Line had more attention.

[Westsidelife]

What's the Pink Line?

Isn't the LAX people mover just part of the new structure directly west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal?

There's also the Canoga Transportation Corridor and the 2003 San Fernando Valley North/South Transit Corridor Study (http://www.metro.net/projects_programs/north_south.htm -- whatever happened to that study?)

[phattonez]

The Pink Line is the Line from Hollywood/Highland to the Purple Line. It's a part of the Westside Extension.

The LAX People Mover does not exist yet. I might be built in connection with the Crenshaw Line if it goes to LAX.

I haven't heard a thing about that study for a while, I don't know what happened. Let me look at The Transit Coalition discussion board and see what they have.

[Westsidelife]

Oh, I thought it was known simply as the extension of the Red Line through the Westside.

The LAX people mover is part of the new structure that's going to be built just west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. I thought it was just part of that new structure, not part of the proposed Crenshaw Corridor. Speaking of the Crenshaw, isn't it part of the MTA's efforts to extend the Green Line to LAX?

[phattonez]

Well I don't think that it's the full people mover that everyone wants that connects all of the terminals, but I guess it's a start.

Nothing is set, of course, for the Westside, so nomenclature doesn't really matter at this point. But transit geeks call that one the Pink Line.

Crenshaw could be part of the effort to extend it to LAX, but I have to say that there is no alignment set AT ALL and there is a lot of debate over the path south of the Harbor Subdivision (even debate over the northern terminus). I agree that this line should go to LAX, but if you do that you lose an extension to Hawthorne. It's really all up in the air, you should write to Metro about the path that you want.
http://www.metro.net/crenshaw. Comments can be received up until November 5.

[Westsidelife]

Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Meetings

November 8, 10, 14 & 15

You are invited

Metro invites you to an Early Scoping Meeting about the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project. The goal of the proposed project is to improve mobility in the Corridor by connecting with the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (under construction) to cities further east of Los Angeles. The meeting’s purpose is to obtain public feedback on the project’s purpose and need and potential alternatives including rail and bus options, as part of an Alternatives Analysis (AA). This Analysis will study and narrow down alternatives for possible further environmental review. Light Rail Transit (LRT), currently used in the Metro Gold Line, is being considered.

We want to hear your thoughts and welcome your participation.

Meeting Agenda

Open House

• Review the proposed study goals and objectives

• Speak with project representatives

• View study displays and maps

• Submit written/verbal comments

Project Presentation

Learn about the project in a presentation by Metro staff

Public Comment Forum

Put your comments on the record. Verbal comments will be recorded. Written comments may be submitted at the meeting or no later than November 30, 2007 to:

Kimberly Yu, Project Manager
Metro
One Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012
or yuki@metro.net or fax to 213.922.3005

Project Map

Please Join Us

6:30 – 8:30 pm, Thursday, November 8
Palm Park
5703 Palm Av
Whittier, CA

9 – 12 noon, Saturday, November 10
Senior Center at City Park
115 South Taylor Av
Montebello, CA

6:30 – 8:30 pm, Wednesday, November 14
Potrero Heights Elementary School
8026 East Hill Dr
Rosemead, CA

6:30 – 8:30 pm, Thursday, November 15
North Park Middle School/Cafeteria
4450 Durfee Av
Pico Rivera, CA

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Source: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

[Westsidelife]

Originally Posted by phattonez

I haven't heard a thing about that study for a while, I don't know what happened. Let me look at The Transit Coalition discussion board and see what they have.

Well?

[koolkid]

All those potential routes in study would only add more congestion to the gold line. They should reconsider bringing those lines under study straight to downtown instead, I mean, come on, this would mean less transfers and less time!...

[phattonez]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Well?

I've gotten no reply, the forum has been oddly silent the past few days.

[phattonez]

Originally Posted by koolkid

All those potential routes in study would only add more congestion to the gold line. They should reconsider bringing those lines under study straight to downtown instead, I mean, come on, this would mean less transfers and less time!...

What do you mean? Expo goes downtown. Eastside Extension goes downtown. Purple Line goes downtown. Crenshaw does not even affect the Gold Line I wouldn't think, nor does the Pink Line. Really, we just need the downtown connector already. Is that what you mean?

[koolkid]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Project Map

I'm referring to this Project map. The lines under study don't go into downtown, they just connect to the gold line. This would obviously cause saturation on the gold line, not to mention it is light rail not heavy rail...

[phattonez]

Originally Posted by koolkid

I'm referring to this Project map. The lines under study don't go into downtown, they just connect to the gold line. This would obviously cause saturation on the gold line, not to mention it is light rail not heavy rail...

That's the study for one line, and it won't go downtown until the Downtown Connector is done. And that project is also being studied.