But don’t forget Crenshaw line is light rail so that means at grade for most stations with a couple underground and a couple above ground, but it won’t be a subway. So, with that being the case, what streets do you go up to West Hollywood or Hollywood?
Redondo Beach is extending its mixed-use building ban—for nearly a year
Says the guy who in another post admitted he’s owned multiple condos and houses. Must be nice to be a wealthy homeowner then force your opinions on other people. Still waiting for you to buy me a house in West LA so I can sell my car and bike to work.
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
A connection between NoHo (Red/Orange) and Pasadena (Gold) that tracks the 134 along Burbank, Glendale, and Eagle Rock makes so much sense to me that I have to ask: why does this seem like such a low, iffy priority? Am I wrong in thinking that the Valley isn’t going to get as much out of Measure M – at least in early priority projects – as maybe it should? I know the West Side has now discovered it likes rail transit, and all, but…
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
Problem is that stop is not only a dead-zone pedestrian/work-wise, but is also impossible to access during rush hour. If they had just gone a half mile further west they would have avoided both issues.
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
My understanding is that the ridership drops off west of the 405, so the thinking was it would get more ridership if it went underground out to Van Nuys. And with Expo now serving downtown Santa Monica, the extension felt redundant to many transit planners. Keep in mind that heavy rail is pricey ($500M/mile or more to build).
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
Great questions. 1) LA needs to build all of its new housing near transit stations, to address the fact that not enough people live near transit. We need new housing anyway, and that’s the logical place to put it. Parking is an expensive use of that station-adjacent land. You get more ridership overall from locating compact housing and office there. I’m not opposed to locating parking garages there (provided they’re not publicly subsidized). But rail works best when it serves walkable, populated neighborhoods — not a forest of parking garages.
2) Crenshaw should really extend all the way up through West Hollywood. That’s an overdue project. But in a county as large as LA, other parts of the region fight for those limited dollars. West Hollywood project supporters will need to get mobilized and active to get the project fast-tracked.
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
I assume you’re only talking about rail (or BRT) projects, but I’d love it if Metro would get rid of the highway expansion projects, particularly the high desert corridor project. That project is more business-as-usual sprawl generating infrastructure that should have been strangled in its crib. As for rail/BRT, I’ve never been a fan of the Gold Line foothill extension through a low-density, auto-oriented part of the region. Rail and BRT should go where the people and jobs are, so that would mean Vermont Avenue, Purple Line, light rail to West Hollywood, and possibly the connection from the Orange Line to the Gold Line in Pasadena through Eagle Rock. Ultimately, the only projects that should move forward are those that have the highest ridership and the commitment by local governments along the route to build as much as possible around the stations.
Chatting with Los Angeles transit expert Ethan Elkind
1. Some of the old streetcar and rail routes in our region have already been converted to light rail (Blue Line, Expo Line, Orange Line). Others are on the way (Crenshaw/LAX Line). Still others have been studied and are being considered — i.e. low-floor light rail is one of the alternatives being considered as part of the Van Nuys to Sylmar/San Fernando project (so is bus rapid transit) and we are in the planning stages for a light rail line that would run between Union Station and Artesia, using some of the old West Santa Ana Branch streetcar route. An extension north of the Crenshaw/LAX Line — which has Measure M funding — could use La Brea or La Cienega, but that is yet to be determined. The formal planning studies will do that.
2. The streetcar, as proposed, would be run by the city of Los Angeles or an entity that works with the city. Not Metro.
3. The Crenshaw north project has an opening date in the late 2040s under the Measure M expenditure plan approved by voters last year. As with other M projects, it could potentially be accelerated as part of a public-private partnership.
4. The Fairfax streetcar line was proposed by The Grove. As far as I know, nothing has happened.
5. I think it was a transit activist who championed a light rail line that would serve Silver Lake — I think it was called the Pink Line. It’s not one of Metro’s current or future projects with funding.
6. There is no current funding for a Red Line extension in the Valley. The big Measure M projects for the SFV were Sepulveda Pass, Van Nuys to Sylmar/San Fernando light rail or bus rapid transit, NoHo to Pasadena bus rapid transit and both Orange Line speed improvements and (later) conversion to light rail.