Many of you have imagined a subway extension through the Westside. Various transportation improvements have been proposed for this area as far back as the 1920s.
Before a subway extension or any other project can be built in the dense, congested Westside area, it must go through an environmental analysis and be incorporated into the funded element of the Long Range Transportation Plan. Among other things, this ensures that a project is eligible to compete for federal funds. To accomplish the first goal, Metro began the Westside Extension Transit Corridor Study in fall 2007.
The study is evaluating a range of options, including a possible subway extension. For more information, go to metro.net/westside. The 2008 Draft Long Range Transportation Plan ranks a possible Westside subway extension high in the list of Tier 1 Strategic Unfunded projects. Currently, the Plan does not anticipate sufficient funding to move any projects in this category into the funded section of the plan. The scarcity of funds for vital projects has spurred state legislators to draft bills that may come before voters in the November 2008 election to increase local funding to bring these projects to fruition.
Metro wants to know what you imagine. Tell us what you think of LA County’s transportation future by clicking the COMMENTS link below.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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19 comments:
The scale of this project is much larger than most people realize. It is important to move forward with zone charging, and higher prices for the subway. I think most passengers would pay up to $8 for a trip from Santa Monica to downtown LA, and the $1.25 fare should be reserved for 1 or 2 stop trips.
This is all dependent on Metro moving forward with the TAP cards. This fare might make it more feasible to have a Private venture build and operate the subway to being with.
Good luck with the environmental review! I think it is important to keep reminding people that this is an investment for the LA of 2025 not for right now, so people need to start funding it now!
8 dollars? That's a price increase of 640%. There's no need to talk about distance-based fares or selling off vital infrastructure to private companies right now. The system's profit doesn't need to be in dollars and cents when we know it's going to be a huge boon for the economy of Los Angeles.
I'm arriving at the busstop. I need a way to comunicate to "the system" for it to tell me the actual location of the next bus coming to my busstop at that time. With that information, I can DECIDE whether to walk to another street for ahother route or to stay there. This is crucially important especially early morning on weekend days.
Unfortunately, most people who take the bus to the UCLA/Westwood area are students and lower-wage workers. The $8 fares (Snoble's dream) won't work even 20 years from now. Even if they did, no one wants to pay $16 for a round trip to do leisurely shopping or going to the movies. Traveling on the westside is a pain not just during rush hour. We need some really smart planning to get this right.
people...let's face it, we need this subway, and we need it asap. BRT won't work, neither will light rail off wilshire. Perhaps all the people who think this will be unused should llok at the ridership on the red/purple lines today(120,000). Imagine how successful this line would be if built in either one or two phases to the beach. We're talking the most used line in the country, easy. But metro can't stop here. We need the green line to come north to the future expo/purple line terminus in sm, and have that go north up the 405 to warner center. Also, add in the d-town connector and the gold line to ontario, and we have a rail and bus system that plenty of Angelenos can use everyday. Just think of the possibilities...
What is Metro's reason for not immediately funding the FOOTHILL EXTENSION of the Gold Line?
There is no doubt that the Westside "Subway to the Sea" needs to be built, along with many other lines to give us a comprehensive transit system. I'm all for it. The critical question is, with limited funds, what to prioritize? The answer should be the best projects that are ready-to-go.
So a glaring omission in Metro's Long Range Plan is the FOOTHILL EXTENSION of the Gold Line, which has been steadily planned and designed since 2001. It would be a remarkable addition that would link all the way to the Ontario Airport, and serve the fastest growing region in LA County -- the San Gabriel Valley, in population and employment.
WHY then are there NO transit projects in the San Gabriel Valley slated for funding, in the current Plan. The Foothill Extension is incomprehensibly thrown in to the "Strategic Unfunded" list. And if it then misses out on matching Federal funds, we all just lost out.
Let's see... the previous post on this Metro Imagine blog reports on the tame community meeting held in Carson.
HOW ABOUT a report on the subsequent communtity meeting held on April 8 in the San Gabriel Valley, which was PACKED with community representatives IMPLORING Metro to hear their voices.
Speakers one-after-another asked Metro WHY the Foothill Extension was not placed in the Funded category. $28 million has already been invested into preparing this line by all the stakeholders and is most READY to be built.
"The Foothill Extension project is ahead of other project considerations in many ways including: completion of an Alternatives Analysis; completion and approval of the Draft Environmental Impact Report /Statement, and completion of the Advanced Conceptual Engineering which included a comprehensive community-based station design and public art approval process in 2006. In addition, Phase 2(A) through Azusa received CEQA certification in 2007."
From Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority's website:
http://www.metrogoldline.org/about.html
Why, in comparison, is the Crenshaw corridor project receiving funding, when it is not even in the pre-planning stages, with years of legwork to come before needing construction funding?
The MTA is responsible for serving ALL of Los Angeles County, not just the Westside, and would have a critical success on its hands with the Foothill Extension. All it takes is one-half of one percent of Metro's rail budget - $80 million - in order to capture the matching Federal dollars of up to $320 million. This is huge!
Metro, please don't miss this boat! We're counting on you!
http://www.metrogoldline.org/PDF/
News%20Articles/PSN-SGVT_31mar08.pdf
http://www.metrogoldline.org/Metro/
Foothill%20Extension%20Support%20Packet.pdf
yes i bulieve metro schould charge more like 2 dollars but there is no need for zone charge if that is the case ure beter off driving evrywhere make the subway so there would be a beter option to avoid traffic and take the metro rail. not to avoid it. in chicago the bending machines give a percenage of there sales to the l so they could put there machines inn there stations. maybe l.a. schould try doing that.
I think the subway to Santa Monica is a good idea. An even better idea is to extend the Gold Line to at least Montclair; preferably all the way to the Ontario airport. Do it now-- don't wait for it to get ever more expensive- and fet the fed funds while they can be had. Have you SEEN the traffic on the 210 freeway? A nightmare!
I believe that it would benefit thousands or people to expand the metro rail out to California State University Northridge. It would give inner city young adults the opportunity to branch out and go to a college out of Los Angeles, but still have a fast and affordable way to commute home to their families.
i bealive metro schould charge 2 dollars to ride in the metro but no zone charge that would make the metro rail less disirable to ride inn also they schould extend the red line to el monte along the 10 freway it is cojested and the zone charge in el monte is ridicueless also u schould make the gold line to ontario airport i live in pomona and go to school in cal state l.a. if the gold line would pass thru pomona i would be able to take it to downtown l.a. and take the red line to cal state l.a.
The Long Range Plan is grossly inadequate. We need a fully connected fixed system including a form of rapid transit through the Sepulveda Pass. The neighboring canyon roads carry 100,000 cars a day on roads that are substandard (too steep) (too narrow) and were not designed as an alternative to the 405.
The westside of Los Angeles is the poor stepchild in terms of public transportation. We need a subway or fixed rail system that connects the Orange Line to the Green Line, connecting both North and South sections of UCLA, Century City and LAX. Parking structures (under ground if necessary will have to be built. Additionally a rapid transit system should be built on Sunset which is today a virtual parking lot. (Try going from Pacific Palisades to the 405) from 3 to 5 p.m.
We desperately need Subway to the Sea going down both Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilshire Blvd. At one of your sessions I learned that more people are going west after coming from the valley on the RED Line than to downtown. We need Expo Line phase 2 to connect to the work places in Santa Monica.
Also DASH vans need to be installed on each canyon road east of the 405. Perhaps going up one and down another and vice versa. Tree People cannot get Blue Ribbon Environmental Status because it does not offer public transportation.
In my humble opinion the price of gas is just beginning to climb. Los Angeles particularly West Los Angeles is a third world city (perhaps even less) in terms of public transportation. Also all tax increases should be sales tax (which everyone pays including illegal aliens) nor property tax based.
Purple Line / Subway to Santa Monica should be the MTA's NUMBER ONE priority.
In the U.S. independence and impatience are strong social forces. Any increase in mass transit must overcome people's preference for independence and any increase in rapid transit must overcome people's impatience. In general rapid transit cannot be faster than my car because transit has to make many stops. Transit with its own right of way could be faster between stops when traffic is moving slowly but still might not be faster considering slowing and stop time.
Study the transit systems in major western European cities. The social forces may be somewhat different, but a higher portion of the population uses mass transit.
The number one priority is the purple subway along Wilshire Blvd, Century City, to Westwood. Start now to build it - we needed it yesterday!
And yes, charge for it with a sales tax and appropriate metro fares.
I suppose zone charging makes sense. In Tokyo, your payment is based on where you board and then where you get off. The farther you have travled, the more you pay. However, $8 is a bit extreme. I actually don't think you would get very many riders from Santa Monica to downtown to pay that much.
Yes, people don't want to sit in traffic, but one of the big factors is cost of driving vs cost of bus/train ticket. For me, if it costs me $6 worth of gas to drive downtown vs $3 for a ticket, then it makes sense.
The closer you put the cost of a fair to the cost of the average person to use gas driving, the fewer people will take trains/buses.
Regarding the Foothill line. The reason why the Subway to the Sea makes more sense now is that the Mid-City area to Santa Monica is the most densely populated, gridlocked part of the city and region. Yes, San Gabriel Valley is growing and needs a line, but the Mid-City subway should be the higher priority.
And one final suggestion. STOP USING COLOR DESIGNATIONS FOR LINES. Names like the "Purple Line' sound silly. What colors are left that you will use? The Taupe Line. In Tokyo, they use names for their lines such as the Ginza Line. That makes more sense.
I consider the money spent on these projects and other local infrastructure as an investment in the city itself but also the employees/contractors who in turn go out spend their hard earned dollars in the local economy.
If the city already owns the tunnel boring machines, why not let them start chipping away under Wilshire? I know it's not as simple as that, but the tunnels are going to take a long time to excavate.
Based on what I've seen on the 720, the Purple Line should definitely be the number one new project priority for Metro right now. However, the presence of the La Brea tar fields worries me -- will it be necessary to run the subway aboveground in those areas?
We definitely need an alternative to the 405. A subway from the Orange line to the Green line/LAX (with a connection to the Subway to the Sea) would be an amazing addition to this city. The Flyaway is a wonderful option but its travel time is still effected by the amount of traffic on the freeway.
Extending the Red line from Hollywood/Highland to Santa Monica is another much needed addition. Even if there are lines running along Exposition and Wilshire Blvds it's still not enough. Wouldn't you want subway with late night service along the Sunset Strip? Fewer drunks on the road at 2 am sounds like a safer LA to me.
@transitplanner: you have to be joking me. $8 from downtown to Santa Monica? That is ridiculous.
In Chicago you can ride from 50 miles outside of the city to the heart of downtown Chicago for $3.50 and the CTA is doing just fine.
Increase advertising opportunities on subways and more aggressively target businesses near stops and you will raise more than enough capital.
Also, CHARGE CAR OWNERS MONEY FOR A CITY STICKER. There are 13 million cars in LA county, charge them all $100/year for a city sticker and you have just raised 1.3 BILLION in one year. Every city east of the Mississippi does it.
The subway to the sea is a MUST. We have tons of tourists that don't have cars and we make them take the woefully inadequate bus system. It's a joke. In fact the entire transit system here is a joke. I am willing to bet public transportation in Iraq circa 2004 was in better shape than LA's is now.
The idea of a subway that runs down Sunset and connects Silverlake to the Strip and Westwooed as someone else suggested would be a good idea too but seeing as it's a good idea, that'll never happen.
Oh and for the love of god, MAKE THE RED LINE 24 HOURS NOW!!! If you publicized to tourists and barhoppers that they can actually go out and not have to worry about driving you'd see boffo business on the train lines since the existence of taxis in LA is little more than a myth.
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