Tag: Metro

WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city is spreading the word that Metro will be hosting meetings on September 19 and September 26 to provide an update to the community about the environmental study underway to bring future Metro rail service to West Hollywood.

The meetings are for residents and stakeholders to provide feedback to Metro about what members find important and routes preferred for the Northern Extension of the Metro K Line (formerly known as the Crenshaw/LAX Line).

The city of West Hollywood indicated in a press release that Metro will select a final route for the project with community input. Depending on the chosen route, the city will be served by a single station on the City’s eastern municipal border or could be served by as many as four underground rail stations located in West Hollywood.

On Tuesday, September 19 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Metro will host a virtual webinar on Zoom, which will consist of a presentation followed by a Q&A session. Participants can join at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87336933668.

On Tuesday, September 26 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Metro will host an in-person meeting at the West Hollywood Park Aquatic and Recreation Center’s Doheny Room, located at 8750 El Tovar Place, next to the West Hollywood Library. The meeting will provide an opportunity for attendees to get the latest information about the project and provide feedback to the Metro team about what destinations, route alternatives, and design considerations should be served by future rail service.

For individuals not able to attend, Metro will accept feedback by email and on its project hotline. Emails can be sent to klinenorth@metro.net or contact (213) 418-3093. For more details about the project, to sign up for project updates, or to submit feedback, visit www.weho.org/metro.

To learn more about the Metro K Line Northern Extension project visit https://www.metro.net/projects/kline-northern-extension.

Metro is in the process of completing an environmental study to examine the possible impacts of the future rail project and to inform its decision as it prepares to select the final route for rail between Mid-City Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Hollywood. During its September meetings, Metro will provide an update on work since the last community meetings in June 2022.

Of the three routes under consideration (La Brea, Fairfax, and the Fairfax-San Vicente Hybrid), West Hollywood supports the Fairfax-San Vicente Hybrid alignment, which would serve more residents and businesses as well as more key regional destinations, healthcare and cultural resources, and job centers in nearby areas of Los Angeles.

Metro will solicit additional public feedback on the project one final time to inform its work on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), which is expected to be released in early 2024. Once the current environmental study process is complete, the Metro Board will determine on a final project definition and route known as a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).

For approximately six years, West Hollywood has been working with West Hollywood Advocates for Metro Rail (WHAM), the All on Board Coalition, and Los Angeles to build support for Metro’s K Line Northern Extension project. For additional information visit www.weho.org/metro.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—West Hollywood is spreading the word about Metro’s planned installation of new bus priority lanes along N. La Brea Avenue in the region and Los Angeles. The La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes Project will add bus priority lanes in both directions along N. La Brea Avenue from Sunset Boulevard at the north to Coliseum Street at the south to improve transit travel times during weekday peak hours.

According to a press release from the city of West Hollywood, the first phase of the project will be installed between Sunset Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard; an extension south to Coliseum Street is anticipated in the future. Though most of the project is in Los Angeles, the first phase includes three blocks of N. La Brea Avenue in West Hollywood from Romaine Street to Fountain Avenue.

Construction is expected to start on Wednesday, July 5 and will occur on weekdays (Monday through Friday) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Construction activities are anticipated to last between four and six weeks. Metro’s contractor will remove existing roadway striping, restripe curbside lanes, replace existing signs with new bus lane signs, and install pavement markings for new bus priority lanes.

After work commences, temporary lane closures will occur on N. La Brea Avenue, between Sunset Boulevard and S. Orange Drive (south of Olympic Boulevard), as necessary. Parking will be temporarily prohibited during work hours on only one side of the N. La Brea Avenue at a time for construction activity. Temporary signage will offer detour information for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.

West Hollywood is coordinating with Metro on the implementation of shared bus/bike lanes that were recommended for this segment of N. La Brea Avenue as part of the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan. Within the first phase of the project, including all portions within West Hollywood, new bus lanes will operate on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., replacing the additional general-purpose travel lane that currently becomes available in each direction during peak hours when curbside parking is prohibited.

The goal of the project is to improve speed and reliability for existing transit service on N. La Brea Avenue including Metro’s Line 212 bus service and West Hollywood’s Cityline Commuter service, which provides free rush-hour and Saturday evening service to and from Hollywood & Highland and the Metro B line. Once installed, drivers will be prohibited from driving in the new bus priority lanes during weekday peak hours except when making right-hand turns. The lanes will be enforced by West Hollywood’s Parking Enforcement staff, just as existing peak hour no-parking restrictions are today.

Seventy-five percent of bus riders on this corridor do not own cars and use the bus system at least five times per week. Additionally, all routes under consideration for Metro’s future Northern Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line also include a stop at Santa Monica Boulevard and N. La Brea Avenue, so bus lanes may also one day extend the reach of future rail service.

For more details about the La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes Project visit Metro’s project website at www.metro.net/labrea or review the Metro project fact sheet.

By Donald

SANTA MONICA—Metro announced the completion of the new Regional Connector train line this week, which is set to bring riders from Santa Monica to East Los Angeles starting Friday, June 16. 

According to Metro, the new route will provide riders with a “seamless journey” through three new underground stations: Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Historic Broadway Station, and Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill Station. The construction process also included 1.9 miles of new track, merging the L Line (Gold) with the A (Blue) and E (Expo) lines at 7th Street/Metro Center Station. This will create two continuous train lines, eliminating the need to transfer when traveling North to Suth or East to West.

The total travel time from Santa Monica to East Los Angeles will take one hour and nine minutes. The Regional connector will also take passengers from Azusa to Long Beach in 58 minutes.

Construction of the Regional Connector first commenced in 2014, but funding hiccups and the COVID-19 pandemic caused major delays. Metro’s original target date for completion of the Regional Connector was December 2020, making opening day two and a half years late. On the Regional Connector’s opening weekend, Metro is offering free rides to passengers on any route in the Metro transit system. 

Metro plans to continue expanding Los Angeles’ railway system in preparation for the large amount of foot traffic generated by the 2028 Olympics.