Executive Summary January 2009
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Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority LOS ANGELES WESTSIDE EXTENSION TRANSIT CORRIDOR ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS STUDY > Executive Summary January 2009 Introduction three years from 2003 to 2006 and is now being The Metro Westside Extension has been an developed as a separate project. integral element of local, regional, and federal transportation planning since the early 1980s. In October 2005, at the request of Metro and Extending westward from the Los Angeles Cen- the City of Los Angeles, the American Public tral Business District (CBD), the Westside Exten- Transportation Association (APTA) organized sion has been the subject of in-depth technical a Peer Review Panel of experts to reconsider studies and extensive community involvement the feasibility of tunneling along the federally during this period. Ultimately, the transit invest- precluded Wilshire Boulevard segment of the ment has been envisioned to extend toward Westside Corridor. As a result of this review Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood (UCLA), (which concluded that tunnels can be safely con- West Los Angeles, and Santa Monica. structed and operated in the Wilshire Boulevard corridor), legislation was approved in Congress In the early 1990s, plans were underway to repealing the federal prohibition on subway con- extend the Metro Red Line to the west. Con- struction along Wilshire Boulevard in December struction was already underway on the Metro 2007. Red Line from Union Station to Westlake/Mac- Arthur Park, to Wilshire/Western Station, and In July 2006, the Metro Board of Directors to Hollywood/Vine Station. The new planning authorized an Alternatives Analysis (AA) Study effort to avoid the federally prohibited methane for all reasonable fixed-guideway transit alterna- gas hazard zone—a zone that was designated tives, including the previously excluded subway in 1985 after naturally occurring methane gas alternatives, for the portion of the Westside Cor- caused a fire in the Fairfax District—examined ridor north of the Exposition Corridor. An Early options detouring south of Wilshire Boulevard. Scoping Notice to start the AA Study was issued The planning for a subway in this corridor was by Metro and the Federal Transit Administration later suspended in 1998 due to a lack of funding, (FTA) on October 1, 2007. including a ballot initiative that prohibited local funds from being used for subway construc- Alternatives Analysis Study Purpose tion. Planning began on the development of An Alternatives Analysis is the first step in the the Exposition Line and a Westside Bus Rapid FTA's New Starts Project Planning and Develop- Transit system instead. A Wilshire Bus Lane ment process. The purpose of an AA Study is to Demonstration Project operated successfully for focus on a specific transportation need (or set of needs) in a given corridor, identify alterna- ented and includes portions of five jurisdictions: tive actions to address these needs, and gener- the Cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Bev- ate the information needed to select a preferred erly Hills, and Santa Monica, as well as portions project for implementation, or a smaller set of of unincorporated Los Angeles County near the viable alternatives for further study. During the West L.A. Veteran’s Administration Hospital. As AA process, a wide range of alternatives were illustrated in Figure S-1, the boundaries of the identified and evaluated; the alternatives were Study Area generally extend north to the base of screened against established criteria; and the the Santa Monica Mountains along Hollywood, most promising alternative(s) will be recom- Sunset, and San Vicente Boulevards, east to the mended for further evaluation in the next phase Metro Rail stations at Hollywood/Highland and of the New Starts process. An AA typically Wilshire/Western, south to Pico Boulevard, and addresses such issues as costs, benefits, environ- west to the Pacific Ocean. mental and community impacts, and financial feasibility. Figure S-1 also illustrates the more than 17 different alignments that were considered in Alternatives Analysis the AA Study for several transit modes. After a Study Recommendations multi-step evaluative process—which screened The AA evaluated a universe of alternatives the alternatives against a wide range of crite- within the Westside Extension Transit Corridor ria—the universe of alternatives was reduced (Figure S-1). The Westside Extension Transit to a set of the five most promising alternatives. Corridor Study Area is in western Los Angeles This set of five alternatives was then evaluated County and encompasses approximately 38 on a more detailed level and further reduced square miles. The Study Area is east-west ori- to the two alternatives—Alternatives 1 and Universe of Alignments To Universal City Station Potential Station Locations Hollywood/ Hollywood/ Hollywood/ Highland Vine Western Metro Rail & Station HOLLYWOOD BL Expo Line Phase 1 Vermont/ (under construction) SUNSET HOLLYWOOD Sunset Expo Line Phase 2 WEST HOLLYWOOD Options (under study) 2 Vermont/ Crenshaw-Prairie SANTA MONICA BL Santa Monica Corridor Options (under study) SUNSET Other Crenshaw- Prairie Connections BEVERLY LA BREA VINE WESTERN FAIRFAX VERMONT HIGHLAND (further study) HILLS BEVERLY DR SAN DIEGODIEG FWY 2 Vermont/ Subject to Change 08-1386 ©2007 LACMTA BEVERLY Beverly EG SAN VICENTE GO FW O UCLA HANCOCK WINDSOR Universe of Alignments PARK MIRACLE SQUARE Wilshire/ ROSSMORE WILSHIRE Wilshire/ 405 WILSHIRE MILE Western CENTER Vermont WESTWOOD WILSHIRE SUNSET Veteran’s Administration OLYMPIC WESTWOOD Wilshire/ OLYMPIC Normandie PICOPICO SANTACENTURY MONICA BL KOREATOWN CITY BEVERLY DR BEVERLY LA CIENEGA FAIRFAX PICO CRENSHAW BL WEST MID-CITY VENICE BL BL LOS ANGELES WAWASHINGTONSHINGTON B L BL BUNDY WILSHIRE SANTA MONICA 10 SANTA MONICA FWY 10 Washington/ OLYMPIC SANTA MONICA BL National La Cienega SANTA MONICA FWY La Brea LINCOLN SAN DIEGO FWY Crenshaw JEFFERSONJEFFERSON Western Vermont EXPOSITIONEXPOSITION PICO USC/ 405 VENICE BL BL Exposition CULVER CITY Park Figure S-1 Westside Extension Study Area Universe of Alternatives S-2 SUMMARY—Westside Extension Transit Corridor Study 11—that are being recommended for further Westside Extension Study Corridor environmental review in the next phase of the and Metro System Connections New Starts process. The proposed Westside Extension would com- plement and extend the existing Metro transit Wilshire Boulevard Alignment Heavy Rail system (Figure S-4). Since 1990, Metro has con- Transit (HRT) Subway (Alternative 1)—Extends structed a regional fixed-guideway transit sys- from the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Western tem that consists of HRT, light rail transit (LRT), Station to 4th Street and Wilshire Boulevard in bus rapid transit (BRT), and commuter rail. This Santa Monica underground with 10 stations and system currently includes more than 73 miles 1 optional station (Figure S-2). of Metro Rail (HRT and LRT) service and 14 miles of BRT service. In addition, the Southern Wilshire/Santa Monica Boulevards Combined California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) HRT Subway (Alternative 11)—Includes the has opened more than 500 miles of Metrolink full Wilshire Boulevard HRT Subway and adds commuter rail lines serving five counties. a second line extending west from the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Highland Station via The existing fixed-guideway transit service in Santa Monica Boulevard to join the Wilshire the region is complemented by the transit corri- Line in Beverly Hills. The total combined line dors currently under study, including: Westside, is 17 miles long and includes 14 stations and 1 Canoga BRT, Crenshaw, Regional Connector, optional station (Figure S-3). Gold Line Eastside Phase 2, and Mid-City/Expo- sition Phase 2. The Westside Extension Study Corridor would provide direct connections from the Westside of the County to all of the elements HRT (Subway) Hollywood/ Hollywood/ Hollywood/ Proposed Station Locations Highland Vine Western HOLLYWOOD BL Alternative Sites for Single Station Vermont/ SUNSET Sunset Single Alignment to be HOLLYWOOD Selected WEST HOLLYWOOD Vermont/ Optional Station Locations 2 SANTA MONICA BL Santa Monica Metro Rail & Station SUNSET Expo Line Phase 1 (under construction) BEVERLY LA BREA VINE WESTERN FAIRFAX VERMONT HIGHLAND Expo Line Phase 2 HILLS Options (under study) BEVERLY DR SAN DIEGO FWY 2 Vermont/ Crenshaw-Prairie Beverly Corridor Options BEVERLY (under study) R SAN VICENTE UCLAU HANCOCK WINDSOR Wilshire/Beverly Other Crenshaw- Wilshire/La PARK SQUARE Prairie Connections Westwood/UCLA Cienega MIRACLE (further study) ROSSMORE WILSHIRE Wilshire/ 405 WILSHIRE MILE Wilshire/Crenshaw CENTER Vermont Subject to Change 08-1386 ©2007 LACMTA WESTWOODWESTW TWOODW D WILSHIRE SUNSET Wilshire/Fairfax Veteran’sranra ’s AdministrationAdAdmidmiinistration Wilshire/La Brea Alternative 1 ICA BL OLYMPIC WESTWOOD Wilshire/ Wilshire/ Century City OLYMPIC Western Normandie PICOPICO SANTACENTURY MONICAURURYRY BLY KOREATOWN CITYCITTYY BEVERLY DR BEVERLY LA CIENEGA FAIRFAX PICO Wilshire/Bundy CRENSHAW BL WEST MID-CITY VENICE BL BL LOS ANGELES WAWASHINGTONSHINGTONBL BL BUNDY WILSHIRE Wilshire/26th SANTA MONICA 10 SANTA MONICA FWY 10 Washington/ OLYMPIC SANTA MONICA BL National LINCOLN La Cienega SANTA MONICA FWY La Brea Wilshire/16th SAN DIEGO FWY Crenshaw JEFFERSONJEFFERSON Western Vermont EXPOSITIONEXPOSITION PICO Wilshire/4th USC/ 405 VENICE BL BL Exposition CULVER CITY Park Figure S-2 Alternative 1 Alternatives Analysis Report S-3 HRT (Subway) Hollywood/ Hollywood/ Hollywood/