access metro: volume 1 green line station september 2007 access plans LACMTA ©2007 tr 08-0471 ACCESS METRO: VOLUME 1 GREEN LINE STATION ACCESS PLANS HAWTHORNE STATION CRENSHAW STATION VERMONT STATION AVALON STATION Prepared by: Los Angeles County Odyssey Metropolitan Transportation 901 F Street, Suite 210 Authority (Metro) Sacramento, CA 95814 One Gateway Plaza (916) 448-1687 Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952 (213) 922-7241 www.odyssey.org www.metro.net September 2007 Acknowledgements Metro would like to thank the following for their assistance and input into this project: Project Team Kathleen McCune, Transportation Planning Manager, Metro South Bay Area Planning Team Sharon Sprowls, Interim Executive Director, Odyssey Lauren Cencic, Project Associate, Odyssey Carlos Morales, Project Associate, Odyssey Community organizations that contributed to the station plan findings and recommendations and provided significant support to the walkability workshops and bicycle audit: City Lites Harbor Gateway Neighborhood Council Lennox Coordinating Council Lennox Middle School Moffett Elementary School Other Contributors: Scott Greene, Transportation Planning Manager, Metro South Bay Lynne Goldsmith, Transportation Planning Manager and Bicycle Program Coordinator, Metro Michelle Mowery, Sr. Project Coordinator – Bicycle Program, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation City of Inglewood Public Works Department 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 Metro Green Line – Hawthorne Station 8 Existing Conditions 9 Recommendations for Access Improvements 26 Metro Green Line – Crenshaw Station 28 Existing Conditions 29 Recommendations for Access Improvements 47 Metro Green Line – Vermont Station 49 Existing Conditions 50 Recommendations for Access Improvements 66 Metro Green Line – Avalon Station 68 Existing Conditions 69 Recommendations for Access Improvements 83 Appendix A: Related Bicycle Codes Appendix B: Community Resource List 3 Introduction In 2005, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) collaborated with Odyssey, a statewide nonprofit focused on transportation issues, to submit an application to Caltrans for a Community-Based Planning Grant. The proposed grant project was to assess and recommend physical infrastructure and safety improvements to increase walking and bicycling to four selected Metro Green Line stations located in low-income neighborhoods in the South Bay. The application was selected by Caltrans for funding, and in 2006 Metro and Odyssey began the project. The focus of the project was to make transit a more attractive and safe option for lower income residents by providing recommendations to improve the walking and bicycling conditions within a half-mile of the Metro Green Line rail stations. The Hawthorne, Crenshaw, Vermont, and Avalon stations were selected for the project because of their ridership and proximity to residential neighborhoods. These stations are also major bus transit hubs for Metro and other transit providers. The project resulted in the four station plans that follow. Completed in August 2007, these plans represent an effort by Metro to reach out to affected communities and address access to its Metro Green Line stations and conditions in the neighborhoods that surround them. Project Methodology Odyssey and Metro undertook a series of steps to develop the four station plans and recommendations: 1. Learning the Area. Extensive site visits were conducted to become familiar with the stations, surrounding neighborhoods, major nearby destinations, agencies and community resources in each neighborhood. Project staff also phoned and met with community organizations and leaders to learn more about the area and the issues facing those residing in the neighborhoods around the station area. 2. Mapping. Maps were developed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to understand in more detail the population, demographics, governmental jurisdictions, and school attendance boundaries within a half-mile of each station area. 3. Frequency Counts. Frequency counts were conducted during peak morning and afternoon commute hours to document the frequency with which riders walk and bike to/from the four Metro Green Line stations to use light rail or bus transportation. 4 4. Intercept Interviews. Staff conducted over 175 intercept interviews with people walking or biking to/from the stations. The interviews provided information regarding pedestrians’ and cyclists’ routes to/from each station and impediments to accessing each station area, including conditions of streets, sidewalks, intersections, crossings, park-and-ride lots, traffic, safety, etc. 5. Walk Audits. To expand on these findings, the project team conducted numerous walk audits with parent and community groups at the stations and in surrounding neighborhoods within a quarter mile of the stations. Participants in walk audits examined station areas for pedestrian conditions, identifying concerns and suggesting solutions. 6. Bicycle Audit. Working with two community-based bicycling organizations, the project team also conducted a bike audit. Cyclists participating in the audit evaluated the bicycling conditions on various roadways in the station areas, identifying street conditions and suggestions for improvement. 7. Draft Plans. Based on the site visits, walk and bike audits and intercept interviews, the project team prepared a draft plan for each station area, highlighting key impediments to bicycle and pedestrian access and providing a series of recommendations for coordination, planning and physical improvements to enhance walking and biking conditions in each station area. 8. Feedback on Plans. The plans were circulated to community leaders, local governments, community groups, and participants in the audits, interviews and surveys, for additional comment and feedback before being finalized. General Station Plan Findings In the course of the project, Odyssey and Metro found numerous factors common to the station areas and surrounding neighborhoods: • People do walk and bike in these areas, including parents with small children. • Bicyclists and pedestrians tended to use the busier north-south corridors to reach the station areas, rather than walking or biking on side streets. • Most cyclists were men, and most did not use helmets. • A majority of the cyclists tended to ride on the sidewalks, so they encountered similar issues to those facing pedestrians. (Jurisdictions vary on whether they allow cyclists to ride on the sidewalk: the City of Hawthorne permits it, the City of Inglewood and the County of Los Angeles do not, and the City of Los Angeles expects cyclists to travel in the same direction as vehicles, whether on the street or sidewalk.) • There is a need for bike lanes that lead to all the stations in both the east-west and north- south directions. • Major east-west corridors carry more traffic but are often easier to bicycle than local residential streets with narrower lanes. It is important to clean debris from gutters on key access streets to stations to facilitate bicycle use. 5 • Few cyclists parked their bikes in bicycle racks at the stations. Most took their bikes on the Metro Green Line or the bus. • People voiced many concerns with safety, trash, lack of amenities, and blight in station platform and bus stop areas, Park-and-Ride lots, and surrounding streets. • Due to their locations in the middle of the I-105 Freeway, all four station platforms have an extremely high noise level from freeway traffic, making it uncomfortable for passengers waiting for light rail trains. The Hawthorne and Vermont station entrances and bus stops at street level also have uncomfortably high noise levels due to both freeway and street traffic. Although less pronounced, the Crenshaw and Avalon station entrances underneath the I-105 freeway also have noise levels above comfortable levels. • Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires sidewalks to be a minimum of three (3) feet, sidewalks in many areas have barriers, such as telephone and utility poles, that decrease the usable sidewalk width to under two (2) feet and make passage difficult, especially for those with strollers, wheelchairs, or bicycles. • A significant number of sidewalks had broken or uneven surfaces, or were discontinuous due to sections without concrete. • Pedestrian signals at many of the intersections had unreasonably long wait times before turning green, slowing pedestrian and bike trips. • Many pedestrian signals had short crossing times before turning red, making it difficult for pedestrians, especially seniors and those with mobility impairments or young children, to cross the street during the walk cycle. • Curbs at a number of key intersections and pedestrian refuges near station areas did not have access ramps for those with wheelchairs, bicycles, strollers, or mobility impairments. • The Hawthorne and Crenshaw Metro Green Line stations are bordered by numerous I-105 Freeway on-and off-ramps that pose safety concerns for pedestrian and bike travel to and from the stations. • There are a number of public schools within a few blocks of the Hawthorne and Vermont stations that face issues with “safe routes to school.” Partnerships with schools could improve walking and biking conditions for both school families and transit users. • There is little nearby street signage directing people to the various Metro Green Line stations. • More enforcement in the station areas, especially nearby schools, could help prevent speeding, U-turns and other