Piggybacking off of earlier work by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is exploring new alignments for a proposed light rail line which would shuttle passengers between Downtown Los Angeles and Artesia. The West Santa Ana Branch (WSAB), one of 12 projects funded by the Measure R half-cent sales tax, has a scheduled revenue operation date of 2027. The prior alternatives analysis conducted by SCAG explored numerous transportation modes for the 34-mile corridor, ranging from the practical-but-unexciting (bus rapid transit) to the overly-expensive-and-unrealistic (low-speed maglev). Citing the long distance and high potential ridership along the WSAB, SCAG recommended light rail as the preferred mode and proposed two potential routes, both of which rougly paralleled the Los Angeles River. Metro, after receiving feedback from stakeholder cities and organizations, has expanded upon those options with four additional alignments. SCAG Alternatives
Pacific Boulevard Corridor Options
Metro Blue Line/Alameda Street Corridor Options
Northern Terminus
Although Union Station would be the logical northern terminus for the WSAB, a series of capital improvements planned for the historic station pose difficulties for implementation of a new rail line. Specifically, upgrades included in the Union Station Master Plan (USMP), California High Speed Rail and the Southern California Interconnector Project (SCRIP) restrict the potential locations for a new light rail platform. Metro has identified two locations for the proposed WSAB station:
New Stations
With new potential alignments also come new potential stations. In addition to previous options studied by SCAG, Metro staff have identified the following locations: Additionally, after consulting with the City of Huntington Park, Metro has put forth alternate station sites to those proposed by the SCAG study:
New Green Line Station
To facilitate transfers between the WSAB and the Metro Green Line, which is located in the median of the I-105 freeway, a new transfer station would be constructed midway between existing stations at Lakewood and Long Beach Boulevards. Southern Terminus In a surprising move, the City of Cerritos requested that a proposed station on Bloomfield Avenue be dropped from consideration in future studies of the WSAB. Thus, the rail line’s southern terminus would instead be located a short distance west on Pioneer Boulevard in the City of Artesia. A concept sketch of the station site identifies two adjacent properties which could serve as a future transit-oriented development and a park-and-ride facility. Ridership Estimated ridership by the year 2040 for each of the alignments under study are as follows: One key factor affecting the ridership forescasts for the alignment alternatives is their ability to connect to Union Station. Los Angeles Union Station, as a hub for Metro rail, Metro buses, municipal bus operators, Metrolink and Amtrak, boosted the ridership potential of connecting alignments by as much as 30%. The West Bank 3 option, which would terminate south of Union Station, suffers from lower ridership potential as a result of this shortcoming. Another important connection for the WSAB is the future Regional Connector station in Little Tokyo. The upcoming subway station, located at the intersection of 1st Street and Central Avenue, will offer one-seat rides to Pasadena, Long Beach, East Los Angeles and Santa Monica when completed in 2020. Accordingly, a WSAB station at 1st/Central boosts potential ridership by 14% and new transit trips by 8%. A direct connection to the Metro Blue Line also served as a boon to ridership potential for the WSAB alternatives. Notably, the WSAB would provide Blue Line passengers with a more direct route to Union Station. The WSAB alignments would all provide a near straight-shot north to Union Station, with an approximate travel time of 9 minutes. The same trip on the meandering Blue Line - which will travel through South Park, the Financial District, Bunker Hill and Little Tokyo - would take approximately 22 minutes. Findings Cost estimates for the six alignment alternatives are as follows: After further consideration, Metro staff has recommended that the East Bank and West Bank 3 atlernatives be dropped from consideration due to significant drawbacks. This includes right-of-way constraints along the East Bank, and the inability of the West Bank 3 option to connect to Union Station. The four new alternatives, which would travel along Pacific Boulevard and Alameda Street, are recommended to continue forward. However, they also present challenges, including concerns from the cities of Vernon and Huntington Park about impacts to freight truck traffic and the need to widen the Metro Blue Line right-of-way. Other Issues Like any modern rail project in a highly urbanized setting, soil conditions, utility relocation and the bureacratic maze will provide myriad obstacles for the WSAB moving forward. Additionally, the grade separation planned for the WSAB poses several challenges. A new rail viaduct from Union Station over the 101 freeway will require the approval of Caltrans, while similar aerial structures along the proposed routes will need sign-offs from organizations such as the Union Pacific Railroad, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and the twin Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Property acquisition may be necessary to widen the right-of-way in certain areas and to establish a maintenance facility for light rail vehicles. As several sections of the WSAB may run below street level, construction of the rail line could impact nearby buildings.