Post by JerardWright on May 23, 2008 19:42:55 GMT -8
LA Downtown NEWS
Transit Project Inches Forward
Downtown Regional Connector Down to Two Options
by Anna Scott
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has narrowed down plans for its proposed Downtown Regional Connector to two options - a mostly street-level light rail line, or a subway.
Both alternatives would fill the approximately two-mile public transportation gap between the Financial District and Little Tokyo on the east side of Downtown, and link four light-rail lines that will eventually traverse the community to create more direct routes throughout L.A.
The street-level option is estimated at approximately $650 million, while the subway could cost $800 million or more.
While the project could take a decade to come to fruition, plans are slowly moving forward. Metro in recent weeks presented details on the options to community groups, including the Little Tokyo Community Council last Tuesday.
Officials said they chose the two preferred routes based on public input and an analysis of ridership potential within Downtown Los Angeles.
"The idea was to locate the stations where we can maximize service to potential riders, where people are concentrated and where we have proposals" for new development, said Diego Cardoso, an executive officer with Metro (and a City Planning commissioner).
The Missing Link
The Downtown Regional Connector would link the Gold Line, which connects Pasadena to Union Station; the upcoming Gold Line Eastside Extension, which will continue the route through East L.A., with completion expected next year; the Blue Line, which runs between Long Beach and a station at Seventh and Flower streets; and the future Expo Line, which will also feature a stop at Seventh and Flower before stretching west to Culver City.
Metro officials began studying various alignments, station locations and transit options for the Downtown Connector last year. After a series of meetings, they narrowed it down to the light-rail and subway lines.
Both options would start at the existing terminus of the Blue Line, the Seventh Street/Metro Center station, then continue north along Flower Street, cutting east at Second Street to meet the Gold Line in Little Tokyo.
The street-level option would emerge at Flower and Fourth streets, dip back underground after crossing Third Street and, after heading east, re-emerge at Second Street and Grand Avenue and continue into what is now the Second Street tunnel. The tracks would veer north on Main Street to Temple Street, then continue east to Little Tokyo. A southbound route along Los Angeles Street would also link Temple and Second streets.
Metro planning manager Peter Voorhees said the Connector would require turning the Second Street tunnel into a one-lane, one-way crossing.
The subway option would travel underground up Flower Street and below Second, continuing into Little Tokyo.
Both options would include a street-level, diagonal crossing at First and Alameda streets. Renderings of potential designs for that crossing include an underpass for traffic on Alameda Street. Metro planners say they have also considered elevated sidewalks there for pedestrians.
Up or Down
The Alameda and First crossing would traverse a key intersection, surrounded by the Japanese American National Museum, the Savoy apartment complex and the site of a proposed mixed-use development.
If Metro chooses the underground option, the agency would have to purchase a block at First and Alameda that currently houses an Office Depot to accommodate a subway portal. The agency might open up the rest of the parcel to mixed-use development, said Voorhees.
Robert Volk, who owns the north end of that block, which houses eateries the Weiland Brewery and Senor Fish, said he prefers the at-grade option in order to keep his own property intact and for its lower cost.
Downtown resident Jerard Wright, a construction manager and architect-designer who does not own a car, favors the underground option. "It simplifies things for the Metro system and our regular light-rail network," he said, and would more easily connect to Metro's proposed Subway to the Sea if that project comes to fruition.
Downtown resident Eric Richardson, who has written extensively about the Downtown Connector on his blogdowntown.com, prefers the subway based on how it would affect the neighborhood on a street level. "The impact on overall circulation that you would have by running a train on the surface through the Historic Core and the Civic Center would be a long-term detriment for Downtown," he said.
Metro officials plan to finalize their report on preferred routing options for the Downtown Connector this summer, and will seek approval from the Metro board to move forward with the project in September.
If Metro approves continuing the study, officials can begin analyzing environmental impacts, which could take two to three years. They would also start looking for funding at that point.
Completion is likely seven to 10 years away.
Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
page 10, 5/26/2008
Transit Project Inches Forward
Downtown Regional Connector Down to Two Options
by Anna Scott
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has narrowed down plans for its proposed Downtown Regional Connector to two options - a mostly street-level light rail line, or a subway.
Both alternatives would fill the approximately two-mile public transportation gap between the Financial District and Little Tokyo on the east side of Downtown, and link four light-rail lines that will eventually traverse the community to create more direct routes throughout L.A.
The street-level option is estimated at approximately $650 million, while the subway could cost $800 million or more.
While the project could take a decade to come to fruition, plans are slowly moving forward. Metro in recent weeks presented details on the options to community groups, including the Little Tokyo Community Council last Tuesday.
Officials said they chose the two preferred routes based on public input and an analysis of ridership potential within Downtown Los Angeles.
"The idea was to locate the stations where we can maximize service to potential riders, where people are concentrated and where we have proposals" for new development, said Diego Cardoso, an executive officer with Metro (and a City Planning commissioner).
The Missing Link
The Downtown Regional Connector would link the Gold Line, which connects Pasadena to Union Station; the upcoming Gold Line Eastside Extension, which will continue the route through East L.A., with completion expected next year; the Blue Line, which runs between Long Beach and a station at Seventh and Flower streets; and the future Expo Line, which will also feature a stop at Seventh and Flower before stretching west to Culver City.
Metro officials began studying various alignments, station locations and transit options for the Downtown Connector last year. After a series of meetings, they narrowed it down to the light-rail and subway lines.
Both options would start at the existing terminus of the Blue Line, the Seventh Street/Metro Center station, then continue north along Flower Street, cutting east at Second Street to meet the Gold Line in Little Tokyo.
The street-level option would emerge at Flower and Fourth streets, dip back underground after crossing Third Street and, after heading east, re-emerge at Second Street and Grand Avenue and continue into what is now the Second Street tunnel. The tracks would veer north on Main Street to Temple Street, then continue east to Little Tokyo. A southbound route along Los Angeles Street would also link Temple and Second streets.
Metro planning manager Peter Voorhees said the Connector would require turning the Second Street tunnel into a one-lane, one-way crossing.
The subway option would travel underground up Flower Street and below Second, continuing into Little Tokyo.
Both options would include a street-level, diagonal crossing at First and Alameda streets. Renderings of potential designs for that crossing include an underpass for traffic on Alameda Street. Metro planners say they have also considered elevated sidewalks there for pedestrians.
Up or Down
The Alameda and First crossing would traverse a key intersection, surrounded by the Japanese American National Museum, the Savoy apartment complex and the site of a proposed mixed-use development.
If Metro chooses the underground option, the agency would have to purchase a block at First and Alameda that currently houses an Office Depot to accommodate a subway portal. The agency might open up the rest of the parcel to mixed-use development, said Voorhees.
Robert Volk, who owns the north end of that block, which houses eateries the Weiland Brewery and Senor Fish, said he prefers the at-grade option in order to keep his own property intact and for its lower cost.
Downtown resident Jerard Wright, a construction manager and architect-designer who does not own a car, favors the underground option. "It simplifies things for the Metro system and our regular light-rail network," he said, and would more easily connect to Metro's proposed Subway to the Sea if that project comes to fruition.
Downtown resident Eric Richardson, who has written extensively about the Downtown Connector on his blogdowntown.com, prefers the subway based on how it would affect the neighborhood on a street level. "The impact on overall circulation that you would have by running a train on the surface through the Historic Core and the Civic Center would be a long-term detriment for Downtown," he said.
Metro officials plan to finalize their report on preferred routing options for the Downtown Connector this summer, and will seek approval from the Metro board to move forward with the project in September.
If Metro approves continuing the study, officials can begin analyzing environmental impacts, which could take two to three years. They would also start looking for funding at that point.
Completion is likely seven to 10 years away.
Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
page 10, 5/26/2008