SCAG Studying Green Line Across Norwalk, Meeting Wednesday

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Metro and the cities of Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs are just starting to study a future light rail connection extending the Metro Green Line three miles east to the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink Station. The second of two community meetings takes place this Wednesday night in Norwalk. Meeting details are below.

Before the Green Line opened in 1994, the city of Norwalk studied this potential Green Line extension. It was not built at the time because of "funding difficulties, potential construction complications and opposition from Norwalk neighborhoods" according to a January, 2016, L.A. Times article.

The two stations are at either end of the city of Norwalk, but the distance between them is not far. It is a 3-mile, 20-minute bike ride straight down Imperial Highway to get between the sites.

Though there are several rail right-of-ways crisscrossing Norwalk, none of them are useful for making a direct east-west connection. The area, more defined by several freeways that crisscross it, is relatively car-oriented suburban development.

The future extension would likely serve the Norwalk Civic Center, which is also the seat of several county functions. The extension is not just about Norwalk, but more about connecting with the broader rail networks: Metrolink, Amtrak, and future High-Speed Rail. Note that Amtrak does not currently stop at Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs, but that service could be restored in the future. Due to these rail connections, the Green Line extension has support in places like Orange County (noted by the Times), which would get relatively direct and convenient rail access to LAX and West Los Angeles.

The "Green Line Eastern Extension (Norwalk)" is funded in Measure M [PDF] with $200 million programmed for a 2052 completion date. The $200 million (in 2015 dollars) is expected to be matched by other funds for a $770 million total project cost.

Streetsblog L.A. attended last Saturday's community meeting on the project. The format is open house, with no group presentation. The study is just getting underway, and proponents appear to be a bit gun-shy from the 1990s neighborhood opposition, so there is not much to see just yet. Presentation boards merely show examples of at-grade, elevated, and subway options, without any design or alignment specifically pertaining to Norwalk. Nonetheless, it is important that livability proponents show up to these early meetings to weigh in via public comment.

Meeting details: Wednesday, January 11 - SCAG, Metro, Norwalk, and Santa Fe Springs seek input on alternatives for extending the Metro Green Line east from the Norwalk Station to connect to the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink Station. The meeting is 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sproul Reception Center at 12239 Sproul Street in Norwalk. Details at SCAG website and on flier [PDF]. Additional details are available by calling or emailing SCAG at (213)236-1897 or or norwalkgreenline[at]scag.ca.gov