Eyes on the Street: Santa Monica Bergamot Station First/Last Mile Construction

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It is very much still a construction site, but there’s a lot of progress visible on Santa Monica’s new first/last mile connections to the Metro E Line 26th Street/Bergamot Station.

Bergamot Station has typically seen about a thousand daily boardings, which puts it among the bottom three E Line Stations west of downtown Los Angeles. The station is located in a formerly industrial area, where several streets lack sidewalks. Today the station area is home to art galleries and office parks (including at one large site where Nimbys rejected a proposed mixed-use transit village), but little housing within easy walk distance.

The city’s first/last mile project planning focused on facilities to support safe biking and walking within about a mile of the Metro Station. The main project components improve bikeability on 26th Street and Stewart Street, and add sidewalks where they were/are missing on Olympic Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue. See the city’s project website for a full listing of project components, and construction alerts.

Map of Santa Monica Bergamot Station area walk/bike improvements

Streetsblog took photos of the area yesterday.

First up, the most completed part of the project: newly curb-protected bike lanes on 26th Street from Broadway to Olympic Boulevard (at the Metro station). Santa Monica added concrete curb protection, similar to the city’s award-winning first/last mile 17th Street bikeway.

Curb-protected bike lanes on 26th Street are open and in use. They feature low concrete curbs and green lane markings in conflict zones, mostly driveways.

26th Street protected bike lanes connect to the Metro E Line 26th/Bergamot Station

Santa Monica added this missing crosswalk (including curb ramps, pedestrian signals, etc.) across Olympic Boulevard at 26th Street

The city is currently installing sidewalks on the north side of Olympic, including eliminating a dangerous slip lane directly across the street from the Metro station.

Before: no sidewalks along the north side of Olympic Boulevard in 2021 via Google Street View

Today: sidewalks nearing completion along Olympic Boulevard. The city will also add/replace trees and lighting on this stretch.

Before: slip lane at the northeast corner of 26th Street and Olympic Boulevard across the street from 26th Street Station. 2021 photo via Google Street View

Today slip lane removal construction nears completion at 26th/Olympic

Construction is not as far along at the east side of the project – along Stewart Street.

New concrete bus island on southbound Stewart Street near Pennsylvania Avenue. (South of this location, the project includes protected bike lanes on Stewart extending to Kansas Avenue, though construction does not appear to be underway on that stretch.)

New concrete bus island on northbound Stewart

New bike lane protection island under construction at Stewart near Colorado

More concrete-protected bikeway on Stewart at Colorado

Construction getting underway at Colorado Avenue and Yale Street, the northeast end of the first/last mile upgrades. Here cyclists can connect to the north/south bike lanes on Yale.

The project will also include new sidewalks, trees, and lighting on Pennsylvania Avenue, where construction does not appear to be underway yet.

Two blocks from the 28th/Bergamot Station, Pennsylvania Avenue currently lacks sidewalks. Santa Monica will add sidewalks, trees, and lighting there.

See also earlier Streetsblog/Santa Monica Next posts on the city’s project plan and construction underway in October 2024.

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