In this special episode of SGV Connect, your hosts Streetsblog SGV Reporter Chris Greenspon and Streetsblog Editor Joe Linton take listeners on a tour of the newly opened Metro A Line (formerly Foothill Gold Line) extension.
The trip begins at the new Glendora Station, where we walked to Finkbiner Park. From there, we go east to San Dimas for lunch at the cozy Rail Side Café.
Then in La Verne, we take in Bonita Avenue's elaborate Halloween decorations. Try to see these for yourself before they're gone (photos below) or, if you want, come back in December for elaborate Christmas decorations.
The journey concludes in Pomona at the Pomona North, for now the end of the line, where commuter rail and light rail make for a key working-class transit hub.
Along the way, we reflect on walkability, local character, and how to enjoy this side of the SGV without a car. Plus more recommendations in each town.
SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays!
Chris Greenspon:
Welcome to SGV Connect episode 143. I’m Chris Greenspon. Damien Newton has the day off for this episode because it’s a special tour of the Metro A Line extension with our editor, Joe Linton, and me. We want to keep the spotlight on this new part of the light rail system in the 626.
But first, a reminder that SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new A Line stations across the foothills and commuter express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. Foothill Transit—going good places.
Now, of course, the Foothill A Line connects SGV residents in the foothills to Pasadena, downtown L.A., and Long Beach. But did you know you can also ride it east? To give you a feel for what you can get up to in the area, we took a ride on the train and got out at each stop to explore and talk about what there is to see and do.
Joe Linton:
My name is Joe Linton. I’m the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles. I’m here with—
Chris Greenspon:
Chris Greenspon, reporter for the San Gabriel Valley region, SGV Connect.
Joe Linton:
We’re here at the brand-new Glendora Metro A Line Station. It’s one of four new stations. Today we’re going to take a sampling tour of the four new stops on the A Line—the former Gold Line, or Foothill Gold Line as they called it—and see what you can walk to near the stations, what’s interesting about each one, and get a sense of what you can expect when you ride the new train.
Chris Greenspon:
Glendora, of course, is known for The Donut Man with its seasonal strawberry and peach donuts. But there’s also The Hat’s classic pastrami and JPM Comics, all within a short bike ride of the train.
We walked past downtown Glendora’s charming gumdrop trees and historic houses to reach the real center of Glendora life—Finkbiner Park. It’s a nice green space with volleyball, a skate park, pickleball courts, basketball, and a band shell. But remember, it’s Finkbiner, not Finkbinder.
Joe Linton:
Okay, Finkbiner Park—it’s not a hop, skip, and a jump from the Metro station, but it’s what, a 15- or 20-minute walk? Not bad. There was probably a more direct route. It’s one of those things with transit—I tell people, “Oh, I like this restaurant or this park,” and it’s not like I’d drive across town to get there, but because it’s within a few blocks of a Metro stop, it’s easy for me to go. It’s easy to take my daughter there. It’s not always the most incredible destination, but it’s close and pleasant.
Chris Greenspon:
That was a big reason why I started reporting on the San Gabriel Valley in the first place—even before anyone was paying me—because it’s nice that there are regular, local places to go, things to do, and people to see. It’s not like going to Griffith Park where you’ll see 400 tourists from Norway getting off a bus. You can actually have some breathing room here and hear yourself think.
Speaking of journeys that aren’t just about the destination, next we headed to San Dimas Station. Get off in San Dimas if you’re looking for trails or a bigger regional park like Bonelli. Check out the Antonovich Trail leading into San Dimas Canyon and Cataract Falls—a great place to watch the sunset.
This wilderness between freeways must have inspired the carved walking stick art back up at the Metro station. These wildlife pieces are great—I like the salamander back there and the skunk right here.
Our stop included a one-block hike for lunch at Railside Café, right beside the San Dimas Metro Station, where we even had train-shaped breakfasts—just kidding.
Joe Linton:
It was yummy. I’m a sucker for muffins and gravy, whatever—it scratched a certain itch. Not something I should eat every day, but very good, and it’s just a block south of the San Dimas Station.
Chris Greenspon:
Yeah, with ample patio seating.
Moving on—with Halloween on the rise, we took to Old Town La Verne. Every October, the million-dollar homes on both sides of Old Town get decked out with awesome Halloween decorations. On All Hallows’ Eve, Bonita Avenue is partially closed to vehicles, and trick-or-treating begins around 5:30 p.m. There are also some great restaurants there if you want something besides candy afterward.
Joe Linton:
This one’s got stuffed animals, blood-splattered sheets, and a sign saying “Free Horror Show.” It’s been taped over and rewritten—it’s kind of awesome.
Chris Greenspon:
Yeah, I don’t even know what game this is supposed to be—maybe you’re supposed to throw baseballs at dolls or something?
Joe Linton:
Creepy—not just dolls, but creepy dolls, like the kind that might inhabit your nightmares.
Chris Greenspon:
This is the pièce de résistance—the Jaws-themed house with five screaming sharks coming out of the grass.
Joe Linton:
Life-size—what, seven or eight feet tall? Sharks with mouths open, sharp teeth, severed limbs in the mouths. So how does it look at night?
Chris Greenspon:
It looks great at night. See our pictures at la.streetsblog.org on the post for this episode. And while you’re there, click the link to read about the pedestrian bridge that the City of La Verne is building over Arrow Highway to connect the Metro station to the Fairplex.
Now, back on the train. This is your Metro. Let’s keep it clean.
Chris Greenspon:
Pomona is the end of the line for now. For that reason, it’s by far the most-used of the new stations, and it has great art paying tribute to everyday Pomonans—but it feels like something’s missing.
Joe Linton:
We’re not in the heart of Pomona. The station is called North Pomona. Downtown Pomona has the museums, cafés, City Hall, good food, and music. Here, we’re at the north end of town—more of an industrial rail corridor, not much housing or retail.
Chris Greenspon:
There is some newer, more upscale housing on this side—it’s a quieter part of town. This is the part of Pomona that people tend to associate more with Claremont or La Verne.
Joe Linton:
Yeah. So Pomona North doesn’t have a lot to walk to today. The city is building new housing along Garey Avenue, and there’s more in the works. There’s also an old depot building the city hopes to turn into a café or coffee shop. So there are efforts to activate the area, but there’s not much open yet.
Let’s walk over to the Metrolink Pomona North Station, which is about 40 feet from the A Line platform.
Chris Greenspon:
This connection between light rail and commuter rail makes Pomona North decidedly the most working-class stop on the A Line extension.
Joe Linton:
It’s on the San Bernardino Line, which runs about every half hour during the day on weekdays. You can get to San Bernardino—all the way to Redlands via another connection. There’s not much to do right here, but it’s a worthwhile connection. You can get to Claremont, Montclair, and points further east on the Metrolink train.
Chris Greenspon:
There’s also a shuttle here that takes people to Cal Poly, so it’s a great connector.
Joe Linton:
Yeah, it’s an end-of-the-line commuter station with a lot of parking. The hope is to extend to Claremont and Montclair, but that’ll take a while. This is the end of the line for now.
Chris Greenspon:
And that’s our little tour of the new A Line stops and their surroundings. Hopefully it’ll get extended to Claremont before too long, but in the meantime, you can bike there from Pomona North.
Some system info: trains run from 5 a.m. to midnight, and fares are $1.75 with free transfers. During peak hours, trains run about every six minutes, a bit slower in between.
That’s all. I’m Chris Greenspon—thanks for listening to SGV Connect.
