The Metro board Planning Committee heard extensive comment on two proposals advancing key rail projects. Ultimately, the committee approved plans for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor mega-project - advancing a $20+ billion heavy rail connection between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. The committee postponed a decision on plans for a $2-3 billion extension of the K Line (former Green/C Line) light rail from Redondo Beach to Torrance.
Both items will next be heard at next week's full board meeting, Thursday January 22.
The Planning Committee heard extensive public comment on the planned Sepulveda Transit Corridor heavy rail project [staff report]. Comment was predominantly supportive of Metro's latest plan - including positive comments from L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, transit advocates, labor, business, UCLA, Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, and many others.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the Sepulveda Transit Corridor item - approving the locally preferred alternative for the project's final Environmental Impact Report, likely to come back for board approval within about a year.
The same committee basically decided not to decide a final alignment for the Metro C Line Extension to Torrance. (That part of the C Line now operates as the K Line, but the project name still calls it the C Line).
This K Line extension is a roughly $2-3 billion 4-mile light rail extension through the relatively suburban South Bay cities of Redondo Beach, Lawndale and Torrance. Many vocal Lawndale neighbors live next to the Metro-owned rail right-of-way (active freight rail, though only a few trains each week) and don't want noisy Metro trains running through their area. They are pushing for a costlier Hawthorne Boulevard alternative that would likely make the project fiscally infeasible.
Metro already selected the cheaper buildable alternative - running rail in the rail right-of-way - but the final Environmental approval [staff report] has dragged out.
Torrance extension public comment was split around 50/50. The politics are somewhat unusual. Project support comes from transit advocates and the end-of-line city of Torrance (both pushing for a fiscally feasible project) and Hawthorne Boulevard businesses (who are pushing against construction impacts). Many in Lawndale and Redondo Beach (cities along and next to Metro's rail corridor) couch anti-train NIMBY nativism in rational-sounding support for the Hawthorne Boulevard alignment which (if Metro could afford to build it) would have higher ridership.
At today's meeting, Metro Boardmember and Inglewood Mayor James Butts (one of two boardmembers who essentially represent the project area) spoke somewhat negatively about the Torrance extension project, urging "fiscal responsibility" while criticizing "negative impacts" of the planned Metro right-of-way alignment.
After hearing dozens of public comments, the committee took no position, and sent the Torrance extension decision to next week's full board meeting.
Two additional brief rail project construction updates, both from today's Metro board Construction Committee meeting:
- Metro Chief Program Management Officer Tim Lindholm announced that, in late November, Metro D Line subway testing encountered major "traction power issues" basically canceling December testing. Lindholm stated that the power problem was fixed yesterday, and testing is resuming, but a month and a half behind schedule. The four-mile three-station D Line extension segment had been expected to open in February/March. Lindholm didn't state a revised date, but it sounds like the opening could be pushed back to maybe April?
- The Construction Committee approved $94 million for design and engineering for the next A Line extension - from Pomona to Claremont. Similar to the recently opened extension, design and construction will be managed by the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority. Some additional A Line funding approval details at Metro staff report.
