E Line (Expo Line)

As excitement builds over the soon-to-be opening of Phase I of the Expo Line, it appears the legal challenges to Phase II may be at an end.  Earlier today, the State of California Court of Appeals Second Appellate Division Eight formally rejected the appeal of an earlier decision that the Expo Construction Authority followed state environmental laws when completing the environmental review of Phase II of the Expo Line that will complete the light rail line from Culver City to Santa Monica.

Oct. 24, 1990.

At a press event earlier today, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the opening date for most of Phase I of the Expo Line.  The line will begin service on Saturday, April 28 from Downtown Los Angeles to  the La Cienegs ia/Jefferson station.  Phase I will be completed when a station opens in Culver City at an undisclosed date this summer.  Phase II, which will connect Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Culver City to Downtown Santa Monica is scheduled to open in 2015 or 2016.

Earlier this morning at the Metro Board Meeting, CEO Art Leahy announced that pre-revenue operation of the Expo Line Phase I will begin on Monday.  "Pre-revenue operation" is usually the last phase of tests a new fixed rail transit line undergoes before the line opens to the public.  The agency will run trains on the line as though service has begun although there won't be any passengers on the train other than the crew and any special guests.

In October, the day after CicLAvia, I pedaled west from Downtown to the Westside on Exposition Blvd. to test the bike lane that run parallel to Phase I of the Expo Line.  I was surprised by the absolutely terrible state of the road and the impact it had on the quality of the ride.  Less than two months later, the city repaved a lot of the route.  Details of the repaving can be found on the Bureau of Street Services website.  For a chart of what segments of the route were repaved, see the chart at the bottom of this article.

For months, the idea of "privacy screens" has been bandied about at meetings of the Expo Construction Authority Board of Directors but few took the idea that anyone would place large screens on top of the soundwalls adjacent to the line seriously.  However, at last week's meeting of the Expo Board of Directors, Board Member and newly-minted L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson seemed to take the idea very seriously.

LADOT Environmental Documents for Expo Phase II Bikeway

It's been a year since a group of Westside homeowners filed a lawsuit against the Expo Bike Path that would run adjacent to the rail line through the Westside into Santa Monica.  The homeowners alleged that the categorical exclusion (CE) granted to the bikeway (a technical term meaning that only a partial environmental review is necessary) by Caltrans was wrongly granted.  In response, Caltrans pulled the CE and the city went back to the drawing board. The bikeway opponents declared victory and bike advocates fumed.