Here’s the news release from Metro:
The Metro Orange Line Extension — a four-mile addition to the wildly popular Orange Line busway — will open to the public on Saturday, June 30 with community celebrations and free rides on the extension from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Orange Line Extension is going to connect with Metrolink and Amtrak and in so doing, further expand the regional reach of the fast-growing Metro system. And more great news for Los Angeles: The project is coming in ahead of time and well within budget.
“We’re thrilled that the Orange Line Extension will open earlier than anticipated and that the contractor is completing it well within budget,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa. “It’s another great example of why building in this economy makes excellent business sense, at the same time it provides much needed jobs. And with the Orange Line Extension — the first Measure R project to be completed — we are continuing to build out a new 21st Century mass transit system for the people of Los Angeles and for future generations.”
The Orange Line Extension is the latest addition to Metro’s rapidly expanding transit system and the latest link in the plan for regional connectivity. As part of the existing Orange Line it will run from the Chatsworth Metrolink and Amtrak Station — gateway to Ventura County — to the Metro Red Line Station in North Hollywood. The Red Line connects with the Blue Line to Long Beach, the Gold Line to the Eastside and Pasadena, the Purple Line to Koreatown, the Green Line toward LAX and the Expo Line to Culver City. The rail system alone is 87 miles … all opened since 1990. And it connects with 180 Metro bus routes that crisscross L.A. County.
In addition to free rides all day on the four-mile busway, June 30 celebrations will include community events at the Orange Line Extension Chatsworth and Canoga stations from 10 am. to 4 p.m. Reflecting its history, Chatsworth will host a country/western theme, while Canoga organizers are planning eco-friendly events and food trucks in celebration of the new line.
The project includes four new stations at Sherman Way, Roscoe Boulevard, Nordhoff Street and the Chatsworth Metrolink Station. New platforms are being added at the Canoga Station. An elevated crossing at Lassen Street will keep the busway separated from railroad tracks. All stations will include public art. Parallel to the busway, a bikeway and pedestrian path has been planted with beautiful landscape similar to the drought-tolerant plants along the existing Metro Orange Line. And there will be a new park and ride lot at the Sherman Way Station, as well as additional parking at the Chatsworth Station.
When the 14-mile Orange Line opened in 2005, 7,000 to 8,000 boardings a day were predicted. Now there are more than 25,000 daily boardings. For more information on the Metro Orange Line go to metro.net/projects/orangeline.
The Orange Line extension has been a great blessing for the community of Canoga Park. Long gone are the old fences that were along Canoga Ave, a new path for all to enjoy has come its way. Canoga Park has gained great open space the community at large can enjoy. Come celebrate the unveiling on June 30, 2012 with us. The Canoga Park Neighborhood Council – http://www.canogaparknc.org will be working with the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations to bring a great event for the community. As President of the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council, we as a board are excited for the completion of the new Orange Line extension; bringing back a bit of the old Red Car lines back to Canoga Park!!!!
Personally I believe the valley needs more rail lines running through it and to the LA basin, however I suppose this is a step in the right direction. I am less likely to ride a bus over a rail personally but to each his own. One could argue that the busway paves the way for a future rail line and being above ground it opens the door to solar powered transit solutions. Keep expanding metro and I might start to rely on you for day to day needs.
Matt,
“Say this college student wants to go to Hollywood or Downtown on a weekend to have a few drinks and avoid a DUI and expensive parking charges, they already have a pass.”
To put it another way, this college student doesn’t have a need to go to Downtown or Hollywood everyday either. So why should this person have to buy a monthly pass for something that he probably only has a need for like once a month? Why wouldn’t this person then, just be better off with a day pass when this person wants to go to Hollywood or Downtown?
Why wouldn’t this student then just commute with a scooter when when going to school from Chatsworth to PCC, and when this person has a need to go to Hollywood or Downtown, just buy a day pass? See, there’s no need for a monthly pass. Over all, Metro only makes $5 from this person in a month.
It’s like saying this: you can pay $75 a month, hey you’re getting a great deal because you can go from Pasadena to Long Beach anytime with it! It’s a mislead and majority of Angelinos are smart enough not to fall for that. Most people don’t have a need to travel such long distance frequently. No one is forced to take public transit. We live in a free country with lots of choices.
Shorter commutes, there are cheaper alternatives. When traveling longer distances which doesn’t happen frequently, just buy a day pass. So long as Metro doesn’t adjust their fare structure to be more competitive on the short distance market, that’s what people are going to do. And that’s why Metro is stuck with a low farebox recovery ratio and poor ridership figures. And that is why our buses and trains are full of people who only make longer trips.
“Metro is supposed to provide a transit service not make sure every single person in LA County has a financial incentive to use transit in every situation.”
Any one can provide service, whether that’s good service or bad service is on the eyes of the beholder. And as with anything that provides a service, if there is something better and cheaper, that’s what people are going to go for.
If I only want to go a mile and I have to be ripped off $1.50 for it while another person can get by traveling 20 miles for the same $1.50 price, I’m just going to say “Metro, your fare system is a joke to expect people to pay $1.50 without distinction of travel distance.” In retrospect they just lost a potential customer for the short distance market and all they gained were longer distance commuters.
And no, time and time again, Metro has used the words “fare equity.” Unfortunately, Metro has a lot more work to do in terms of fare equity. With higher gas prices, they are succeeding in making many Angelinos move to mass transit. But under this ridiculous fare policy, they are failing in grabbing the short distance rider market. For those that have a short distance need, there are cheaper alternatives like the bicycle and the scooter and they can just easily get by with a day pass when the need to traveling longer distances arises, which doesn’t happen that often.
I thought the bike path was already open. People were using it about a month ago when I was in the area.
Incidentally a bus every 24 minutes on Saturday and Sunday, and every 20 minutes
during the middle of the day, is not “high quality” transit. Sure, it’s better than
existing north south service in the area, but this service level is not conducive to
people making trips without the need to look at a schedule. Yet it will show up on
the 15 minute map like all the other colored routes, and people will expect a bus
there more often than will actually show up. Plus remember there will be confusion at the branch point, with the special Warner Center-Chatsworth buses adding to the mess. I await how MTA staff plan to sign their way out of this.
Matt,
If all your car use is mainly on local roads, you’ll likely need less repairs and maintenances. You can’t compare an AAA estimated figure that is based on an average of 10,000 miles of usage per year versus someone who uses the car for only 2,500 miles per year.
An oil change is recommended for cars every 10,000 miles. It costs about $20 to do that at Jiffy Lube. If a person only puts in 2,500 miles of travel on their car per year, that means that person will need an oil change every four years. Same thing with tire changes and other common maintenance. Most of the maintenance like changing the air filters or adding in engine coolant can be done easily by watching youtube anyway. The less you use the car, the cost of maintenance just gets spread out over the years.
I Love Math has his equation right. AAA’s $0.60/mi figure is a misleading figure that is based upon an average of 10,000 miles of travel per year. Naturally, if more people are using mass transit for longer distances and in conjuction, only use the car for shorter distances for things like going out to buy groceries (parking lots of local supermarkets are free anyway so no cost of parking either) or driving to the nearest park-and-ride lot, the cost of owning a car is much cheaper than the AAA estimate, moreso true if you happen to own a fuel efficient vehicle like a hybrid or an electric car.
This line is an improvement…and goes along way toward completing a transportation gateway around LA. The critical need however, is the 405 Sepulveda corridor from Sherman Oaks Galleria to LAX…and the Aqua Line extension to Santa Monica. Most Valley people have a REALLY difficult time navigating through the 405 fwy congestion to WLA. Expanding the 405 only creates more car traffic! Metro light rail IS the solution.
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Y Fukuzawa,
You are completely missing the point. I Love Math’s analysis only assumes that the student would ever go between their residence and the school and there would never be an opportunity to use transit anywhere else. Of course, that is not true. College students don’t just stay home and go to school at least I didn’t when I was in college. Say they go out Downtown or Hollywood just twice a month. That is $10 of the $36 of the monthly pass right there.
On the moped issue, that is fine for the fraction of 1% who would use them, but for most people especially a college student who has some education, they would realize that the risk of an accident is far too great, especially in a city like LA with intense traffic where a moped is often hard for cars to see. A small fender bender can even result in serious injury on a moped.
HK Resident,
You may not have to use 60 cents a mile, but you have to use a factor that includes much more than the cost of gas, which is what I Love Math’s analysis only used. Your comment that if you use only local roads you will have less maintenance makes no sense whatsoever. Local roads will require you to stop and start more which stresses braking systems and the car in general. Our local roads are a mess and they are filled with potholes which damage tires. I am sure you are joking about only changing your oil every 4 years. Regardless of mileage you should change it at least every 12-18 months. 4 years and you are risking running some very seriously dirty oil through your engine. Overall, you still have to account for changing brake pads, belts, spark plugs, and unforseen repairs, which cost a lot of money and which I Love Math completely ignored. You can skimp on service like you suggest, but you are looking at greatly shortening the lifespan of your vehicle which will likely result in you having to plunk down that $10-$15k down for a used vehicle prematurely. Not wise.
“On the moped issue, that is fine for the fraction of 1% who would use them, but for most people especially a college student who has some education, they would realize that the risk of an accident is far too great, especially in a city like LA with intense traffic where a moped is often hard for cars to see. A small fender bender can even result in serious injury on a moped.”
Replace the word “moped” with “bicycle” on what you just wrote and you get the same safety concerns. Yet we have a lot more bicyclists these days than ten years ago.
Ten years ago, people thought it was suicidal to ride a bike and share the road with cars, especially in Los Angeles. It was rare to see people on bicycles, they were the 1% back then and we didn’t have cyclic masses. Instead, as gas prices rose we now have more bicyclists on the road.
Who’s to say that ten years from now, we’re not going to see more moped riders as well? Who’s to say that ten years from now those that are riding bicycles or driving cars today see that moped ownership is much more efficient than bicycling (faster) and owning a car or riding public transit (cheaper)? Who’s to say that car drivers in Los Angeles won’t adapt and get used to moped riders and motorcyclists sharing the road as with bicyclists today?
In fact, it already is changing. Look around and you see more people driving Harleys and scooters these days, just as we saw a gradual increase in bicyclists ten years ago.
And whose to say that people won’t adapt to choosing different means of transportation as they see fit? Bicycles to go within a mile from your home. A moped within 10 miles. Heading to Downtown, buy a Metro day pass. Heading off to Vegas or buying groceries at the supermarket, take the car.
Thanks, Steve H., for clarifying the route. I must admit, however, that it’s a bit disappointing to hear of the unusually complex handling of the Warner Center routing. Not that this comment will change things, but may I suggest that if Metro doesn’t want to run all buses to the Chatsworth terminus at all times, then a short line setup would make more sense to riders (i.e. All buses run through Warner Center, but some terminate there and others rejoin the ROW to continue on to Chatsworth). That the Blue Line already uses such a setup means it would be a more familiar practice for Metro riders and simpler to explain to new and current users alike. That, and it may make the Go Metro map a bit less confusing.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, though!