Metro staff report on proposed improvements to Pico Station for Blue and Expo lines to serve Farmers Field

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Pico Station Improvements staff report

Interesting item that will be heard in the Board of Director’s Finance committee on Wednesday afternoon (1 p.m., Metro Board Room, 3rd floor) on a proposed agreement with AEG to add a second platform to the Blue and Expo lines’ Pico Street station (pdf download here). That’s the station, of course, that’s two blocks from Staples Center and the proposed Farmers Field football stadium.

The Metro staff report proposes that the new platform be on the west side of the tracks and that it would eliminate one lane of traffic in that spot on Flower Street, as studied in the environmental documents for the stadium. The report also looks at the issue of street closures near the tracks during big events in order to minimize the number of cars crossing the tracks.

AEG is paying for the improvements and additional staffing that will be needed. All of this is conditional on an NFL team relocating to Los Angeles. And, might I add, if it’s the Chargers, let’s hope last night’s second half was a terrible, horrible aberration.

18 thoughts on “Metro staff report on proposed improvements to Pico Station for Blue and Expo lines to serve Farmers Field”

  1. Steve,
    Can you post a link to the 5 previous ideas that were published a while back?

    Pedestrian bridge(s) [not tunnels] and enough platform space for 2 (full length) trains on each side are must-have items. 12th street can be closed during game times.

  2. Another idea i would have is bury the pico station and extend the tunnel a few more blocks and make the resulting below grade platform a very large center island like what is commonly seen on the red line. Then Metro could put pedestrian access out of the way of train and auto traffic. Of course the issue here is money and a severe disruption of Blue/expo line service while the station is constructed.

  3. Hi Just a Person;

    I’m running out the door to Rail-Volution. Can you better refresh my memory about the five different ideas? I don’t recall that. But my brain/hard drive may be malfunctioning. Thanks,

    Steve Hymon
    Editor, The Source

  4. I live right by the Red Line and if I’m going to be going to a football game at Farmer’s Field, I’m just going to exit at 7th/Metro Center and walk the rest of the way down. The crowds would not be worth it for the one-station transfer south to Pico, and I would guess most spectators coming inbound from the Red or Purple Lines would do the same. I’ve done just that for the recent Lakers and Kings championship parades.

    On that note, it might be worth it to consider some sort of direct shuttle bus service to 7th/Metro Center to aid in the mitigation measures.

  5. Eliminate money from the equation, and of course grade separation beats at-grade for both speed and safety in all cases. This applies to putting Pico Station underground, building pedestrian tunnels and building an elevated walkway to the stadium/ LACC.

    However, we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I’d rather see extra station platforms for the new stadium and for major events at the convention center than no stadium and no improvements at all.

    I do rather wonder, however, if AEG could afford at the very least a bit more for transit and Pico Station than the amount they are putting in? The NFL is a huge, money-making business after all, and even a permanent pedestrian bridge would be a huge improvement.

  6. I don’t have an opinion one way or the other as far as the proposed extra platform for the Pico Station in LA for a proposed Farmers Field. I can tell you, though, that in the northeast (I’m from NYC, by the way), more people take public transportation to baseball, basketball and hockey games than they do football games. Not that no one takes the train (subway/commuter rail/light rail/streetcar) to NCAA or NFL games, but tailgating outside the parking lot before a football game is so popular for those who can drive to the stadium.

    When MetLife Stadium (in East Rutherford, NJ) opened two years ago, NJ Transit opened a rail connection at the stadium for commuters going to and from Giants and Jets games (as well as special events at MetLife Stadium). The catch is that passengers have to transfer from Secaucus to ride the train to the Meadowlands Sports Complex & that could be problematic: many fans from NYC alrady taking a subway to Penn Station then have to take NJ Transit to Secaucus then switch to yet another train to the stadium–that’s 3 different trains NOT including any other transfers from other NYC subway trains.

    Other cities in the northeast are much better transit-wise. Lincoln Financial Field (& the entire sports complex) in South Philadelphia are served by SEPTA’s Broad Street Line subway (at AT&T Station, formerly Pattison). Baltimore’s LRT goes to M&T Bank Stadium (Hamburg Station). The Patriots’s Gilette Stadium is served by MBTA’s commuter rail system where passengers get a direct ride from Boston’s South Station. And although it’s a bit of a walk to FedEx Field (in Landover, MD), ‘Skins fans could use the Metro to the Morgan Blvd. Station. Football venues in Chicago, Cleveland, San Diego, Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston are also accessible via subway and/or light rail and/or commuter railroad.

  7. Incidentally, Martin’s comment is why I support the Industry stadium a lot more than AEG’s proposal. You can have direct trains from wherever Metrolink operates – similar to the race track trains to NASCAR at California Speedway – while offering lots of parking for those who want to tailgate or do similar activities.

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