Due to construction of the new El Monte bus station, there has been a shortage of parking at the interim station.
Some good news: The city of El Monte has made about 110 parking spaces available next door to the interim station at Pioneer Park starting immediately. It’s one block north of the station.
Categories: Service Alerts
I’m a regular at El Monte Bus Station for years. Wish to compliment Metro Admin’s promotion efforts in announcing the changes of bus station arrangements due to the 2-year construction in advance. Well done! But as far as the parking’s concerned, I was one of the many who couldn’t locate a parking space there and ended up having to drive to work yesterday, fighting that horrible traffic. I’m very surprised that Metro did not plan ahead for enough parking while anticipating more patrons as the summer vacation season ends in September. Reducing public parking space in a major public transit station basically encourages their patrons to drive vs utilize public transit system and in turns contributes to worsening the already bad traffic and air pollution in the LA Basin. A thumb’s down big time!
Nice to know the Admin has taken action in obtaining extra parking. Noticed this morning the parking structure next to the Metro Admin Building, which used to provide many parking space for the public but has been blocked since last weekend, still has many cars parked there. ??? Is that nice parking area saved for Metro’s management and employees while their customers struggle to find a parking in the adjacent lots and the only other option they advise is an unsecure park 10-min walking distance away? Would definitely hesitate to leave my car in a park the whole day regularly, risking vandalism and wondering if it still gonna be there when I return from work.
Below are my suggestions on the existing parking lots to provide more space.
1. Re-draw the parking space in the lot immediate north of the freeway according to the codes. Noticed extra wide driving aisles and a good-size area blocked.
2. Open the parking structure mentioned above to public access in a safe manner.
I hope the bus-riding experience will soon be pleasant as before. Your consideration is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
In response to Justin’s comment, yes, ideally, but since El Monte Station services dozens of surrounding cities spanning nearly the entire eastern San Gabriel Valley, it wouldn’t be easy. I personally find it easier to drive 3 miles to El Monte Station and to hop on a bus from there to downtown. Also, there’s only one bus from the station that would drop me off anywhere near my house, and it departs only once per hour in the late afternoon. Given the recent parking problems at El Monte Station, the prudent thing for me to do would be to fix my bike and to buy a good lock.
If people are parking at the El Monte Station, doesn’t that mean that we should be, I don’t know, expanding the transit system to wherever they’re coming from, rather than adding more free parking?