Final Motion for SFVCOG March PP 2013
First, a caveat: don’t get too excited. The above list of projects recommended recently by the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments are just that — recommendations. And, as usual, funding is always an issue.
But I thought I’d post the motion because I know from reader comments and email there’s quite a bit of interest in some of the above. In particular, the idea of connecting Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport by transit is appealing; getting between Pasadena and Burbank by transit often involves a trip through downtown Los Angeles. I’m also a big fan of speeding up the long Metrolink trip (up to two hours, 10 minutes) between Los Angeles Union Station and Lancaster, which are about 70 miles apart.
By the way, Metro’s long range plan has a couple of similar projects, although both are in the tier 2 unfunded section (basically meaning they’re in the back of the line for funding for now). These include a Red Line extension to Bob Hope Airport and an undefined “transit corridor” between the NoHo Red Line station and the Gold Line’s Del Mar station in Pasadena.
One last note: it’s worth noting the four names on the motion for the Metro Board: Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Glendale Councilman Ara Najarian, city of Los Angeles appointee Mel Wilson and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Interesting.
Categories: Projects
All looks good except the HOV connections at the 134 and 5 freeways with the high cost to build.
A continuation of the Orange bus line to Bob Hope airport and the Burbank Metrolink station, or at least a bus line to provide this service is a must.
The bus service to Glendale, Eagle Rock and a connection wit the Gold Line in Pasadena is also a good idea.
IS what is not shown is a Metro Rail line from Sylmar via Van Nuys Blvd to Westwood or Century City and to the LAX Transit Center. .
Thanks for pointing out the unexpected combination of board member names (Najarian + Antonovich)… that alone is amusing if not fascinating.
Sad to see there is no planned metro express bus between SFMM and North Hollywood Station..
And let me add this project to my earlier comment… How about extending the Red Line up to and along Sherman Way, west to Reseda Blvd and up to CSUN. I’m guessing it’ll pull in more riders than Bob Hope. I need to vent these things somewhere… Thanks The Source…
Hi Daniel;
Vent away! That’s why we’re here…
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
[…] Interesting Priority List for San Fernando Valley, Lots of Transit to the Airport (The Source) […]
Downtown Glendale needs to be served directly by a METRORail project, maybe a western extension from Lake Station would work… But what I think might really work is a northern extension of subway from Sunset/Vermont terminating at Brand/134 (Vermont Line). This would extend south at least to Expo as well. Nothing wrong with dreaming…
Well, if Calif High Speed Rail can provide $700 million to upgrade Caltrain as part of it’s “blended” concept, perhaps an equal amount should be given to Metrolink.
Red Line to Bob Hope Airport also has elevated support of it becomes the HSR Valley Station.
I atended last Thursday’s Metro Van Nuys Blvd. (aka East SFV N-S) corridor at Arleta High School. Everyone* speaking, including many from the immediate community, favored light rail with connection south. Good to see the officials’ motion recognize this integration in the “Develop the I-405/Sepulveda Pass + East San Fernando Valley North-South Transit Corridors” item. (*Except two who only talked about not hurting boulevard traffic.)
LADOT runs the #549 (http://www.ladottransit.com/comexp/routes/549/549.php) between Pasadena and North Hollywood, serving Glendale and Burbank on the way. It doesn’t run all day (peak hours only), or on weekends, and doesn’t serve Downtown Burbank.
We could fund expanded service (at least Pasadena-N. Hollywood), and perhaps provide an alternate route through Downtown Burbank, as a near-term solution.
The Hollywood Way station might work. No commuter parking, just a shuttle stop between the airport terminal and train platform.
However, the real problem with the airport is that it is on two rail lines to begin with. What if we could reroute the AV line into a tunnel under the airport, then meet the existing Burbank Airport station (on the Ventura Line)? Then passengers at the airport could enjoy really frequent service between BUR and downtown LA, without having to guess which shuttle to take…
Expensive? Yes. But considering that the AV line will be enhanced as part of the California High Speed Rail project (speed improvements, electrification, grade separations, etc.) it may be worth considering.
Light rail is a natural for the Valley (s). Burbank is a huge jobs center, according to MTA’s own maps. ‘Nuff said!
there is so much potential for different parts of LA County to be connected by reliable mass transit. It will take time unfortunately. LA is on the way to having a world-class transportation system. know hope.
Oh goodness, there isn’t much to get excited over. The irrational fascination with trains to airports needs to end. All in all, a very disappointing report. What is needed is so well documented and seemingly obvious. But instead, we get airport novelties and single HOV lanes.
The good parts: Double tracking Metrolink would be nice but only if it increases frequency and/or service times. Maybe talking about safety is the political way to getting better commuter service. With that thought, maybe connecting the Orange Bus to the Gold Line is a roundabout way to getting an Orange Line built.
The Bad parts: No mentions about the need for an orange line conversion, an adequate 405 transit line, or extending the red line east to the 405… the obvious things that we should already have and would bring over a hundred thousand new riders to the Metro system while stimulating private investment and job creation.
This is the same group that called ESFVTC the “East Valley BRT” in their meeting minutes. So perhaps “synchronizing transit schedules” (a common sense suggestion) is a big step forward. Our elected officials sometimes make me feel like double decking the 405 isn’t the worst idea.
I wish somebody, anybody, would draw map with a possible routes for the Red Line to Hope Airport & NoHo to Del Mar Gold Line. Maybe the writer of this blog could draw map.