Board approves station names for Expo Line Phase 2

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Here are the station names for the second phase of the Expo Line that were just approved by the Metro Board. A motion by Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky changed the Exposition/Westwood to Westwood/Rancho Park.

Official Station Name

  1. Palms
  2. Westwood/Rancho Park
  3. Exposition/Sepulveda
  4. Exposition/Bundy
  5. 26th Street/Bergamot
  6. 17th Street/Santa Monica College
  7. Downtown Santa Monica

 

Categories: Projects

31 replies ›

  2. 2 points. 1 its unfair to expect anyone on the bus not from la to know neighborhoods as much as street corners. 2 also this thread is the perfect example of why the public shouldnt be “more involved” necessarily, esp with something as miniscule as naming. wastes time and tax$$. routing? schedule? pollution? of course

  3. I would name the Expo Phase 2 stations from Culver City station as:

    1. Palms
    2. Rancho Park
    3. Sepulveda
    4. Bundy
    5. 26th St/ Bergamot
    6. 17th Street
    7. Santa Monica Pier (Terminal)

    Plain and simple!! the Expo/intersection name here is rather boring…

  4. The “Palms” station name is great as it refers to the Palms neighborhood!! The Pacific Electric line used to run 50 years ago and there was Palms Depot station. The Westwood/Rancho Park name should just be the “Rancho Park” or Westside Pavilion station, Expo/Sepulveda should just be West LA station or the Sepulveda station. The Expo/Bundy station should just be the Bundy station, 26th St Bergamot to just 26th St or just Bergamot Station, As an SMC student 17th St/SMC station is a mile away from campus and should just be named 17th St, and Downtown SM to SM Pier station instead. Keep station names simple!! and represent the areas and neighborhoods they serve rather then naming stations after boring intersections…

  5. Does anyone look at the Maps at Metro Rail stations? I have no problems with the names as approved. Exposition could have been left off with no problem.

    OK, some people cannot read maps, is this one subject of many that LAUSD does not teach, only teaching its students to pass a state standardize test that is flawed and really not fair for the teachers.

    Complaint about the Anaheim name on the Blue Line. What else would you call it? We have a map at all stations, we have an intercom to ask for help, we even have on-line internet help with various trip planers that will help us, including apps for our “smart phones.” I guess we need a Metro Ambassador at all stations and bus stops to hold the peoples hand.

  6. The “Farmdale” station name is mis-named, as it implies that it is a “neighborhood” of Los Angeles, when it is in fact, just a street. “Farmdale Ave.” would be the MORE ACCURATE station name,

  7. DonnieK relies for his Koreatown boundaries on the fanciful and discredited (see the Mapping LA comments) Los Angeles Times “Mapping LA” website. The real boundaries of “Koreatown” (which overlap in part with the longer-established Wilshire Center and do include multiple Wilshire Boulevard Metro Red and Purple Line stations) were established officially by the Los Angeles City Council. See: http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-0606_ca_08-20-10.pdf

  10. Why doesn’t Metro involve the community more to name the stations? I think it would be better to have the community submit station names to Metro and pick the one that is most popular.

  11. I think Metro should have a poll done on what station names want as write in so that people can enter in they feel would be would work best.

    Then, tally up the top five that sounds the closest and do another poll based on those five.

  12. Station names can create a real sense of the city by invoking its various communities and well-known landmarks. That’s why people seem to like Downtown Santa Monica or the simple names along the Gold Line extension. And hat’s why Koreatown would be preferable to the bland Wilshire/Western, Old Town Pasadena to Memorial Park (does anyone know what this is?), Los Feliz to Hollywood/Vermont, and L.A. Live to Pico (not the shortest street in town anyway). But we can comment all we want here, and politicians will still do whatever they please, including naming station after other politicians. We should be marching in the streets instead of leaving these replies.

    • Just a note, the area in Pasadena is now branded as Old Pasadena. They officially dropped the “town” part about a year ago.

      Anna Chen
      The Source, Writer

  13. I would just drop the Exposition part… most of the Expo line runs along Exposition, it’s redundant. And the fact that the word is long and makes up the first half of the name makes it confusing to the eye on a quick glance.

    For an East / West line… North / South running blvds are enough to indicate where one is.

    Rancho Park
    Sepulveda
    Bundy

    is enough.

    26th St./Bergamot is ok in that case.

    17th Street / SMC for signage (“Santa Monica College” over the loudspeaker)

    Downtown Santa Monica is fine.

  15. LA has the worst named Metro stations. I think it effectively kills the system because people not familiar have no idea where they go. The cross streets mean nothing. Hollywood/Vermont should be called “Los Feliz”. Memorial Park should be called “Old Town Pasadena”. Southwest Museum should be called “Mt Washington”. It would help ridership and also the surrounding areas if people had any clue where these trains go.

  16. Gotta disagree with the first comment, I think the cross-street names are the worst. You look at a map before you get on a train, the cross-streets just turn the stations into worthlessly long winded names no one ever says.

    I would probably name them:
    Palms
    Rancho Park
    Sepulveda
    Bundy
    26th Street/Bergamot
    17th Street
    Santa Monica

  18. Steve White,

    How about West Koreatown, Koreatown Central, East Koreatown? That makes perfect sense based on location.

  19. Rancho Park is good. Westwood/Rancho Park is terrible. It implies the station is in Westwood when it really refers to Westwood Blvd. Like the infamous Anaheim station on the Blue Line.

  20. @Disgusted at politicians

    There are three stations (at least depending on what you consider Koreatown) in Koreatown. Some areas have multiple stations, so simply naming it after the area doesn’t tell you enough. Cross Streets or something more specific are needed.

    I think Wilshire/Western (the Alfred Hoyun Song gets left off in practice) is actually the simpler, better name.

  21. Nah, the worst offender is Wilshire/Western / Alfred Hoyun Song Metro Station.

    Guess Koreatown Station made too much sense for these people. LOL

  22. The Expo Line station names were actually requested by the City of Santa Monica and SMC. SAMO, along with some of the Gold Line Extension Cities have taken a keen interest in the new Metro stations being built in their communities. They have given their input and taken an active role. So if that’s what they want, so be it.. It’s through the process of community involvement that residents can voice their opinions and hopefully get what they want.

  23. I don’t see what the big deal is with using the slash. LA is incredibly spread out and sometimes the Metro Stations are in such close proximity to two very distinct neighborhoods or campuses that it warrants both names. Also, as is the case with 7th/Metro Center/Julian Dixon and Civic Center/ Grand Park/ Tom Bradley, there are official names and Operational names, so any type of honor for a person is left out of the signs/maps. I also think that with Expo, Purple, Red lines crossing some of the same Streets (ie Vermont, Western, La Cienega, Westwood) it makes sense to distinguish them with the other major Cross street (ie Wilshire, or Exposition)

  25. Why can’t they just use one name? This is the only transit system that I see where their station names are much too long. The station “7th Street/Metro Center/Julian Dixon” being the biggest offender of all.

  26. I like Downtown Santa Monica. Using this is a model, perhaps one day Memorial Park on the Gold Line can be changed to Old Town Pasadena. The other names are rather bland — and this one, as many people commented when it was first proposed, is a little deceitful: 17th Street/Santa Monica College. What a pity that we have such leaders.

  27. Why not Sepulveda/Pico and Bundy/Olympic? Or would that have been using too much common sense?

  28. Uninspired at best, and a little deceitful when it comes to this one: 17th Street/Santa Monica College. What a pity that we have such leaders.

  29. Any word on Downtown Santa Monica (aka 4th/Colorado) Station? I only see six stations listed.

    • Hi Alika;

      I left that out inadvertantly–good catch! It has been fixed.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source