Nice looking plaza next to the Gold Line station located on the north side of Arcadia’s downtown at 1st Avenue and Santa Clara Street. The station will also feature a new parking garage for Gold Line riders. Arcadia is one of six new stations along the 11.5-mile extension which takes the train from its current terminus at Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena to Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, downtown Azusa and a final stop adjacent to Citrus College and the Rosedale development on the Azusa/Glendora border.

Here’s the news release from the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the independent agency building the line and the new light rail vehicle maintenance yard in Monrovia:

ARCADIA, CA – Yesterday, the Foothill Gold Line joined city of Arcadia officials in dedicating the new transit plaza, which sits adjacent to the future Arcadia Gold Line station and parking facility. The plaza was a multi-year project that was made possible by a generous grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), with local funding coming from the city of Arcadia and the Foothill Gold Line.  The plaza – which includes bus and bicycle facilities, artwork, brick and concrete paving, drought tolerant landscaping, and a centerpiece clock tower – is located in downtown Arcadia and is the city’s newest gathering space.

More than one hundred community leaders attended the dedication event, including nine Arcadia mayors past and present. The photo above right is of the mayors, Foothill Gold Line Board Chair and Glendora City Councilman Doug Tessitor, Foothill Gold Line Board Vice Chair and Claremont City Councilman Sam Pedroza, Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F. Balian and the Arcadia Station Artist Michael Davis. Mr. Davis also created art benches for the plaza, and is developing artwork for the parking facility’s elevator lobby.

“The FTA was the prime partner in funding the new Arcadia transit plaza, along with other multi-modal enhancements at the six new Foothill Gold Line stations,” stated Habib F. Balian, CEO of the Construction Authority building the Foothill Gold Line. “This plaza is a good example of how the use of the federal grant provides the facilities needed to encouraging future Gold Line riders to arrive at the station by bus, on foot and on bicycles, while also creating an impressive new civic space.”

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About the Foothill Gold Line – The Foothill Gold Line is a 24-mile extension of the Metro Gold Line light rail system, being built in two segments (Pasadena to Azusa and Azusa to Montclair). The first segment, under construction now, is Pasadena to Azusa, which includes six new stations (including the Arcadia Station). The Foothill Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa is fully funded by Los Angeles County’s Measure R. The project is overseen by the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature. The Pasadena to Azusa segment is on time and on budget, and will be turned over to Metro in September 2015. Metro will determine when passenger service begins.