Metro held a scoping meeting Monday night to get input on the environmental study of the Airport Metro Connector (AMC). The project aims to build a new rail station near the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street that would serve trains along the Crenshaw/LAX Line (which is currently under construction) and the Green Line and serve as a transfer point to the Automated People Mover to be built and operated by Los Angeles World Airports.
The AMC transit station would also include a bus plaza for Metro and other municipal bus agencies, an area for passenger pickup and drop-off, pedestrian and bike amenities. The plan is for the AMC station to be enclosed.
The people mover would serve three stations within the LAX Central Terminal Area and two other facilities the airport plans to build: a new Intermodal Transportation Facility where air passengers and employees could be picked up and dropped off and a new Consolidated Rent-A-Car Center.
The PowerPoint from the meeting is above. And here’s a link to a 35-minute video from the meeting. The main purpose of the meeting was to solicit public feedback/questions/concerns about issues the public wants to be addressed in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the station.
If you want to chime in on at this stage, Metro needs to hear from you by March 9.
The Airport Metro Connector home page is here — and here is an online comment form. You can follow the project on Twitter and Facebook.
Los Angeles World Airports also has a website devoted to their Connecting LAX project to improve transportation to/from the airport. Here are a couple of people mover renderings from that site:
This rendering shows the people mover route and the location of the Aviation/96th Station that will serve Metro Rail and Metro buses. Credit: LAWA.
A rendering of the Automated People Mover stations in the LAX Central Terminal Area. Credit: LAWA.
Categories: Projects
Beverly hills, and the special interests of rich people is what has made the L.A. metro map seem so out of sorts. They have been fighting for years to not have a train go under ( or subway type peoples) their precious properties. why a straight line along Wilshire from downtown to santa monica, and a line along Sepulveda from Sherman oaks to lax and beyond is, well, beyond me,,,
[…] Basics From Airport Connector Scoping Meeting (The Source) […]
Would be nice to see a simple extension to LAX from Union Station. Is that so hard? Billions in dollars really need to be reconsidered and designated effectively.
Are design feature comments appropriate at this stage, or is Metro seeking purely environmental (traffic, pollution, etc.) comments?
Hi MarkB;
You can certainly offer those comments. But the main purpose of soliciting comments at this time is to determine what the public wants studied.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
It seems interesting that LAX didn’t want the GreenLine leg passing under the approach pattern yet the proposed People Mover does just that.
Can somebody tell me what the point of the Aviation/Century station is now that they have a new station a couple blocks north? Century and Aviation itself is not a destination and it is not on a busy bus line. The only thing there is fast food and strip bars. Now that they have the new station, this one is irrelevant and should be cut to save money.
This design at the airport is poorly thought out. It goes in a straight line without stopping at any terminals except at the end when it reaches Tom Bradley. It appears that part of the problem is that the western half of the airport is filled in with parking structures that the connector is trying to avoid. For a project so important, that attempts to get people out of their cars and away from buses and taxis, shouldn’t they relocate or eliminate those parking structures? If that is the case, the connector should be made to hit as many terminals as possible like in a loop (maybe a diamond shape). This straight line thing is a terrible compromise that does not encourage people to get out of their cars. Think about it, we are already telling people that getting to LAX via light rail will require several transfers and then a long walk to their terminal from the connector. That’s not a better option for a lot of people.
I suggest you take a look at the EIR for the new Midfield Satellite Concourse that shows the long range plans for modernization of LAX. The demolition of the parking structures is indeed part of that plan, but they are to be replaced by relocating the ticketing, check-in, and baggage claim areas for all the terminals (except for Bradley) to the other side of the central terminal roadway horseshoe. With that as the long range goal the path down the middle makes a lot of sense since the stations would then be adjacent to all but one of the terminals (TBIT being the lone one with a bit of a walk). The unfortunate part of that plan is that we will have to live with the walk for quite a while, but it does prevent the disruption of having to move the system at a later date.
At least a one seat ride from DTLA to LAX would have been nice. As a woman who normally travels alone when I come into LA and who would ride transit, the thought of having to transfer at Exposition & Crenshaw in order to ride from LAX to Downtown scares the crap out of me. I know I could take the green to the blue as an alternative.. but should I have to take a longer trip to feel slightly more safe. I will just have to pay extra and take the Flyaway. When the first passengers get raped or mugged at that transfer point, Metro would have saved money building a connector from the Expo Line to the Crenshaw Line vs. paying out the settlements.
You think people get raped and mugged just by transferring? It is really no different than riding on the train. How do you exit the stations? The Expo Blue Line combo will be at capacity when Expo begins operating at 5 minute headways. You can’t add Crenshaw trains to it so interlining Crenshaw with Expo can never happen.
Matt, that’s five minutes that an additional train could be scheduled on the line. Look at pictures of Los Angeles back when we had mass transit, the best in the nation. You will see streetcars and interurban’s lined up on streets like Broadway. Better yet, check out Portland Oregon light rail system trains are going by the freeway about every minute in each direction.
Mike,
5 minute headways on Expo and 5 minute headways on the Blue Line equal 2.5 minute headways through the shared section and that is each way and those trains have to cross streets and allow cars and pedestrians to cross. Plus those trains have to merge onto the Washington Junction so yeah that is capacity.
The Pacific Electric was a disaster in the Downtown area in the first half of the 20th century and its congestion was a big part of the reason the system was allowed to rot and people fled Downtown for greener pastures in droves so emulating that congestion is not something to aspire to.
The Pacific Electric played little in the congestion in Downtown. Most trains exited via the Subway or the elevated tracks to San Pedro Street. A big part of their demise was the severing of it’s trackage to the Northern District when the 101 Freeway was built .
Poor planning is no excuse for poor service!
Michelle,
May I suggest that you carry pepper spray? It’s about 10 bucks, it’s perfectly legal and will make grown men cry. Taking a self-defense course also comes in handy to put the man down to make your escape while he’s incapacitated is also an added plus.
Growing number of women, especially among Millennials are doing exactly that. Check out Shield Self Defense in Santa Monica; it’s a five week course for women to learn self defense and has been featured on major local news agencies in LA:
http://www.shieldselfdefense.com/
You have all the right to defend yourself by any means necessary in a situation like you mentioned. The police aren’t going to pop out magically out of nowhere. The old saying goes “when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” You also need to educate yourself that numerous federal district courts and even the Supreme Court of the US has ruled that the police have no duty to protect someone.
Read up on these articles and case outcomes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeShaney_v._Winnebago_County
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales
It’s up to YOU to take necessary precautions and prepare yourself in situations like those. Women are perfectly capable to stand up to men, not just in the business world, but also through physical self defense to protect oneself from harm.
That all sounds like a great idea but this is not Beverly Hills or even Downtown Los Angeles. Crenshaw and Exposition is a gang infested area. Mace one or two, what about the rest of the gang.
I don’t think calling that area “gang infested” is correct or fair. For anyone interested, here’s an article about declining gang crime in L.A. and beyond: http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/the-end-of-gangs-los-angeles-southern-california-epidemic-crime-95498
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
OTOH Steve,
Google Maps actually has CA gang territories listed on Google Maps.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zN85NJfsbSnM.k7DeR3PbATPw
Many of those regions that are considered gang territory are places where Metro stations are so it does make sense to prepare. Criminals don’t care about stats, they just break the law anyway; that’s why they’re called criminals.
mike dunn,
“Mace one or two, what about the rest of the gang”
Ever used pepper spray/gel? It’s pretty controllable and can be used to thwart off multiple attackers from quite a safe distance. Besides, criminals aren’t going to be following laws anyway, why be a victim? Refuse to be a victim and fight back. Women kicking butt rules!
http://i.imgur.com/UabsBIQ.jpg
That Google Map was not created by Google or law enforcement. I don’t think I would consider the information to be completely accurate.
As I’ve stated before, I urge all customers to be cautious of escalating a situation needlessly even if you think you’re defending yourself.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Didn’t the LA Times did an investigative reporting last year that the LAPD “misclassified” 1200 violent crimes as “minor offenses”
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-crimestats-lapd-20140810-story.html#page=1
Being said that, I think it is fair to say that people should doubt statistics that say crime in LA is going down.
Obviously, a direct METRO line into LAX would be best–less mode changing. However, in our unique system, METRO and LAX are two different governments with different agendas. Consequently, when I visited Finland recently, above the Arctic Circle in Lapland, I overheard three locals discussing how LAX–yes our LAX–is a 3rd world airport!