A rendering from Metro of possible improvements to the Willowbrooks/Rosa Parks Station.
Metro is developing plans to improve Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station where the Blue and Green lines meet. The public is invited to attend a public hearing to provide comments on the Draft Initial Study for the Station Improvement Project.
In 2011, the Metro Board of Directors adopted the Rosa Parks Station Master Plan for this busy transfer station. This project implements that plan and includes enhancements to pedestrian flow, lighting and safety. The project will also improve transfers at the station and create better connections to nearby destinations, including the adjacent Kenneth Hahn Plaza shopping center.
The Draft Initial Study has been prepared to determine if the project will have any environmental impacts and is currently available for public review. An electronic copy of the Draft Initial Study is posted below.
Here is the date, time and location of the public hearing:
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Open House: 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Public Hearing: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center
Hudson Auditorium
1670 E. 120th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90059
If you are unable to attend the hearing, comments regarding the Draft Initial Study can be submitted by mail or e-mail to:
Susan Chivaratanond
Environmental Project Manager
One Gateway Plaza,
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952
The deadline for written comments is 5 p.m. on Monday, June 8.
Categories: Projects
Metro could also start its own credit union or financial institution to offer home loans to prospective buyers of Metro developed condo properties and provide small business loans to retailers and merchants that wishes to conduct business at Metro owned properties. That’s another way Metro can earn extra revenue: through interest on home and small business loans.
Metro going into the financial sector would also greatly enhance TAP benefits and start providing financial services to the unbanked who fall prey to payday lenders and check cashing services. It’s really a no brainer that Bank of America is a lot more profitable business to be in than running public transit.
[…] Thursday – Metro is developing plans to improve Willowbrook/ Rosa Parks Station, where the Blue and Green lines meet. The public is invited to attend a public hearing to provide comments on the Draft Initial Study for the Station Improvement Project. In 2011, the Metro Board of Directors adopted the Rosa Parks Station Master Plan for this busy transfer station. This project implements that plan and includes enhancements to pedestrian flow, lighting, and safety. The project will also improve transfers at the station and create better connections to nearby destinations, including the adjacent Kenneth Hahn Plaza shopping center. Read the full post at The Source. […]
Here’s my rendering of how the entire property can be better utilized as what I myself want as a TOD than what Metro proposes:
http://imgur.com/k5E3FKh
The larger the property and taller the buildings, the more long term revenue Metro can make than just wasting it on parking spaces and single story strip malls. If LA is to be sustainable for the next 100 years, it needs to wake up from from their hatred of high density and start facing the reality that the only way forward is start building more structures upwards.
While I share the sentiment that it’s more parking lots but with better retail stores, it is a start on Metro becoming more of a real estate developer than just being a transit provider.
But OTOH, I do think Metro really needs to start thinking in the long term on how our future growth of LA affects not only station designing (need longer and wider platforms), fare collections (cannot continue to run flat rate fares forever) but also developing of surrounding areas and the station itself as mixed used complexes. Considering LA is only going to become more populous, and more denser with lack of developable land space now, building strip malls with free parking lots and 7 story apartment complexes aren’t ideal; it still means Metro itself is stuck in the automobile era and the delusion that LA of today is still the same as the LA of 1950s. What Metro needs to do is provide an example to LA real estate developers that LA of the 21st century is going to be vastly different from the automobile centric era of the 20th century. Also known as: “lead by example.”
There’s a reason why mass transit companies in Asia acts both as transit operators and real estate developers and are so independent and profitable rather than being reliant on taxes to keep them afloat.
For example, look to Japan’s Shinjuku Station, which holds the Guiness World Record of the world’s busiest train station with over 3.64 MILLION passengers PER DAY (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.jp/world-records/busiest-station).
Shinjuku Station is a major hub used by 5 train operators and 11 lines, 36 platforms, 200 exits, bus and taxi terminals, underground shopping malls, department stores, residential and commercial high-rise properties. What they don’t have are wasteful uses of land space to parking lots!
That’s the direction you guys need to be heading toward. Full integration of the train station with residential and commercial properties and “lead by example” on how LA needs to re-imagine itself from a “drive your car and park there” type of station to a full grown hub of residential and commercial activity that integrates itself to rail operations. As stated above, if Metro has a problem with “first mile/last mile” issues, said issues can be resolved by erecting massive high rise residential structures right next to the station itself. If people live right near the station that is accessible by walking less than 500 meters from the station, then you negate the need of wasting land space for parking lots and get rid of this whole wasteful “park-and-ride” concept.
And it shouldn’t be just at Union Station, but throughout all Metro stations, especially at those important hubs where transfers take place. But you also need room for expansion because you know you can’t keep running two or three rail car forever, it needs room for future upgrades when the need to upgrade our system from light rail to full heavy rail that are 10-12 car lengths should arise in the future (and granted, by the way LA is only get more populous and more denser, it will be needed)
This does not look anything like what was first presented to the community of Willowbrook. New stores, new parking lot. Better pedestrian access. However, anything than what we have is better than nothing.
Only Metro would create a rendering of the new design with more parking lots and make it look like a strip mall! Yes, let’s continue to waste valuable land space in LA with free parking designs.
Here’s a good idea: solve first mile/last mile at the same time by building a multi-use condo/shopping mall next to it. WITHOUT PARKING SPACES!
I am glad to hear this because the Rosa Parks Station has unfortunately looked like a dump for years. One improvement that I think that needs to be made is to put in more escalators now that I am a disabled senior the stairs are too difficult for me. And when you go from the Green Line platform to the Blue Line platform you have to change elevators. The current set up is just a big mish mash.
I totally agree with you Rick. Good point.