The Los Angeles Union Station Forecourt and Esplanade Improvements project will enhance pedestrian and bicycle access and safety to and from Los Angeles Union Station and surrounding communities. An Addendum No. 2 for the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) has been released for public comment, so tell us what you think!
The Addendum encompasses the following changes:
- Alameda Esplanade Realignment
Based on input from the public, City of Los Angeles, and Caltrans, we have changed designs on Alameda Street so that the bicycle and pedestrian paths on the east side are separated.
- Intersection & Roadway Changes
- Retain left turn on Los Angeles Street going northbound Alameda Street.
- Retain southern crosswalk at the Alameda/Los Angeles Street intersection
- Add lane transition striping north of Cesar Chavez Ave and south of Arcadia Street
- Historic Light Replacement
The project will require the removal and replacement of the streetlights on Alameda Street. The streetlights are historic, but we will be replacing them with replicas.
- Utility Relocations
The Addendum is environmentally clearing more utility relocations than what was included in the FEIR.
- ADA Pathway on Los Angeles Street
The project is implementing universal design by adding an ADA accessible pathway along Los Angeles Street.
The full Addendum can be downloaded here. Metro is accepting public comment through August 26, 2020.
You can submit public comments about Addendum No. 2 by:
- Emailing Megan Nangle at nanglem@metro.net
- Attending a virtual public meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2020 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. where you can learn about the latest project updates and the highlights of Addendum No. 2.
- Virtual Meeting Link: https://bit.ly/LAUSforecourtesplanade
If you don’t have access to a computer or internet, you can call in to listen to the meeting. You will be able to ask the presenters questions.
- For English speakers, please call (877) 422-8614, conference ID 4770364#
- For Spanish speakers, we will be providing live Spanish interpretation. Please call (877) 422-8614, conference ID 4770366#
In addition to the public comment, there is some utility work that will be taking place for the project starting Monday, Aug. 24.
Starting August 24, Metro’s contractors will begin on-street utility investigations on Alameda St. and Los Angeles St. They will start with noiseless ground-penetrating radar (GPR) during weeknights, Monday through Friday, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The expected duration is 3 weeks. Following the GPR work, we anticipate starting ground-disturbing activities (potholing, trenching, and boring) on Wednesday, September 16. This work will take place on weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The full construction notice can be viewed here.
To learn more about the project and get updates, visit the project website at metro.net/lausforecourt.
Categories: Transportation News
Wonderful project. Cant believe it’s taken this long to get to this point. Hopeful to see implementation soon!
The negative aspect on the main Alameda St entrance is the constant pain in the neck women who stand in front of the entrance and chase people and cars away. There is no place available where people who do not want to park and just drop people off at Union Station. Something needs to be done about providing a better passenger drop off area. It is not nice for someone to stand at the entrance to the station to yell at people and chase away cars. When people can not stop to pick someone up or drop someone off near the entrance, it gives people a bad impression of the station of being unfriendly and makes it difficult for disabled people.
It doesn’t sound like you’ve been to Union Station in a few years… there is a designated, pick up, drop off area directly across from the area labeled “Forecourt” in the site plan shown in this article. That vehicular cutout has been the primary pickup drop area for almost a year, possibly more.
I agree that the traffic officers can be on the aggressive side, but in their defense, if everyone who drove through union station loaded right in front of the main entry, Alameda would be gridlocked. It’s just a poorly designed circulation