Photo essay: L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s mobility tour

by Steve Hymon , December 12, 2022

Before leaving office over the weekend, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti last Friday took a 10-hour tour of our local mobility system.

It went like this: G (Orange) Line to B (Red) Line to DASH to Griffith Observatory to Blue electric car share to J (Silver Line) to Metro Bike Share to E (Expo Line) to K Line to Leimert Park for a lunch stop to Metro Micro to the future LAX Automated People Mover and LAX/Metro Transit Center station to taxi to Purple (D Line) Extension’s Wilshire/Westwood Station construction site to Metro Micro (again) to E Line (again) to 7th/Metro in DTLA to a brief tour of Regional Connector work.

Metro photographer Aurelia Ventura and myself got to tag along for a good slice of the day. It was a nice reminder of how much of the city of our area you can see via transit and, in particular, it was very cool to see the stations adjacent to LAX where Metro riders will be able to transfer to the automated people mover that will serve LAX terminals. Some of the system, of course, was in place when Mayor Garcetti took office in 2013 — but we also saw plenty of mobility services and projects that got underway during the past 9.5 years when the mayor was in office.

On behalf of Metro, best wishes to Mayor Garcetti and his staff

Here are a few photos from our day:

Saying hello to students at Griffith Observatory. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

A Blue electric car share vehicle on the 101 freeway. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Mayor Garcetti chats up a rider on the J (Silver) Line in DTLA. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Riding Metro Bike Share on Figueroa between DTLA and Exposition Park. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Recording a video outside the entrance to the K Line’s Leimert Park Station.

Saying hello to fellow patrons at Hot and Cool Cafe in Leimert Park — steps from the K Line. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Selfies with Metro staff at the K Line’s Westchester/Veterans Station. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

At street level below the LAX Automated People Mover station where riders will be able to transfer to/from Metro Rail and local buses. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Looking down from the people mover at the steel frame of the LA/Metro Transit Center Station. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

Looking north from the people mover to the steel frame of the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station and the tracks entering the adjacent rail yard serving the K Line. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.

At the construction staging yard for the Purple (D Line) Extension’s Wilshire/Westwood Station, where excavation is taking place under the street decking. Photo by Aurelia Ventura/Metro.