On Saturday, May 17, we’ll be holding opening celebrations for the Rail-to-Rail Active Transportation Corridor Project, a multi-use path for cyclists, rollers, walkers, and joggers along the historic Slauson corridor.
The 5.5-mile path stretches eastward from the communities surrounding the K Line Fairview Heights Station in Inglewood to the A Line’s Slauson Station. Along the way, it intersects with the J Line at Slauson and the 110, as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Chesterfield Square, Harvard Park, Vermont-Slauson, South Park, and Central Alameda, as well as unincorporated Florence-Graham.
The Slauson corridor was once home to the now-defunct Harbor Subdivision, a rail line built during the early 20th century to connect Los Angeles with the ports. In its heyday, freight trains passed through Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Wilmington on their way to the harbor. The corridor continued to be used through the 1950s, but rail activity waned over time. The last real freight train (and here I mean a regular intermodal freight train, not a signaling test train or local switching service train) to run down that portion of Slauson was in 1974.
During the early 1990s, one of Metro’s precursors, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC), purchased a portion of the corridor between Redondo Junction by the Los Angeles River just north of the city of Vernon and Watson Yard in Wilmington. Over subsequent years, Metro conducted feasibility studies to evaluate various transit options, such as light rail and bus rapid transit. For a moment, officials considered it for a Metrolink route! Better transportation options were sorely needed. Median household incomes in the corridor fall far below the county averages. Moreover, according to T.R.U.S.T. South LA, approximately 17% of households in the Slauson Corridor lack access to a vehicle.
In 2014, we prepared a feasibility study to assess the possibility of repurposing the corridor for pedestrian and cyclist use, which was adopted by the Metro Board that same year. The Rail-to-Rail project was born!
It was very much part of a broader collective effort locally to convert underused transportation corridors into spaces for walking and biking (the Chandler Bikeway in Burbank was once Southern Pacific right-of-way, while the E Line Bike Path was once a Pacific Electric route.) Funding for this $166-million project was gradually pieced together from federal, state, and local sources, including a federal Tiger grant. We broke ground on Rail-to-Rail in 2022.
This project’s name –– “Rail-to-Rail” –– implies the importance of past and present transit connections. But rail is only part of its story. Metro Bus Line 108 –– which runs along Slauson Avenue from Marina del Rey to Pico Rivera and parallels the path –– sees over 14,500 boardings every weekday. Other bus lines that intersect with the path include Metro Lines 210, 207, 53, 754, and the DASH, which is operated by LADOT. The new path also has five new Metro Bike Share stations –– part of our 24/7 bike rental service designed for taking short trips and connecting to transit.
I’m looking forward to seeing how new path could potentially transform this part of Slauson Avenue over the coming years, as residents get the chance to walk, roll, and bike through neighborhoods that formerly had few shared connections. We’re also excited to see how this bike path will help residents access major entertainment and sporting venues. This project, for that reason, is part of Metro’s Twenty-Eight by ‘28 Initiative, the seventh one to be completed.
But before then (and in advance of Saturday’s celebrations), I rode the path on my own in order to show you a few of its new features.
The eastern end of the bike path starts across the street from Slauson Station on the A Line. Given that Slauson Avenue has four lanes of traffic, it can get pretty busy! Prior to this project, it had no bicycle facilities at all, so cyclists had to brave constrained conditions that competed with all the cars and trucks. This Class I bicycle route, separated from vehicular traffic with bollards and other landscaping features, is a total game changer.
As I biked, I noticed workers putting in some of the finishing touches, such as landscaping touch-ups, troubleshooting the emergency call boxes, and testing the new LED streetlights –– 498 in all! –– that illuminate the path from start to finish.
My favorite part of the route is when you cross the Slauson and Western Avenue and continue along a more secluded alleyway. There, shielded from the sounds on the streets, you can bike against a backdrop of yellow trumpet vines, sun-loving yarrow, and colorful graffiti art. Please note that while the eastern portion of the path is open 24/7, this portion will only be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The bike path concludes a few blocks away from the Fairview Heights Station on the K Line. In the future, we’re planning to extend the path from its eastern terminus from the A Line station to the Los Angeles River. More on that soon. But until then, please join us for our opening celebrations this Saturday. Bring friends, family, kids, and pets –– everyone is welcome!
The details:
What: Speakers, music, booths, food trucks, and a group ride/walk/roll along
Where: Slauson Boulevard between Normandie and Budlong Avenues
When: 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hope to see you there!
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Actually, I think the Harbor Sub was used by the Santa Fe (now BNSF) until the Alameda Corridor was built, which I think opened in 2001. So long intermodal trains did use it until 2001 or so to get to the ports. There are some parts left in the southern part of the line for local trains serving the many industries in that region.
LOVE a project that doesn’t take traffic lanes while increasing bike and walking capacity. More like that, please and thank you.