LEANING RIGHT-Funding has been provided for a new Metro link that will connect the Gold line with the Blue and Expo lines. The Gold line will connect with the Blue and Expo lines at the downtown 7th and Grand hub.
This will allow single train travel from Pasadena to either Long Beach or Santa Monica. There will also be new downtown stations at 2nd and Hope, 2nd and Broadway, and 1st and Central. The Purple line will not factor into this new link because it is on the lower level of the Figueroa hub.
In addition, the Purple line has been funded through to La Cienega. Eventually it will proceed all the way to Santa Monica and the 3rd Street Mall as well as the beach. Both the Expo Line and the Purple line will terminate in Santa Monica and the beach.
There are still advocates for the Polka Dot Line connecting the Red Line terminal in the valley to Long Beach. It should be modified, however, to connect the Purple and Expo lines to LAX and then to Long Beach from Santa Monica. This will tie the Purple, Expo, Crenshaw, Green, and Blue Lines together.
By eliminating the valley connection the Santa Monica Mountains are also eliminated. Running the Polka Dot line through the mountains is a big expensive project with little gain.
When the oil and auto people bought and destroyed the old Los Angeles Red Car Lines they envisioned an auto-addicted Los Angeles. This happened but now we are paying for gasoline through the nose and frustrated as hell while sitting in the 405 and 10 and other “moving parking lots.”
The Gold and Blue/Expo line connection will curtail some of this frustration and also cut down “getting there” time.
(Kay Martin is an author and a CityWatch contributor. His new book, Along for the Ride, is now available. He can be reached at [email protected] )
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 16
Pub: Feb 25, 2014