In the decades since Los Angeles began building a modern rail network, officials have been waiting for the moment when the system would be big enough, and reach enough places, that it would become a viable alternative to driving a car. <\/p>\n
For supporters, a new Metro plan for a northern extension of the K Line \u2014 projected to increase ridership on the light rail line by 100,000 per day \u2014 could be a big step toward creating a dynamic mass transit culture in L.A.<\/p>\n
K Line Northern Extension<\/a> The underground light rail project that the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is set to vote on this week<\/a>Would extend the existing K Line from Crenshaw\/Expo to Hollywood.<\/p>\n Metro’s proposed 9.7-mile route from San Vicente to Fairfax would connect nine stations and connect Angelenos to major job centers like Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and popular destinations like West Hollywood, Pacific Design Center and the Grove. The tenth station will be built at the Hollywood Bowl. Transit experts say it will also significantly strengthen L.A. County’s broader rail grid network by connecting with the county’s four major rail lines and six of the busiest bus lines.<\/p>\n “It’s really going to change the geography of where people come to L.A.,” Jacob Wasserman, research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said of the K Line extension. “It’s creating this nice grid network of rail, so that you can ideally get anywhere in the city with just one transfer by rail. … It will change people’s mental models about the city where they live or work.”<\/p>\n Los Angeles has invested billions in light rail infrastructure over the past four decades, but it’s still struggling to get more people to ride. Other line openings have come with hopes and hype, but some consider the K Line extension different, partly because it will connect to a larger network that now includes a major subway through Downtown L.A. and, in May, a long-awaited Subway that connects Koreatown to the Wilshire\/La Cienega area<\/a> And finally to Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n A Wilshire\/Fairfax Metro station is planned for the D Line.<\/p>\n (Etienne Laurent\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n “LA is starting a kind of grand experiment: Can they rebuild a rail system that serves a metro area that didn’t initially grow around the car, but expanded around the car?” Wasserman said. “If it works here, it’s a model for Phoenix and Houston and all the other cities in America that are more modern, haven’t developed around transit, but can fit transit.”<\/p>\n Metro has already become a national leader in building rail transit over the past few decades, said author Ethan Elkind.Railtown: Los Angeles Metro Rail and the fight for the city’s future<\/a>” But the rail network is still struggling to attract large numbers of new riders and get drivers out of their cars, because the region is so vast and key areas like West Hollywood have been left out.<\/p>\n “It’s kind of a missing link in the system through a fairly densely populated part of the city,” Elkind said of the proposed K Line extension.<\/p>\n But the project, which is estimated to cost between $11 billion and $15 billion, is far from a done deal. <\/p>\n If the Metro board votes in favor of the line extension to San Vicente on Thursday, its approval will depend on local funding: West Hollywood would have to work with L.A. County to set up a Advanced Infrastructure Financing District<\/a>A public financing mechanism that allows it to dedicate a portion of the future increase in existing property tax revenues to support the project, providing at least 25% of the capital cost estimate.<\/p>\n The West Hollywood leader is a major supporter of the K Line’s northern extension. But not all residents are on board. Some question how the small town of about 35,000 people will raise its share of the money for the project. Other people in Mid-City are strongly opposed to digging tunnels under their historic homes.<\/p>\n West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman told The Times that the K Line extension will create “unprecedented opportunities” for people across the region and that his city is committed to working with Los Angeles and L.A. County for local funding. <\/p>\n in the metro Planning and Programming Committee<\/a> meeting<\/a> Last Wednesday, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, the former mayor of West Hollywood, described the K Line extension as “one of the most transformative rail projects in Metro history.”<\/p>\n Over the past few years, Metro has explored two other potential completely underground routes: Fairfax, a roughly eight-mile route with seven stations, and La Brea, a six-mile route with six stations. But it determined that the long-term San Vicente\u2013Fairfax alignment provides the greatest amount of benefit because it connects to the greatest number of stations, including major job centers such as Cedars-Sinai, as well as regional destinations such as The Grove and the former CBS Television City. <\/p>\n The K Line extension will connect commuters to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a major employment hub in the region.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Georgia Sheridan, Metro’s senior director of countywide planning and special projects, said last week that the tunnels will be constructed in three sections using boring machines 40 to 120 feet below ground, with the first section connecting the E Line to the D Line. Each section will take eight to 12 years to build.<\/p>\n Sheridan assured residents that Metro’s tunnel safety report found that modern tunneling techniques were “very safe and successful”. The tunnels will be 80 to 100 feet below the historic areas of Mid-City, he said.<\/p>\n The K Line extension will also run near the Grove Shopping Centre.<\/p>\n (Caruso)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n “At these depths, there will be no noise and vibration,” Sheridan said, noting that Metro had tunneled at the same depth in similar soil conditions without any problems. “We have not suffered any property damage.”<\/p>\n But still, some residents spoke out against the project. <\/p>\n A Lafayette Square resident said, “I am in support of public transportation, but am not in support of any tunnel under our historically preserved neighborhoods and amenities that would impact our homes and disrupt the quality of life in this area.” <\/p>\n Following public comments, Metro’s Planning and Programming Committee, which was scheduled to vote to approve the project, abstained. Instead, it sent the decision to the Metro board for a final vote on Thursday.<\/p>\n Jonathan Finestone, president of the West Hollywood West Residents Association, told The Times that the project was supported by developers and unions and came with little public consultation. They feared that as soon as the Metro announced new stations milestone s<\/u>enate <\/u>b<\/u>Sick<\/u> 79 Housing bill passed last year that overrides local zoning laws to expand high-density housing near transit hubs<\/u> Large-scale “over-development and over-density” of West Hollywood would be accelerated. <\/p>\n He also asked that West Hollywood, which has a $202 million annual budget<\/u><\/a>Will finance its share in the project.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to tax people,\u201d Finstone said. <\/p>\n David Fain, a senior West Hollywood planner, told The Times that the city is not considering a sales tax increase. He also said that West Hollywood would not pay anything like $4 billion or a quarter of the project cost. The 25% local funding would not be the responsibility of West Hollywood alone, he said, and would likely include a combination of contributions from regional partners such as the Westside Cities Council of Governance, LA County and the city of LA.<\/p>\n Advocates of the project say the San Vicente-Fairfax route will be a lifeline not only for West Hollywood residents but for low-income Angelenos throughout the region. About two-thirds of the daily estimated trips on the proposed K Line northern extension would be made by low-income individuals, many of whom do not own a car.<\/p>\n Horvath told The Times that Metro’s goal is to build a system that people will actually use and prioritize residents who rely on it as their primary form of transportation. Cedars-Sinai is a regional destination, he said \u2014 not just for workers, but for many South L.A. residents who rely on it for health care and will make appointments only when they have reliable transit.<\/p>\n Horvath said, “It connects communities that were previously divided by redistricting, and helps connect communities that were divided because of those historical wrongs with job opportunities, health care centers, and assistance.”<\/p>\n K Line Extension L.A. It’s part of a huge wave of investment in the U.S.’s light rail system. Last June, Metro opens LAX\/Metro Transit Center<\/u>Which brings the C and K lines closer to the airport. There is much more to come too. In January, Metro approved a plan Extend the K Line south to Torrance<\/u><\/a>. Metro will open in May Phase 1 of D Line subway extension<\/u> Spanning 5.1 miles between Downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown. <\/p>\n![\"Wilshire\/Fairfax](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/e503348\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5000x3333+0+0\/resize\/320x213!\/format\/webp\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc7%2Ffe%2F305dbe004283b30ba81a7083d22d%2F1429959-me-metro-completes-9-mile-underground-27.jpg)
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