Mass Urban

“LA’S TRANSIT DREAMS COMING TRUE?

On the tracks of Los Angeles’ new Expo Line.

Alissa Walker. 4.17.12

At his State of the City address last week, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made a surprise pledge to extend Measure R, the half-cent sales tax that is funneling an estimated $40 billion into transportation projects over the next 30 years. When the measure passed with a two-thirds majority in 2008, it represented a turning point for the city:  Angelenos not only wanted better transit, they were willing to pay for it. Extending the tax, Villaraigosa claimed, would complete planned transit projects in half the time. “We will measure traffic relief in years, not generations,” he said.

Believe it or not, Los Angeles is on its way to becoming a world-class transit city again, and there is a pivotal new light rail line opening this weekend to prove it.

On Saturday, April 28, the Expo Line will lead the city into a new transit era. This 8.6 mile route from downtown to Culver City will not only serve a traffic-weary swath of the city, but it will give Angelenos the rail line that will metaphorically make the city whole again—traveling the width of the LA basin to reach Santa Monica as early as 2015.

And unlike some recent additions to the system, like the Gold Line Eastside Extension, it will be likely heavily used: Metro expects 27,000 boardings per day. When the line is complete to Santa Monica, ridership could be as high as 67,000 per day.”

Via: The Architect’s Newspaper

Photo: Metro