The Expo Line

by Tony Chavira

Obviously, there’s no way to take the Expo Line from its proposed starting point in Culver City to its proposed ending point in Downtown Los Angeles. But Dave Deutsch and I decided one morning that we would drive alongside the tracks and stop at proposed Expo Line stations to survey the area. At each stop I was looking for four things in particular:

1. What are the opportunities for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)?
2. How accessible is this stop to the existing community?
3. How will this stop help to relieve traffic in this area? (Or will it?)
4. Is the existing community walkable?

The exit at the Venice/Robertson intersection is a resounding “no” for accessibility, traffic relief, and community walkability. There are always opportunities for TODs, but the already busy intersection is a traffic-jam nightmare surrounded by fast food chains and auto body shops. Not that local commerce isn’t important, but I can’t see the point of basing the line at this intersection, aside from deterring residents from driving to downtown from West L.A. With this grim outlook at the onset, I hoped that this was not the sole purpose of providing an Expo Line. Phase 2 of the Expo Line extends the line further west to (I hope) the Third Street Promenade area of Santa Monica, a community that has done a generally good job of providing serious options to the driving averse. One could argue that Phase 1 of the Expo Line is the “backbone,” assuming that Santa Monica can install their extension any time as long as Los Angeles is good to their word and does their part as promised. Not to sound contrived, but right now? This is literally a light rail line from nowhere to Downtown L.A.

The stop at National and La Cienega is equally (if not more) useless for those interested in walking. The area is currently zoned commercial and industrial, but from the looks of things you’d expect industrial and agricultural, as you have a pretty clear view of the Kenneth Hahn Park, looming about a mile south.

Luckily for us, development and commerce seem to warm up a bit once the Expo Line reaches its stop at Exposition and La Brea. At one time there was a thriving community at this stop, but development efforts elsewhere took the money from the neighborhood and left residents to essentially fend for themselves. Looking around, I was somewhat excited that residents of the local housing development would suddenly find themselves with so much transit access further east, and this feeling was only re-affirmed by what we saw further down the line.

The stop at Crenshaw and Exposition is at the doorstep of the famous West Los Angeles Cathedral, and construction is already heavily underway. This area of Crenshaw is a mix of mom-and-pop shops and restaurants interspersed with chains. To the area’s benefit or detriment, the addition of the Expo Line will almost certainly increase foot traffic. For example, the owners of small business like Earle’z Grill (some of the tastiest chili in town, I might add) can only see this as a plus, and will almost certainly see a significant boom in sales once construction is complete. In tough economic times, these businesses have no choice except to hold on until the Expo Line’s completion date. (The addition of Phase 2 can only do this stop that much better).

By Exposition and Western, the Expo Line will run through the center of the 2-lane street, and thereby may provide significant traffic issues. As mentioned in Dave Deutsch’s article, it’s tough trying to figure out exactly how to plan transit around existing right-of-ways in a city where the rails were laid 100 years ago or more. This stop in particular, a hodge-podge of strip malls, small shops and gas stations, cannot be overlooked once the City of L.A. and Metro decide to place a parking lot for the station; not only is this space designated a Federal Empowerment Zone, but it’s particularly interesting (historically) because it’s a section of Los Angeles that has received a lot of funding for revitalization over the past 40 years. Greed, politics, and a lack of planning foresight has led the money elsewhere in the city of Los Angeles, so this is the best shot that this West Adams neighborhood has for substantial and intelligent redevelopment and revitalization. For the sake of the kids attending nearby Martin Luther King Elementary, keep your fingers crossed.

Once we get to Vermont and Exposition, you can see some of the logic behind the choices that the City of Los Angeles has had to make. It’s not a secret that USC absolutely did not want the Expo Line built nearby when the project was proposed (and it’s not listed on the local attractions section of the interactive map on the Build Expo website); but as redevelopment efforts took precedence in Los Angeles, USC has been able to slowly get on board the Expo (so to speak). The stop after Vermont is officially the USC/Exposition Park stop, and attaches the Expo Line to the school, stadium, rose garden, and all of the county museums. It’s more than likely the most substantial stop along the Expo Line, and the politics behind why USC originally opposed the line’s construction are fading due to a mix of public/private partnerships, traffic-reduction efforts around the USC area, and incentives from MTA ($23.3 million for that stop alone).

The last string of stops floats up Figueroa, which most Los Angeles development types know has been a contentious issue. With stops at Jefferson, 23rd Street, Pico and ultimately the line ending at the 7th Street Metro station, the city of Los Angeles, developers and non-profits alike have been scratching their heads to find a good and integrative way to turn the Figueroa Corridor into a walkable and accessible street scene. Naturally, some people felt that adding the Galen Center would do that (and the stop at Jefferson will attach the Expo Line there), while some felt that LA Live might do that (and the stop at Pico will attach the Expo Line there). Ultimately, only an integrative and organic revitalization effort will achieve all of the goals for all stakeholders, and not just the ones with a trillion dollars in the bank.

Without making a formal judgment of Expo Line—as everything will surely change as the line starts actually moving people—take a drive yourself, and evaluate how well use of the old, old rail right-of-ways can (and absolutely will) change the landscape of Los Angeles. It’s fun to know that so many things are soon to be at our fingertips, but we’ve still got a long way to go until the completion date of 2010.

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