[citywatch]

ladowntownnews.com, CBID/submitted

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is nearing completion on a 1.9-mile underground light rail extension that will knit together the city’s metro system, allowing riders to travel across LA County in one seat.

“In this moment of challenge and change for Downtown Los Angeles coming out of the pandemic, entering into a new reality of hybrid and remote work, uncertainty around the office sector and other changes, the metro system is more important than ever because it is what enables people to get to jobs in Downtown (and) enables people who live Downtown to get to jobs in other places,” Griffin explained.

“It’s also what enables Downtown to be a social, economic and cultural center. … It’s about access to arts and culture, entertainment, restaurants, hospitals … all that Downtown has to offer. So now more than ever, as Downtown evolves and changes and deals with shifts in its identity and its purpose, the metro system is critical.”

Griffin also said the project reinforces the centrality of Downtown LA, both geographically and culturally, as nearly all of the major freeways and metro lines touch the neighborhood. The new regional connector will extend from the L Line (Gold) in Little Tokyo and the Arts District communities to Line A (Blue) and Line E (Expo) at Seventh Street/Metro Center Station. Riders will be able to travel between distant cities like Azusa to Long Beach and from East LA to Santa Monica.

“There were two transit measures taxes passed in the last 10 years or so (Measure M and Measure R), and those constitute the largest, by far, investments in mass transit in the country. … It’s a commitment that’s backed up by a funding stream in perpetuity, and that’s what makes it a much more significant and tangible investment in public transit.”

Riders have expressed concerns over public safety on the transit lines. Though Metro has stated its commitment to reducing violence, crime on Metro trains and buses has reportedly increased since 2021.

“The safety and conditions on Metro has to be a top priority because we cannot let this investment go to waste,” Griffin said. “We cannot give away our future growth by letting the Metro system fail, because that’s what our growth is based on. … It is absolutely critical for the Olympics, and the Olympics is a marker for our growth as a world-class city. We absolutely must have a world-class transit system for those Olympics.”

The project, which began construction in 2014, is set for completion within the coming months. Metro has reported that tunneling work and construction on the regional connector’s three stations is 90% complete.

10% still left to go? But better late than never.
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