LA Metro sets meetings on Green Line Extension Project
Written by jrood
Los Angeles Metro will hold four community meetings beginning October 20 to update the public on the South Bay Metro Green Line Extension project. The purpose of these meetings is to seek public comments and input as the environmental process continues for extending rail service farther into the South Bay to improve mobility in southwest Los Angeles County.
Metro is currently
preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report
(DEIS/DEIR) to identify transit improvements that would provide an alternative
to the I-405 corridor by accessing the regional rail network through
connections to the proposed Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor, currently under
environmental review.
As part of the Draft
EIS/EIR, Metro will assess existing conditions in the study area, further
refine the project alternatives, assess their potential impacts and identify
possible and reasonable mitigation measures.
Two ‘build’ alternatives
are being considered in the DEIS/DEIR. The Light Rail Alterative will evaluate
extending the Metro Green Line from its current terminus at the Redondo Beach
Station to the proposed Torrance Regional Transit Center (RTC).
The freight track
alternative will evaluate operating self-propelled rail transit vehicles on the
Harbor Subdivision right-of-way using upgraded rail tracks from the El
Segundo/LAX area to the proposed Torrance RTC. In addition the Draft EIS/EIR
will evaluate the No Build and Transportation Systems Management alternatives.
The public is encouraged
to attend the community meetings and provide their input. Discussed at the
meetings will be a project overview and update, a recap of the Scoping Meetings
that took place earlier this year and a progress report on the project
alternatives and proposed station locations.
The study area
encompasses approximately 30 square miles and includes the cities of El
Segundo, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Redondo
Beach and Torrance as well as the Del Aire and Lennox areas of unincorporated
LA County.
The project is partially
funded under Measure R, the half-cent sales tax approved by the voters in
November 2008. Under Measure R, the project is provided $272 million in funding
for the Metro Green Line Extension to the South Bay Corridor. This project is
contained in the constrained element of the 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan
(LRTP).
