California Projects/Developments

[Plutonic Panda]

Just a thread I’ll post from time to time about big developments here, both private and commercial. I won’t post all of them obviously because there’s so many but I’ll post the links to various forums you can visit if you want to see more detailed post from others.

I’ll start with the Crenshaw(or K Line) that opened on Friday. I haven’t been on it yet but I hope to get around to it this week.

Here’s a preview of it before it opened:



Map of the route:


Note that only the section currently operating is from The Expo(E) Line to the Westchester/Veterans Station near the 405. The last two sections won’t open until construction on the LAX and Aviation Stations are complete which should be around late 2024; I’ll get to that later.

The overall new light rail line is detailed here:

The K Line was designed and built with the help of community input and local voices to provide a faster, more convenient and reliable way to connect to jobs, schools and the rich cultural places throughout these communities. The K Line will connect to the Metro E Line (Expo), which travels between downtown LA and Santa Monica. By 2024, the K Line will also connect to the new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station, the new Aviation/Century Station and the Metro C Line (Green).

Project websites here: https://kline.metro.net/

https://www.metro.net/projects/crenshaw_corridor/

The press release from Metro: https://thesource.metro.net/2022/10/...-this-weekend/

Note, this project is joined by several adjacent projects to better connect LAX to the Metro system. You can find more information and renderings on the LAX station at this link: https://www.metro.net/projects/airport-metro-connector/

Metro will also be closing a segment of this line in the near future to build a grade separation they should have built to begin with at Centinela: https://www.metro.net/projects/centinela/

[Plutonic Panda]

This line once again extended to the Green Line with two stations in between will see it joined by an APM at LAX connected via the LAX station.

Here is a map of the APM:



Project website: https://www.lawa.org/transforminglax...s/underway/apm

Project description:

The Automated People Mover (APM) is the centerpiece of LAX’s $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) which will enhance the traveler experience, give guests time-certain access to terminals and provide the long-awaited connection to the regional transportation system. The 30-year, $4.9 billion contract was the largest ever awarded in the City of Los Angeles’ history and was the first Public Private Partnership (P3) contract at LAX. LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) is the joint venture selected to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project.

LAX broke ground on the APM project in March of 2019 and anticipates that the system will be operational in 2023. Pre-construction activities—such as utility relocations, geotechnical investigations and surveying—began in 2018 and major construction activities are ongoing both inside and outside the CTA. The APM cars will be delivered in 2022, and once major construction is complete, extensive testing will begin.

The electric train system features a 2.25-mile elevated guideway with six stations total – three inside the Central Terminal Area (CTA) and three outside the CTA. During peak hours (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.), the nine trains will run on the guideway, each with four cars, and will be capable of carrying up to 50 passengers and their luggage, for a total of 200 passengers per train. Train speed will top out at 47 mph. Trains will pull into a station every two minutes during peak hours with a total travel time of 10 minutes end-to-end (from the Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility to the West CTA Station). For easy access, the APM trains will have large, wide doors with level boarding and each car has 12 seats designated for travelers in need. The APM will be FREE for all users and will operate 24/7. With an anticipated use of approximately 30 million passengers per year when it first comes online, it is estimated that the APM will result in 117,000 fewer vehicle miles traveled per day.

The APM trains, elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks provide for quick access to the terminals and stations. Passengers will be able to view real-time flight information, public art in a variety of media, and will see the iconic Theme Building from a brand-new perspective as the train enters the CTA.

In addition to reducing traffic, the APM will leverage cutting-edge sustainability practices to reduce the airport area’s carbon footprint. The system’s fleet will consist of 44 cars that are fully electric, 98% recyclable and generate a portion of their own power through regenerative braking, while providing an industry-leading ride quality for users. The command center and maintenance facility generate nearly half of its power from solar energy and is designed to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certified.

[Plutonic Panda]

It will also be joined by a new consolidated rental car facility holding more than 18,000 cars:

The Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility is one of the major components of LAX’s $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP). Scheduled to open in 2023, the ConRAC facility will consolidate rental car operations currently spread across the surrounding area of LAX into one location conveniently located adjacent to the 405 freeway.

LAX represents the No. 2 rental car market of any domestic airport and this new facility will create a streamlined rental car experience for the hundreds of thousands of travelers renting cars each year.

Bordered by Arbor Vitae Street to the north, Aviation Boulevard to the west, Century Boulevard to the south and La Cienega Boulevard to the east, the approximately 6.4-million-square-foot facility will house more than 18,000 rental car vehicles including ready/return, idle storage and employee parking spaces. The facility broke ground in September 2019 and topped off in concrete in July 2021.

The ConRAC facility will provide direct connection to LAX’s Automated People Mover (APM) train system. With this direct connection, rental car shuttles will no longer be needed to shuttle customers to and from the Central Terminal Area (CTA), which will result in the elimination of more than 3,200 daily rental car shuttle trips on the surrounding streets and into and out of the CTA.

The facility also features a Quick Turn Around (QTA) building, which allows for the light maintenance of vehicles such as car washing, oil changes and tire rotation. This QTA building will help alleviate traffic congestion by keeping operations within the footprint of the facility and not out on the city streets.

Multiple rental car companies representing several major brands will be housed inside the ConRAC facility. Smaller off-brand companies who choose not to relocate will pick up their customers curbside on the west side of the ConRAC facility.

Sustainable design is also at the forefront of the ConRAC facility as it will hope to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating. Sustainable elements include native drought-tolerant landscaping, reclaimed water usage and a solar farm generating approximately 8,400 megawatt hours annually.

On October 26, 2018, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved an approximately $2 billion Public-Private Partnership (P3) agreement between Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and LAX ConRAC Partners (LAXCP). The design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) P3 contract is for a 28-year period. Construction began in 2019 and the facility is scheduled to be operational in 2023.

- https://www.lawa.org/transforminglax...nderway/conrac

[Plutonic Panda]

The Crenshaw Line is also planned to be extended north to meet with the Red line at Highland:



Project website here: https://www.metro.net/projects/crens...ern-extension/

[Pete]

That Purple Line extension west is a big deal as that area of west L.A. is very densely populated, Park La Brea in particular.

[Plutonic Panda]

That Purple Line extension west is a big deal as that area of west L.A. is very densely populated, Park La Brea in particular.

Yeah that’ll be absolutely huge when that opens. I will post about it when it when I can. Not sure if you’ve been out this way lately but it’s already causing big disruptions along Wilshire and in Century City and Westwood. Just a beast of a project.

[Plutonic Panda]

A proposed Gondola connecting LAUS to the Dodgers Stadium is moving forward:

The Dodgers have once again been waylaid in their attempt to return to the World Series. But a proposal to build a $125-million gondola system connecting its stadium with Union Station has cleared a key hurdle, with the release of the project's draft environmental impact report this month by Metro.

Announced more than four years ago by Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART), the gondola project would run approximately 1.2 miles 1.2 miles between Union Station and the ballpark via Chinatown. The route announced for the project in 2021 would see vehicles travel north on Alameda Street toward Los Angeles State Historic Park, then veer west at Bishops Road toward Dodger Stadium.

According to the environmental study, maximum capacity on the gondola system would be 5,000 passengers per hour, with an estimated end-to-end trip of seven minutes. Admission to the system is intended to be free with a ticket to a Dodger game, and rides would otherwise be set at the same price as a Metro fare.

- https://la.urbanize.city/post/draft-...gLbkhTHvDcbGxc

[Plutonic Panda]

Regional Connector is opening Friday which I’m gonna check out and heads up to anyone traveling here from out of state all rides are free and police/security presence will be very heavy so safety won’t be an issue.

https://thesource.metro.net/2023/06/...nal-connector/

[Just the facts]

People don't appreciate how much rail transit LA has.

[Plutonic Panda]

It’s getting way better. When the purple line, K line north extension, Sepulveda pass corridor which will be extended south, the WSAB corridor, among other planned but unfunded projects like the Vermont subway our system will become incredible. They just need to fix the ridiculous headways. I’m not kidding you it isn’t unusual to hit the red line(I take it almost every day) and the next train isn’t coming for 15-17 minutes. That is not acceptable.

On top of CAHSR there’s also the Metrolink SCORE program and Brightline. I’m not too optimistic on HSR here but I’d love to be proven wrong. The bay also has some ambitious plans but they have like 25 different transit agencies and some of those need to be consolidated.

[Pete]

People don't appreciate how much rail transit LA has.

I used it all the time when I lived there.

Not only the subway, but there were commuter lines and I would occasionally take it from where I lived in Ventura County all the way to LA's Union Station, which is an unbelievable gem. It was glorious: new, two levels, great wifi and it provided a full hour each way that I could use to work or read as opposed to being stressed out in a car.

They are wrapping up a huge project at LAX and the light-rail system will be directly accessible for the first time.

A couple of times a year, my triathlon team would meet at Anaheim Stadium, ride our bikes 80 miles south all the way through Camp Pendelton and along the coastline ending up at the Solana Beach station, where we'd have pizza and beer at a place right across the street from the station, then load our bikes on the train which took us back to where we started in Anaheim. An incredible blast I did about 10 times.

Wanting to get in over 100 miles, some friends and I actually rode all the way to downtown San Diego which has another gorgeous Art Deco train station (and great light rail).

A couple of times we rode from out where I lived near Moorpark north up the coast and all the way up into the hills around Ojai, then down and to the Santa Barabara train station, and then rode the rails back with our bikes.

There are a ton of different versions of these bike-out, ride-the-train-back adventures all over California.

Sigh... People who bash California have no idea how fantastic it is to live there.

[Plutonic Panda]

Big problems though with PacSurf through the bluffs in south OC and north coast in San Diego. I believe they had to shut down again after just opening from a month long hiatus. They already have a couple projects to put it in a tunnel and it looks like we’ll need more.

JTF, if you have seen the ARTIC station in Anaheim check it out. Absolutely mesmerizing and criminally underutilized.

[Plutonic Panda]

A couple of times we rode from Moorpark (out near where I lived) north up the coast and all the way up to Ojai (in the hills), then down and to the Santa Barabara train station and then rode the rails back with our bikes.

There are a ton of different versions of these bike-out, ride-the-train-back adventures all over California.

Sigh... People who bash California have no idea how absolutely fantastic it is.

I’ve been thinking about doing that ride through Ventura and up the coast to SF. Maybe do some stops on the way.

[Just the facts]

I worked in Irwindale for several months and my hotel was in Arcadia. Rode the train everyday for work then rode it into Pasadena and Hollywood for dinner. Took it to Santa Monica several times and even to Universal Studios. For something like $4 round trip I could go anywhere in LA.

[eeyore]

So true, I miss living in San Diego and the East Bay, getting around without a car could actually be fun.

[Plutonic Panda]

Animation showing the future LAUS improvements which currently are schedule to be complete in the 2030s :/

https://twitter.com/numble/status/16...VyUISr2QMGaA2Q