A new study ranked Southern California’s passenger rail system third out of six, in the middle of the pack behind San Francisco but ahead of San Diego and Santa Clara.
Of the 88 stations in the L.A. Metro area, half received a grade of B or higher, signaling the impact of rail depots on transportation, as well as on new residential and commercial development, according to the study released Monday from the nonpartisan Next 10 group and U.C... Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment.
“Top-performing transit stations tend to be located in the center of downtown-like environments and thriving, rail-oriented neighborhoods. These stations provide access to housing, shopping, places of work and other amenities,” said Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry.
Researchers singled out the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Red Line subway, a workhorse that connects hundreds of thousands of commuters from downtown to North Hollywood. In particular, the study graded the Westlake/MacArthur Park Station an A+, calling it one of the best in the region for connecting to other transit modes, walkability and for a high percentage of riders within a half-mile radius.
On the back end of the curve was the Wardlow Station along LA Metro’s Blue Line in Long Beach, which was ranked one of the worst stations in the county and received the only F grade. A lack of pedestrians, jobs or transit-oriented housing were the reasons.
“Stations that serve a mix of users, residents and workers, they scored higher,” Perry said. “Poorly run stations are in the outer reaches of the system with limited pedestrian access, low ridership and few attractions to draw riders.”
Pulling down Southern California’s overall grade was the Green Line stretching along the 105 Freeway from Norwalk to Redondo Beach, said Ethan Elkind, a professor at U.C. Berkeley’s School of Law and author of the study. He cited it as an example of a passenger rail line whose stations are not accessible to pedestrians, nor near shops, eateries or housing.
“Those stations along the Green Line did not score well because you will not have a lot of development when the station is in the middle of a freeway,” he said.
Gold Line stations, including Del Mar and Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena and Mission Street in South Pasadena, received C’s or worse, despite locations where transit-oriented development has been a priority.
Poor grades could’ve been due to a low percentage of riders residing within a half mile, one of the key factors in the ranking system. Also, these stations added multi-family housing and mixed-use development recently, which were not reflected in the study, he said. New apartments and condos rising adjacent to Sierra Madre Villa station in Pasadena, for example, also were not counted, he said.
Elkind expects L.A.’s grades to improve once line extensions from Culver City to Santa Monica (Expo Line) and from Pasadena to Azusa (Gold Line) are operational early next year, and when the Regional Connector in downtown L.A. is completed.
In the San Fernando Valley, the Orange Line, a dedicated busway, received good marks. The Reseda, Laurel Canyon and Van Nuys stations each earned a B-. The North Hollywood Red Line/Orange Line station received a B grade. More mixed-use developments planned for the latter may increase the grade in the future.
With California’s population expected to rise from 38 million to 49.7 million in 2050, getting more people on mass transit is key to reducing traffic and cutting greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming, the authors said.