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Narrowing In On Paths To Extend Gold Line Rails

San Gabriel Valley communities have another opportunity to weigh in on phase two of the Gold Line Extension project.

By Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou, EGP Staff Writer

Lying just beyond the new Gold Line extension opening this summer in East Los Angeles after decades of planning and building are several more communities just beginning to come to a consensus on what they want in another rail extension.

Metro’s community relations manager Dave Monks says the biggest challenge at this stage is getting people to picture what it will be like in 20 to 30 years if the second phase of the Gold Line extension were to go through their neighborhoods.
Starting this summer, the Gold Line will extend all the way to the Atlantic Station in East Los Angeles. Metro is talking to communities about extending the Gold Line further. (Photo courtesy of Metro)

Starting this summer, the Gold Line will extend all the way to the Atlantic Station in East Los Angeles. Metro is talking to communities about extending the Gold Line further. (Photo courtesy of Metro)

Depending on the final route chosen, this extension could connect Whittier or the area just south of El Monte to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Cities along the way, like Montebello, Monterey Park and Commerce will be affected by one or all of the routes.

Destinations along the routes under consideration include the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, Rio Hondo Community College, the Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, and several local and regional shopping districts.

Metro staff is encouraging people to look ahead as they try to zero in on a few routes before beginning the environmental impact studies. They have already pruned 17 routes down to just four based on feedback from cities, communities, and stakeholders. Now they’re back to talk to the community about pruning away some more.

Metro has scheduled a tour of city council briefings and community open houses about the four remaining route options, which they hope will result in a further weeding out of more ‘alternatives,” or route options. In this “refining and reducing” stage, Metro is seeking feedback from the community to add to their decision on which routes will be worthy of going onto the environmental impact study stage.

They don’t know how many routes they will be taking out, but when they’re done, “there will be less than four [alternatives left],” Monks says.

Factors that the Metro team will reconcile into the most ideal remaining routes include the building costs, ridership levels, stakeholder city’s economic development and land-use plans, travel times, reliability, acceptance from the community, environmental impacts, sustainability, safety and security, and financial capability.

The city of Monterey Park is lobbying for the route that follows the 60 Freeway and has even included high-density housing into their long-term city plans. “Monterey Park has been very proactive in letting us know their future plans,” Monks says.

Montebello, which will be affected by all of the route alternatives, also seems to be backing the 60 Freeway route, which is seen as a benefit to the city’s regional shopping mall, the Montebello Town Center.

The 60 Freeway route appears to have a lot of support, but of the four routes, the Washington Blvd route will have the highest ridership, with about 15,900 daily boardings, according to Metro projections. Monks points out it is also the most expensive to build at $1.849 billion. The Beverly Blvd. route is the cheapest to build at $1.143 billion.

Travel time and the way people want to use the line are other factors to consider. The 60 Freeway and the Washington Blvd routes, 15.6 minutes and 16.9 minutes respectively, both include aerial rail, making travel at higher speeds more possible. The Beverly and Beverly/Whittier routes have substantial “at-grade” portions that travel through neighborhoods and city centers on surface streets which requires slower speeds. Both routes take about 23 minutes or more to travel.


Routes with aerial rails are better for residents who prefer parking their cars and riding rail, while at-grade rails appeal to residents who want to be able to walk to transit lines in their neighborhoods or shopping areas, Monks says.

Even though Metro is calling Phase 2 of the extension a study rather than a project, the second phase is listed as a project on the long menu of projects to be funded by Measure R, passed by Los Angeles County residents in last November’s elections that increases sales tax by 0.5 percent. The “Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2” extension of the Gold Line was allocated $1.271 as a result of Measure R.

The increased likelihood for the project has put that much more weight onto the upcoming stages of the phase 2 project. “It’s on the radar. The public voted for it. They want to see it,” Monks says.