On Local Government – Is Green Line DOA?
by Bob Pinzler
When the Metro Green Line (now the C line) opened in 1995, its primary goal was to provide a commuter link between the aerospace industry in the South Bay to more affordable housing in the Norwalk area. As a side benefit, the intersection of the Green with the Blue Line (now A) would provide a connection to downtown LA that was competitive to driving, in terms of time.
The Green Line has never been particularly successful. Aerospace slowed down and alternatives such as express buses became more popular. Two other problems were apparent from the start. The Green Line was kept from providing efficient connections with LAX, primarily due to protective measures that propped up on-site parking and taxis.
In addition, the line ended abruptly at Marine Avenue in Redondo Beach, primarily because of opposition by Torrance to the original maps, which indicated a terminus would be placed in its downtown area. (You may notice a multitude of railroad tracks crisscrossing that area.)
At the time of the planning of the Green Line, the freight track that runs along the BNSF right-of-way was much busier than now. With the opening of the Alameda Corridor from the Port of LA to the South Gate freight terminal east of downtown, there was little need for those freight tracks except for the delivery of product from the Chevron refinery in El Segundo. The number of trips on that length of track dropped to, at most, two per day. This has dramatically changed the neighborhoods that have frontage on it.
Now that positive change is threatened by the Metro plan to extend its line to a terminal in Torrance that is in the middle of an industrial area, nowhere near its downtown. It is a plan that has near unanimous opposition from those cities and neighborhoods that will be affected by it. (Torrance is not an opponent since none of their residents live near the affected area.)
The proposed extension has a multitude of problems. There will still be no direct access to LAX. A change at the Aviation station to the new Crenshaw Line will be necessary, requiring moving luggage you may be carrying across a platform and waiting for a connection.
An additional issue has recently been highlighted by an article in the Los Angeles Times showing overall Metro ridership is down substantially due to safety issues. Many of those problems are associated with the opioid and fentanyl crises that have been afflicting all parts of the country. In LA, one focus of this problem has been on rapid transit. The Metro board thinks this is enough of an issue to be considering canceling their security contract with the Sheriffs and creating their own police department.
With ridership levels between 35 to 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and the new Crenshaw line, which cost $2.1 billion, and receives an average of only 2,100 riders per weekday, the question is whether the disruption of our neighborhoods for the extended Green Line is worth it.
Maybe more buses would be a better option. At least they don’t run through our backyards. ER