The City of West Hollywood has long supported increasing its transit options. The West Hollywood City Council, in December 2015, approved a plan to conduct outreach and to build regional partnerships in support of a Metro rail project that would extend the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line to West Hollywood and connect to the Metro Red Line. The proposed Northern Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail transit line would provide critical north-south connections to, from, and through West Hollywood and would enhance the existing Metro regional rail network.

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8.5 miles of the Metro Crenshaw/LAX light rail transit line are currently under construction in Los Angeles, Inglewood, and El Segundo from the Metro Green Line to the Expo Line where the current project terminates at the existing Expo/Crenshaw station. The project will serve the Crenshaw District, Inglewood, Westchester, and LAX (via a people mover connection being constructed through a separate project).

The Northern Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX line would bring the light rail line north through Mid City, West Hollywood, and Hollywood to the Metro Red Line resulting in between 5-9 new stations and 6.5-9.5 miles of new track depending on which alignment alternative is ultimately selected.

Passed in November 2016, the Measure M transportation sales tax measure allocates $2.33 billion towards the project with groundbreaking not scheduled until 2041. West Hollywood residents strongly supported each of the transportation sales tax initiatives in Los Angeles County, surpassing all other communities in the County except Cudahy in the degree of their support (Measure R 83.6%, Measure J 81.4%, Measure M 86%).

On May 7, 2018 the City Council formally voted to support accelerating the Northern Extension of the Metro Crenshaw/LAX light rail transit line to West Hollywood and Hollywood with Resolution No. 18-5055. This action builds upon previous Council actions dating back to before the passage of the Measure M transportation sales tax measure and a previous commitment from Metro CEO Phil Washington to get the project shovel-ready and competitive for future funding opportunities.

The Resolution made the City of West Hollywood the first of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County to seek acceleration of a transit project under Metro’s Early Project Delivery Strategy. Namely, the Council voted to:

• Reaffirm corresponding adopted City goals and implement additional adopted Metro goals related to the integration of transportation and land use
• Pursue an agreement towards Inter-agency coordination and streamlining of related permitting and environmental review with the City of Los Angeles
• Support phased implementation if necessary, as long as an initial phase serves West Hollywood
• Explore ways to bring up to $550 million in new revenue and funding to the project

Key Previous Council Actions:

• Resolution No. 18-5055, May 7, 2018
  • Supporting Acceleration Responding to Metro’s Early Project Delivery Strategy
• September 19, 2016 Staff Report (and supplemental Memo)
  • Adopt a position of support for Metro’s Ballot Measure M
  • September 16, 2016 Metro CEO Phil Washington Letter committing to shovel-readiness
• July 20, 2015 Staff Report
  • Authorizing Staff to facilitate a community advocacy committee to promote light rail and/or subway to West Hollywood

On July 27, 2018 the Metro Board of Directors voted to release the Crenshaw Northern Extension Feasibility/Alternatives Analysis Study Final Report—an important milestone in the planning and environmental clearance process necessary to make the project competitive for future funding opportunities and acceleration. Overall, the Feasibility Study shows that the Northern Extension project will have the highest ridership of any light rail line in the United States and serve some of the densest, most job rich, and most congested areas in Los Angeles County while providing time-saving alternatives to highly congested travel routes. Five alternative rail alignments were studied in the Feasibility Study but additional outreach and technical studies were funded and authorized by the Metro Board of Directors on September 27, 2018. Over the next few months, outreach to West Hollywood and other communities along the corridor as well as additional technical studies will provide key information to decision makers as Metro works to refine the number of alternatives that will eventually be carried forward into an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Resources

• Metro Project Page
• Metro Feasibility Study Executive Summary
• Metro Feasibility Study Final Report
• Regional Destinations Map
• Infographic Map
• Key Regional Supporters List
• Metro Measure M Page

Press

• “Rail to West Hollywood inching closer to reality” –Curbed LA
• “Metro’s Crenshaw Line extension could solve many of West L.A.’s traffic woes. Build it now” – LA Times
• “Will it Take Until 2047 to extend the Metro West Hollywood” – LA Times
• “Metro’s plan for L.A. transit would be transformative…with one small fix” – LA Times
• “Where should WeHo’s Rail Line Go?” – Los Angeles Magazine

Additional Information

Additional information will be posted to this web page as it becomes available.

The regional All on Board Coalition and local West Hollywood Advocates for Metro Rail (WHAM) advocacy groups facilitated by the City also post regular updates to social media pages at the following links:

All on Board Coalition Twitter Page                     

All on Board Coalition Facebook Page

WHAM Twitter Page

WHAM Facebook Page

For additional information about the City’s Rail Advocacy efforts, please contact David Fenn, City of West Hollywood Associate Planner, at dfenn@weho.org. 

Historic Photos of Pacific Electric Interurban Streetcars and the Metro Division 7 Site in West Hollywood