Folks wanting to hear more about the LA Metro mega rail transit project that would connect the Westside of Los Angeles with the San Fernando Valley through the Sepulveda Pass will have to wait several more weeks.
The meetings scheduled for Thursday, April 3, Friday, April 4 and Saturday April 5 have been canceled. They will be rescheduled, but no future dates have been set.
Why were the meetings suddenly called off?
Metro’s statements indicate they are tied to the upcoming release of the long-awaited draft Environmental Impact Report for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, which may not have been ready for the meetings.
“The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project is both complex and consequential to improving mobility for millions of Angelenos and visitors, so we must ensure all details are confirmed before we release the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR),” Metro stated.
In a emailed response sent on Wednesday, April 2, Dave Sotero, Metro spokesperson said: ‘Metro temporarily postponed the meetings to focus on preparing for the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to the public.”
In the Metro e-newsletter, The Source, the connection to the DEIR was further emphasized when The Source said the agency was looking forward to “sharing the draft study with the public. There’s a ton of interestingness within the DEIR on the various alternatives.”
Sotero said Metro was not intending to release the DEIR at the meeting, explaining, “The draft was not planned to be released at the community meeting. The purpose of these community meetings is to share key project updates with the public before the release of the Draft EIR.”
“I was definitely a little disappointed,” said Coby King, co-chair of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association’s transportation committee and a consultant with STC4ALL, a coalition of many groups, cities and elected officials in support of an underground station on campus at UCLA and a connection to the D (Purple) Line.
He surmised the delay was to better prepare a presentation on the EIR. King said he hopes the EIR will confirm robust ridership numbers, particularly with the heavy rail options. “I am really interested in seeing what is the impact on construction and operation on hillside communities. I’m hoping the fears expressed will be unfounded,” he said.
King is referring to opposition to an underground rail transit beneath Sherman Oaks and Bel Air. Members of homeowner groups from these two areas are opposed to underground tunneling, saying it could affect their properties. The two groups preferred the monorail option that would be built in the median of the 405 Freeway, with right shoulder stations.
Metro is considering five alternative routes, either by a monorail (alternatives 1 and 3; 2 was removed) or underground heavy rail (alternatives 4-6) that would become the first transit project to connect the two most congested parts of Los Angeles by some kind of rail service. It would be built either over or under the Santa Monica Mountains, offering an alternative to driving the busy 405 Freeway.
About the only certainties for this project are the two end points: the north end of the project would be at the Metrolink/Amtrak station at Van Nuys Boulevard and Saticoy Street, while the south end connects to the Metro E (Exposition) light-rail line, which runs from Santa Monica to Downtown L.A. How to get there varies between an aerial, Disneyesque monorail or an underground subway similar to those in other parts of Los Angeles. Or a mixture of the two.
The agency, and the DEIR, looked at five alternatives:
• Alternative 1: Monorail with aerial alignment on 405 Freeway corridor and electric bus connection to UCLA. 15.1 miles, with eight stations: Metro E Line (Expo)/Sepulveda, Santa Monica Blvd., Wilshire Blvd. (Metro D Purple Line), Getty Center, Ventura Blvd., Metro G Line, Sherman Way, Van Nuys Metrolink Station. Electric bus connection from D Line (Purple) Westwood/VA Station to UCLA
• Alternative 3: Monorail with aerial alignment on 405 Freeway corridor and underground alignment between Getty Center and Wilshire Blvd. 16.1 miles, with seven stations: Metro E Line (Expo)/Sepulveda, Santa Monica Blvd., Getty Center, Ventura Blvd., Metro G Line, Sherman Way, Van Nuys Metrolink Station. Two underground stations: Wilshire Blvd. (Metro D Purple Line), UCLA Gateway Plaza. Underground alignment between the Getty Center and Wilshire Blvd.
• Alternative 4: Heavy rail with underground alignment south of Ventura Blvd. and aerial alignment generally along Sepulveda Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley. 13.9 miles, with four underground stations: Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda, Santa Monica Blvd., Wilshire Blvd. (Metro D Purple Line), UCLA Gateway Plaza. Four aerial stations: Ventura Boulevard, Metro G Line, Sherman Way, Van Nuys Metrolink Station.
• Alternative 5: Heavy rail with underground alignment including below Sepulveda Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley. 13.8 miles (underground), with seven underground stations: Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda, Santa Monica Blvd., Wilshire Blvd. (Metro D Purple Line), UCLA Gateway Plaza, Ventura Blvd., Metro G Line, Sherman Way and one aerial station at the Van Nuys Metrolink Station.
• Alternative 6: Driver-operated heavy rail with underground alignment including below Van Nuys Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley and southern terminus station on Bundy Drive. 12.9 miles (underground), with seven underground stations: Metro E Line (Expo)/Bundy, Santa Monica Blvd., Wilshire Blvd. (Metro D Purple Line), UCLA Gateway Plaza, Ventura Blvd., Metro G Line, Van Nuys Metrolink Station.
Metro reports that a monorail would run eight-car trains during the peak times, with each car having a capacity of 90 to 97 passengers. The frequency is 2.8 minutes.
An automated heavy rail train would run four-car trains during peak times with each car having a capacity of 170 passengers. The frequency is 2.5 minutes. Rail with a driver runs six-car trains during peak times with each car having a capacity of 133 passengers. The peak frequency is 4 minutes.
Mark Waier, a spokesman for the monorail option, Los Angeles SkyRail Express, said he didn’t know what would be discussed at the meetings. He’s hoping LA Metro will release the EIR soon with pertinent data for both alternatives.
“By having a full EIR you are able to get a full picture as to the alternatives, what the impacts are and the cost,” he said.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who also serves on the Metro board, said in a post on X that Metro staff has confirmed the meetings are moving to a later date. “These meetings are not canceled and will happen,” she posted. “This is an essential project that deserves complete consideration, and I am looking forward to sharing the new dates in the coming weeks.”
But the cost of each alternative may not be included in the EIR or in the community meetings.
For other projects, Metro has released a separate summary of cost analysis that is a compendium to the EIR document, said Bob Anderson, vice president and chair of the transportation committee of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.
“I want to see the information come out. Everybody should learn about this stuff. But we will have to see what they say,” he said.
“We believe that Metro should release the EIR and approve their locally preferred alternative this year,” said Eli Lipmen, executive director of the group Move LA.
After a draft EIR is released, the public can comment on it. Those comments are folded into a final EIR. After that, the Metro governing board can adopt the document and choose the preferred alternative, followed by design and construction.
“The release of the EIR would be a major milestone,” King said.
Completion is estimated between 2033 and 2035, according to Metro.