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July 3, 2008
Metro Red Line to Burbank Airport
The idea is already in Metro's long range plan, but it's not a priority. The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. says it's only 3-miles and if connected to Burbank Airport and the Burbank Metrolink station (therefore, downtown Burbank), ridership would surely increase. Road Sage Steve Hymon questions what if the Green Line went all the way to the Norwalk Metrolink station (we'll add in, "how about LAX?").
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YES YES and more YES!
The best part about Chicago's transit... is that the El goes right to the airport! Burbank Airport, and its neighboring Metrolink/Amtrak station, is a prime candidate for an extention of the Red Line.
And absolutely, the Green Line should have a station within LAX. No, not some shoddy remote service with a connecting shuttle but BAM right in the middle of the place. Easy for everyone to get to and from their flights.
Now, lets talk about a subway down the Sepulveda Corridor to Long Beach from Santa Clarita, hmm?
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Definitely! Honestly I don't understand why this wasn't done in the first place.
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I don't understand why this wasn't done in the first place.
You have to learn the history of the Red Line alignment. To cut a long story short, the Red Line was meant to go from Downtown to the Valley, specifically the West Valley (Canoga Park) via the Burbank-Chandler right of way. These proposals have existed since the 1970s.
When the '80s rolled around, the committed funding would only go Union Station to North Hollywood - the line that exists today.
The Burbank-Chandler right of way was considered to either be an eventual subway extension, or a light rail line or a bus line. The latter won out and exists as the Orange Line.
The Orange Line may or may not be upgraded to rail, but if it does, it would probably be surface light rail. That freed the Red Line to go on a northward alignment, and hence now the Burbank Airport proposal, which wasn't considered in the past simply because the Red Line was though to go only west, not northwest.
Things make more sense once you understand the whole story.
As for Red Line to Burbank Airport,do it!
The heavier transit ridership seems to be in the East Valley; the Militant would like to see the Red Line from Burbank Airport pop out of the ground in an elevated alignment and serve Pacoima, Sylmar and eventually Santa Clarita.
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And while we are discussing history, here's why the Green Line didn't go to LAX in the first place.
Originally, it was intended to, when it was being planned by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC, one of Metro's predecessor agencies). But there were issues about bringing the line along Aviation Blvd. to get to the LAX Transit Center, most of which centered around the ridiculous idea that the overhead electrical wiring for the light rail power would somehow interfere with aircraft coming in for a landing several hundred feet overhead. Ultimately, the FAA ruled that the line would be a "hazard to aviation" which meant only a subway under the approach path would be acceptable.
The Los Angeles Airport Commission also refused to consider an alignment that would actually enter the airport grounds, stubbornly insisting that if the LACTC would get the line to the transit center at 96th St. they would construct a peoplemover from there. (Of course, they knew that the FAA ruling meant no rail to 96th St. so they never had to seriously consider building the peoplemover.)
With LAX literally out of reach, LACTC went to Plan "B" which was to go south to the then-robust aerospace and defense contracting business in Redondo Beach. But while the Green Line was being built, the Cold War ended and there were severe cutbacks in Redondo Beach, so the line ended up without a good trip-generating anchor at its western end.
Don't get me started, Zack and Steve, about why the Green Line doesn't go through Norwalk. (Hint: Ask their city government.)