Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Metro Announces Start Date For Gold Line Expansion From Pasadena To Azusa

gold-line.jpg
Choo choo! (Photo by Chris via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
()

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today. 

It's almost go-time! The Metro Gold Line's Foothill Expansion, which includes stops stops in Arcadia and Azusa, will be opening next March.

Metro CEO Phil Washington announced today that the expansion will open on March 5, 2016. This will service cities near the San Gabriel Mountains, an 11.5-mile extension from the already existing Sierra Madre Villa Station in Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border, according to Metro's blog, The Source.

The six new stations will be in downtown Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte/City of Hope, Irwindale, downtown Azusa and Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College Station in Azusa. You might be asking, "Can I take the train to Din Tai Fung?" Well, the Arcadia stop is just a couple of miles away from the famed Taiwanese soup dumplings hotspot, so it's doable. That goes for the Santa Anita Mall and Santa Anita Park as well.

Here's a map of the new stops. Click here for a larger version.

Support for LAist comes from
()


The Foothill Expansion on Metro's Gold Line (via The Source)
Another cool thing about the stops is that there will be parking lots at each of the new stations, ranging from 125 to 350 spots, depending on the locations.

"The opening of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension will bring Metro Rail to new San Gabriel Valley communities, and provide a relief valve for the increasingly congested 210 freeway," LA County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas said in The Source. "Its opening is a significant milestone: Metro is delivering on its promise to lead a transit revolution. Work is well underway to add four additional rail lines and a total of 32 new miles of service to L.A. County’s rail system in the coming years."

The $957-million expansion project is the first Metro Rail project to be completed through funding from Measure R, which was a half-cent sales tax increase approved by L.A. County voters in 2008. The construction for this Foothill Expansion began in 2010 and finished about a month ago, the L.A. Times reports.

During the press conference today, Mayor Eric Garcetti said, "I completely support the Gold Line going further east. Getting out to Claremont is incredibly important to me."

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist