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 during our fall member drive.
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.
Here's What Stations On Metro's New Crenshaw/LAX Line Will Look Like
While the dream of a Los Angeles connected by quick and seamless rail lines is not quite here just yet, Metro is hard at work building trains all over the county to make that dream materialize.
And to prove it, Metro released some new renderings, on Friday, of three stations along its upcoming Crenshaw/LAX line. The Crenshaw Line is scheduled to open sometime in 2019, and will run from the present Expo Line station at Crenshaw Boulevard, all the way down to the Green Line, connecting at the Aviation/Century station.
Most notably, the Crenshaw line will eventually include a stop that links L.A.’s Metro system directly to LAX itself, via the planned Airport People Mover. Although the people mover will not be finished by the time the Crenshaw Line opens, it will connect to the line at the planned Aviation/96th station. That station will be constructed in tandem with the people mover, and will not be opened until the people mover is ready for service, supposedly sometime around 2023.
While all of this sounds pretty far off, it’s important to remember that the Crenshaw line is one the projects made possible by Measure R, a ballot measure passed in 2008 increasing sales tax by half-a-cent to pay for several Metro projects. 2008 was eight years ago, and 2023 is seven years from now. And we are only now just beginning to see the fruits of the billions raised by the sales tax with the Expo and Gold Line extensions opening very soon.
Support for LAist comes from
If we want to start looking more into the future, the Crenshaw line will eventually connect north from the its current terminus with the Expo Line, to the Purple Line extension’s Wilshire/La Brea station. This phase II of the Crenshaw line is currently in the pre-construction phase, but will eventually manifest as funding is found.
Looking even farther ahead, a 2010 feasibility study also hints at how this phase II extension could one-day grow into a line that runs from the Fairfax district to Hollywood. That extension would run along La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevards, eventually connecting to the Hollywood/Highland Red-Line Station.
That's the dream: a Los Angeles where you can take a single train from Hollywood to LAX, and then get whisked into the airport to your terminal by an automated people-mover. It’s certainly possible, and the plans are all there.
But for now though, be satisfied with these renderings of some stations that will definitely open within the next three years:
Note: We previously said the people mover would be completed in 2024. The goal is actually one year prior, sometime during 2023. We'll see how that goes.
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
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
This is the one time you can do this legally! -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
Best of LAist