Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Westside Extension Alternatives Analysis (AA) StudySummary of Recommendations to Metro Board Community Update MeetingsSeptember 2008

Westside Extension Study Area

Alternatives Analysis Process

First step in defininga project

• Evaluation of a wide range of alternatives

• Screening of alternatives against criteria

• Selection of most promising alternative(s) to proceed into further environmental review

Where We Are In The ProcessInitial

Conceptual Alternatives

Fall ‘07

Early Scoping

Santa

Monica

Wilshire

Alternatives Identified for Screening

Winter ‘08

Initial Screen

Promising Alternatives

Spring ‘08

AA Report Conclusion

Fall ‘08

TSM

1 2 3

7 8 9

13 14 15

16 17

NoBuild

10 11 12

4 5 6

Alt 16

Alt 14

Alt 11

Alt 17

No Build

TSM

Alt 1

Additional Analysis

TSM

No Build

Recommendation

Evaluation Criteria

1. Mobility Improvement

2. Transit Supportive Land Use Policies & Conditions

3. Cost Effectiveness

4. Project Feasibility

5. Equity

6. Environmental Considerations

7. Public Acceptance

Public Involvement To Date

• Nearly 1100 people attended first 3 rounds of community meetings

• Over 800 comments received in all forms

• Summary of comments received:– Overwhelming support for a transit improvement – Wilshire subway alignment is the most favored

route and mode– Support also expressed for a subway on both

Wilshire and Santa Monica alignments– Wilshire alignment supported before a Santa

Monica alignment– Support for narrowing alternatives to remaining

four rail alternatives

Alternatives Studied Further Since May Meetings

Required

• No Build

• Transportation Systems Management (TSM)

5 Build Alternatives

• Bus Rapid Transit (1 Alternative)

• Wilshire Subway (2 Alternatives)

• Combined Wilshire/West Hollywood Subway (2 Alternatives)

Bus Rapid Transit Alternative

Four Post-Screening Rail Alternatives

Study Recommendations

Recommended Alternatives for Environmental Review

Required

• No Build

• Transportation Systems Management (TSM)

2 Subway Alternatives

• Wilshire Subway (Alternative 1)

• Combined Wilshire/West Hollywood Subway (Alternative 11)

Not Recommended for Further Review

• Bus Rapid Transit (Alternative 17)

• Subway with Deviation North to 3rd Street for:– Wilshire Only (Alternative 14) or

– Combined Subway (Alternative 16)

Wilshire Subway (Alternative 1)

Wilshire/West Hollywood Combined Subway (Alternative 11)

How We Arrived At The Recommendations

Why was BRT (Alternative 17) Eliminated?

• Good near-term solution• Long-term, does not provide sufficient capacity• Wilshire peak period bus lanes in City of Los

Angeles• Approved by City Council• Approved for federal grant funding

The Subway Evaluation Process

• Santa Monica Stand-Alone Subway Previously Eliminated

• West Hollywood Segment Must be in Concert with Wilshire

Therefore:• First: Choose “best” Wilshire

Alternative• Then: Add West Hollywood segment

for the “best” Combined Alternative

Choosing the Wilshire Alternative

Metric Wilshire Alt 1 Wilshire Alt 14(3rd Street Deviation)

Cost($2008)

$6.1 B(shorter, fewer stations)

$7.0 B (longer, additional stations)

New Transit Trips 39,000 37,000

New Station Boardings

61,500 60,000

2030 Rail Ridership (vs. no-build)

95,500 88,300

Travel TimeExample: Downtown to Westwood

Faster (straighter)

23 minutes

Slower (curves)

28 minutes

User Benefits 48,000 hours/day 45,000 hours/day

Station Issues Accommodates La Cienega/Wilshire

Adds stations at 3rd/Fairfax, Beverly Center Area and Wilshire/ Robertson

Compatibility with Combined Alternative

Yes Yes

Alternative 1

Alternative 14

Screening Results

• Alternatives 1 and 11 remain for potential environmental process

• Alternatives 14 and 16 eliminated from further study

Alternative 14

Alternative 16

How the Recommendations Perform

Ridership Forecasts (2030)

120,000 120,000

56,500 56,500

61,50079,400

34,000

36,600

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Alt 1 Wilshire Alt 11 Combined

Daily Boardings

Other NewRail S ystemBoardings

New S tationBoardings

2030 NoBuild (R ed &Purple L ine)

Baseline2005/6Forecast(R ed &Purple L ine

292,500272,000Other NewRail SystemBoardings

New StationBoardings

2030 NoBuild (Red &Purple Line)

Baseline2005/6 Forecast(Red & Purple Line)

Transit User Benefits (Daily Hours)

• Reflects number of users and travel time savings

• Alternatives with more users and more travel time savings perform better

Updated Cost Estimates (in 2008 $)

Refinements Since May:

• Parking Costs

• Engineering Details

• Right-of-Way

$475Cost Per Mile(in millions)

$510

$ B

illio

ns

Cost Effectiveness Challenges

Lower is BetterIn the Next Phase:

• Attempt to Lower Construction Costs

• Refine Ridership Projections– Special Generators

– Tourism Trips

– Fuel Costs

– Updated (2035) Forecasts

FTA Target

Wilshire Combined

Regional Benefits of the Project

Travel To Westside Job Centers (Home/Work Peak Hour Trips)

95,000-115,000 new transit boardings would be generated by the project

Transit user benefits would be spread throughout the County

Regional Benefits of the Project

Transit User Benefits Countywide

5% of user benefits accrue beyond LA County

Regional Benefits of the Project

From Today With Project % Change Days Saved/Year‡

San Gabriel Valley-Covina-Pasadena

9982

6950

-30%-39%

1112

East Los Angeles* 76 48 -37% 10

Downtown/Mid-City-Pershing Square-Koreatown

5436

2313

-57%-64%

118

San Fernando Valley-North Hollywood-Northridge

6198

4270

-31%-29%

710

South L.A & South Bay-Florence-Crenshaw Green Line

7685

4462

-42%-27%

128

Gateway-Long Beach 114 81 -29% 12

Transit Travel Time to Westwood/UCLA (in minutes)

Based on current Metro Schedules

* Travel time from East LA presumes operation of Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, scheduled to open 2009.‡ Days Saved/Year presumes 2 trips/day x 260 travel days/year.

Potential Next Steps

Implications of Potential Sales Tax Revenue

• Project is currently unfunded• Sales tax would provide up to $40B for County

transportation projects for the next 30 years• Portion of funds allocated toward “Metro

Westside Subway Extension”• Could be used to build a segment of the

subway• Failure of the sales tax would require Metro to

seek other funding sources• Time delay increases project costs

Sales Tax Does Not Specify Project Details

Per Metro Board Action, Agenda Item 36, July 2008

Draft Ordinance Language (§16.a.6): “Metro Westside Subway Extension. The sum of nine hundred million dollars ($900,000,000).”

Draft Five-Point Plan: “This project, to be opened in segments, will extend Metro Rail toward the cities of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The extension would substantially cut transit travel times; one study estimates a 50% time savings for commuters along this heavily congested corridor. The project area exhibits very high density and transit ridership, as well as several major employment centers including Century City and Westwood/UCLA. Specific routing will be subject to approved plans developed in cooperation with local jurisdictions and affected communities.”

Expenditure Plan: Commits additional $3.2 billion on top of the minimum $900 million for a total of $4.1 billion. Funding to beavailable beginning FY 2013.

Staff Report to Metro Board of Directors

• Recommend Alternatives to Evaluate in EIR/EIS

– Alternative 1: Wilshire Subway

– Alternative 11: Wilshire-West Hollywood Combined Subway

– Include general alignments and station areas

• Identify Issues for Further Analysis in Other Studies

– North/South Connections to Other Corridors

Issues to be Studied/Resolved During EIR/EIS

• Decisions About Optional Station• Details of Station Locations

– Preliminary Station Planning, Urban Design & Parking

• Alignments Between Stations• Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures• Project Cost & Phasing• Cost Effectiveness of Project Elements• Adoption of Locally Preferred Alternative

(LPA)• Federal Funding Application

Alternatives Analysis Schedule

COMPLETED:

Early Scoping Meetings October/November 2007

Definition of Alternatives January/February 2008

Initial Screening of Alternatives and Community Update

May 2008

CURRENT:

Community Update: AA Study Recommendations

September 2008

UPCOMING

Recommendations to Metro Board Fall 2008

Possible Schedule for EIR/EIS & Beyond

Draft EIR/EIS

Final EIS/PE

7 Years

Months0 18

21 33Months

Final Design Construction• Alternatives Analysis

Study Approved• Select

LPA

• Federal Approval for P.E.

• Record of Decision (Certification)

FTA Review

Upcoming Meeting Dates

• Wednesday, September 3, 6 - 8 pm: Santa Monica Public Library

• Thursday, September 4, 6 - 8 pm: West Hollywood Plummer Park

• Saturday, September 6, 2- 4 pm: Beverly Hills Public Library

• Monday, September 8, 6 - 8 pm: LACMA West• Wednesday, September 10, 6 - 8 pm: Westwood

Presbyterian Church

Same format and materials at all meetings

Contact Informationwww.metro.net/westside

David Mieger, Project Managermiegerd@metro.net213.922.3040Jody Litvak, Regional Communicationslitvakj@metro.net213.922.1240

Information line: 213.922.6934

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