The Elusive 405 Corridor Rail Line (Source: CityWatch)

Link: CityWatch - An insider look at City Hall

The Elusive 405 Corridor Rail Line
Beyond Measure R
By Ken Alpern


Whenever I’ve raised the idea of the Expo Line, the Green Line to LAX, the Wilshire Subway, the Orange Line being a light rail line instead of a busway, or anything other than a mass transit effort, my feedback has always included someone commenting on the need to connect the San Fernando Valley with the Westside via a rail alternative to the 405 freeway. Interestingly enough, pretty much EVERY rail line has had its organized supporters…except the 405 Corridor Rail Line!

Why this is, I do not know—it is one of those many observations that aren’t accompanied by explanations. I see it but I don’t get it. I’ve not seen Valley and Westside grassroots organizations, websites or other efforts sprout up to support what most folks consider to be a no-brainer.

The closest thing anyone’s done to suggest a transit alternative to the 405 freeway (one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the nation, if not the world) is when Supervisor Yaroslavsky proposed a Busway to be established utilizing the HOV/carpool lanes being finalized in the middle of the Westside portion of the 405 freeway.

Transit nerds like Friends4Expo Co-Chair Darrell Clarke and Transit Coalition Executive Director Bart Reed and I have debated this issue for years, and as the Expo and Crenshaw Light Rail Lines convert from science fiction into the world of reality, and as the Wilshire Subway looks like something that will be built within our lifetimes, the role of this line, and how it can be routed, is a topic for debate that is increasingly relevant.

The following two maps, created by Darrell Clarke, enjoy a lot of interest and support among other transportation enthusiasts, and were made about a year ago before it was determined that the Crenshaw/LAX Line was indeed going to be a light rail. The first map shows a Crenshaw Blvd. and Lincoln Blvd. light rail line complex that both enjoy connectivity to the Expo and Green Lines, with LAX connectivity to boot. The 405 Corridor rail line is also a light rail that closely follows the 405 freeway to connect the Orange Line with the Wilshire and Expo Lines.

Note that the map, created by a Santa Monica resident and veteran of that city’s Planning Commission, does not have the Wilshire Subway to the Sea going entirely to the ocean. Very few transit advocates and planners have supported such a full extension westwards, because the 405/Wilshire Blvd. traffic jam begins in earnest at approximately Wilshire/Bundy, and it is doubtful that Santa Monica wants the Wilshire Blvd. corridor to be megadensified as far west as Lincoln Blvd. (which would normally accompany a subway).

Hence the argument that myself and others have pursued to have the Subway stop at approximately Wilshire/Bundy, and forego any expensive and unnecessary construction if the Expo Line makes it to the ocean (which it pretty much will). An interesting option would be for the Subway to proceed from Wilshire/Bundy to link with the Expo Line at Olympic/Bundy station, but it is also uncertain as to whether West Los Angeles wants that much densification there, either (it already has its hands full with the Bundy Village megadevelopment).

Regardless, when the Wilshire Subway finally reaches Westwood, the focus among grassroots and political leaders and thinkers will likely NOT be getting it as far west as the beach, but rather how to connect or extend it to the San Fernando Valley:



The second map has both outdated as well as rather likely features of what a 405 Corridor rail line would look like, but the thinking behind it follows a different paradigm than a rail routed along the 405 freeway. Rather it is a speedier (like 10 minutes or so!) and more direct subway route between the Valley and the Westside with only two stops between the Orange and Wilshire Subways (UCLA campus and Ventura Blvd.).

In this map, Lincoln and Crenshaw Blvds. have heavy rail subways that will likely NOT happen (Crenshaw Blvd. will be a light rail line, regardless of whether it’s above or below ground, or ground level), although any Crenshaw Corridor rail line extension north of the Expo Line will be underground to connect with the Wilshire Subway and, perhaps, the Red Line at Hollywood/Highland.

The details as to whether there would be one or two rail lines to connect the Red Line with the Purple and Crenshaw

Lines is a subject I’ve addressed in previous articles, and is somewhat off-topic for the issue of the 405 Corridor rail line. It is an issue, however, that will affect construction of the Wilshire/Purple Line and be a topic for future generations to confront. What we must confront now, however, is the question of whether a Valley-Westside rail line need closely track the 405 freeway:



My own personal epiphany on this topic came several years ago when I realized that successful rail lines either supplemented or replaced freeways that serve as major commercial corridors. The Expo and Gold (Pasadena, Eastside and Foothill) Lines track the 10, 710, 60 and 210 freeways, respectively, and the Wilshire Subway actually replaces the original freeway once planned in the 1940’s/50’s for where Wilshire Blvd. now is.

With the understanding that the Wilshire Blvd. corridor is so megadense as to need a subway/heavy rail line, I came to the conclusion that the Sepulveda/405 freeway corridor is just as megadense and would ALSO need a subway—perhaps one that directly connected to the Purple/Wilshire Line, because up to 150,000 riders/day or more would use if built right.

Considering that the uphill grade and narrowness of the Sepulveda Pass made a surface/elevated light rail difficult at best, and that such a light rail would reach full capacity rather quickly, and that there weren’t many good potential stops between Wilshire Blvd. and the Orange Line, I still believe that a straight shot with a 10 minute subway ride of 100 mph (like the Red Line does under the Cahuenga Pass) and with stops at the Orange Line, Ventura Blvd./Sherman Oaks, UCLA and Wilshire/Westwood would be remarkably attractive to many 405 commuters accessing one side or the other of the Sepulveda Pass.

I still await the formation of a grassroots group to promote and advocate for this 405 Corridor line (or Valley-Westside line), but I expect such a group won’t form until the Expo Line is completed, the 405 HOV/carpool lane project is completed, and the Wilshire Subway is on its way to Century City and points west.

Still, it is my strong prediction that the really BIG transportation improvement sought by Westsiders and Valley residents after the east-west rail lines are completed will be this elusive, probably wildly popular, but as of yet nonchampioned 405 Corridor Rail Line.

(Ken Alpern is a Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) and is both co-chair of the MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee and past co-chair of the MVCC Planning/Land Use Management Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and also chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at Alpern@MarVista.org.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.) -cw