Remaking Greater Los Angeles as a Transit-Oriented Region
Several decades into a voter-approved transit focus, both the city and the county of Los Angeles are proudly showing off a growing list of transit-oriented development (TOD) projects. Supported by a new half-cent tax that could fund an estimated $120 billion worth of public transit improvements over the next 40 years, the region is ramping up the creation of TODs not only in downtown but also along transit lines further out. Private developers are planning and building dozens of TOD projects around transit stations, some of them joint developments with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), to create more comprehensive “transit-oriented communities” (TOCs).
Angelenos spend an average of 81 hours a year stuck in traffic, and only 5 percent take transit. With 10.2 million people in 88 cities, L.A. County is projected to expand by 2.4 million people in the next 40 years. To mitigate worsening traffic congestion and air pollution in this car-culture region, Metro will double the size of its rail system to better connect downtown L.A. to the county’s edges.
L.A. County has voted for four half-cent sales taxes since 1980 to support transit improvements. Measure R, passed in 2008, raised $36 billion for rail, subway, and road projects. The funding expanded L.A. County’s Metro Rail system from two to six lines, including two rapid-transit subway lines (the Red and Purple lines) and four light-rail lines (the Blue, Green, Gold, and Expo lines). The system now has 93 stations and 105 miles (169 km) of rail, as well as connections with the Metro Busway bus rapid transit (BRT) system (the Orange and Silver lines) and the Metrolink commuter rail system. Riders can travel from downtown to the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, LAX airport, East Los Angeles, and the beaches of Santa Monica and Long Beach to the west and south, respectively.
Last November, 71 percent of county voters passed Measure M to fund $120 billion worth of rail expansions, highway improvements, walking and biking infrastructure, and local street repairs. More than half of all revenues over the next 40 years will be spent on new construction, according to Metro, including five new transit lines and at least six extensions of lines that are already built or under construction, plus BRT line expansion. Measure M, through the city of Los Angeles, will fund $200 million for a future downtown streetcar.
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