Expo Park/USC station

Last updated

Expo Park/USC
LACMTA Circle E Line.svg  
Expo Park-USC Metro 2022a.jpg
Expo Park/USC station platform in 2022
General information
Location661 West Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°01′06″N118°17′12″W / 34.0182°N 118.2866°W / 34.0182; -118.2866
Owned by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsSee Connections section
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Bicycle facilities Racks
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedOctober 17, 1875;148 years ago (1875-10-17)
RebuiltApril 28, 2012;12 years ago (2012-04-28)
Previous names University
Services
Preceding station LAMetroLogo.svg Metro Rail Following station
Expo/Vermont
toward Santa Monica
E Line Jefferson/USC
toward East Los Angeles
Former services
Preceding station PE Bolt.svg Pacific Electric Following station
11th Avenue
towards Rustic Canyon
Air Line Grand
towards Pacific Electric Building
Location
Expo Park/USC station

Expo Park/USC station is an at-grade light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located in the center median of Exposition Boulevard near entrances to Exposition Park (Expo Park) and the University of Southern California (USC), after which the station is named. [1] The 37th Street/USC station for the J Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system is located a few blocks east of the station.

Contents

The station is located close to several major museums and sporting venues including BMO Stadium, the California Science Center and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. During the 2028 Summer Olympics, the station will serve spectators traveling to and from venues inside Expo Park including opening/closing ceremonies along with track and field events at the Coliseum and football (soccer) matches at BMO Stadium. [2]

History

Pacific Electric stop

Originally a stop on the Los Angeles and Independence and Pacific Electric railroads, it closed on September 30, 1953, with closure of the Santa Monica Air Line and remained out of service until re-opening on Saturday, April 28, 2012. It was completely rebuilt for the opening of the Expo Line from little more than a station stop marker. Regular scheduled service resumed Monday, April 30, 2012.

It is the last former station stop of the Santa Monica Air Line to be re-opened. The E line travels north on a new right-of-way along Flower street from this stop. The original Air line right-of-way remains owned by Metro and continues east to the A line tracks, however no plans are in place for its use.

Modern light rail station

Expo Park/USC Station (originally proposed as "USC/Exposition Park") was proposed by Metro staff, with input from the public, during the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process. Many stakeholders cited the importance of the station, citing the convenient access it would provide the USC students/employees and Exposition Park guests. Moreover, the station would be crucial for a temporary professional football venue at the current Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the soccer-specific Banc of California Stadium that replaced the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, [3] as well as for the 2028 Summer Olympics. [4]

The administration of USC opposed at-grade light-rail along Exposition Boulevard, claiming that light-rail would separate the campus from Exposition Park. USC President Steven Sample, in particular, was opposed to the project. Sample said he feared the line would create physical and psychological barriers between USC, Exposition Park, and the local community, and would be dangerous for pedestrians. [5]

However, the general sentiment of students and neighbors was in support of the line. The Coliseum Commission took a strong position in support of this station, and the USC Student Senate passed a resolution in support of the station. [6] In the end, Metro staff included the possibility of building the Expo Park/USC station by including it as a design option in the Final EIR, that would only be built if funds for the station (estimated at $5 million) could be found and if local support were present. The report also recommended a short tunnel segment under the impacted intersections of Exposition/Figueroa and Exposition/Flower.

Once the FEIR had been approved, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority worked to secure the funds for this station and to negotiate its design. One other issue remaining to be resolved was USC's request for special architecture for the three stations serving the campus.

Ultimately, USC did not contribute toward the cost of the station. The Authority also abandoned any considerations for special architecture requested by USC. On September 19, 2007, the Metro board approved funding for the cost of the station, which had increased to $7 million. [7] This allowed the station to be built along with the rest of Phase 1.

The station opened with the rest of Phase 1 of the Expo Line on April 28, 2012, [8] and became part of the E Line when the Regional Connector tunnel opened on June 16, 2023. [9]

Service

Station layout

The station has two side platforms in the median of Exposition Blvd that exit to a crosswalk connecting to Expo Park on its south side and USC on its north. The station's platforms slope down slightly toward the east, in order to accommodate the line's descent into a tunnel which passes under Figueroa Street.

Hours and frequency

E Line service hours are from approximately 4:30 a.m. and 11:45 p.m daily. Trains operate every 8 minutes during peak hours, Monday to Friday. Trains run every 10 minutes, during midday on weekdays and weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Night and early morning service is approximately every 20 minutes every day. [10]

An eastbound E line train arriving at the station in January 2024.

Connections

As of June 16,2023, the following connections are available: [11]

Note: * indicates commuter service that operates only during weekday rush hours.

Notable places nearby

The station is within walking distance of the following notable places:

Station artwork

The station's art was created by artist Robbert Flick. The installation, entitled "On Saturdays", includes sequences of photographs taken on the boulevards near the station, creating a document of the local people and places as they were when the station was built. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition Park (urban park)</span> Public park in Los Angeles

Exposition Park is a 160-acre urban park (65 ha) in the south region of Los Angeles, California, in the Exposition Park neighborhood. Bounded by Exposition Boulevard to the north, South Figueroa Street to the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the south and Vermont Avenue to the west, it is directly south of the main campus of the University of Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crenshaw Boulevard</span> Major street in Los Angeles

Crenshaw Boulevard is a north-south thoroughfare that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a 23-mile route in the west-central part of Los Angeles, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E Line (Los Angeles Metro)</span> Light rail line in Los Angeles County, California

The E Line is a 22-mile (35 km) light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. It is one of the six lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The E Line runs east-west and serves 29 stations between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It interlines and shares five stations with the A Line in Downtown Los Angeles. Service operates for 21 hours per day with headways of up to 8 minutes during peak hours. The E Line, the second-busiest light rail line in the system, saw an average of 41,902 passengers on weekdays in October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pico station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Pico station is an at-grade light rail station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located on Flower Street at the intersection of Pico Boulevard. The station also has southbound bus stops on Flower Street, across from the station and northbound bus stops on Figueroa Street, one block to the west. Pico station serves the South Park and Figueroa/Convention District neighborhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hollywood station</span> Rapid transit and bus rapid transit station in Los Angeles, California

North Hollywood station is a combined rapid transit and bus rapid transit (BRT) station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail and Metro Busway systems. It is the northwestern terminus of the B Line subway and eastern terminus of the G Line BRT route. It is located at the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard in the NoHo Arts District of the North Hollywood neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figueroa Street</span> Street in Los Angeles County, California

Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Drive in Glendale to Chevy Chase Drive in La Cañada Flintridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont Avenue</span> Major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, CA

Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of 23.3 miles (37.5 km), is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length between its southern end in San Pedro and south of Downtown Los Angeles, it runs parallel to the west of the Harbor Freeway (I-110).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">37th Street/USC station</span> Bus rapid transit station in Los Angeles, California

37th Street/USC station is a busway station located in Los Angeles, California. It is situated between the LATTC/Ortho Institute and Slauson stations on the J Line, a bus rapid transit route which runs between El Monte, Downtown Los Angeles and San Pedro as part of the Metro Busway system. The station consists of two side platforms in the center of Interstate 110 above 37th Street, adjacent to the University of Southern California campus. The station serves the University Park, Exposition Park and Historic South Central neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial Park station</span> Light rail station in Pasadena, California

Memorial Park station is an underground light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located at Holly Street and at the end of Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena, California. The station is named after the nearby Memorial Park and is situated on the northern edge of Old Town Pasadena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson/USC station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Jefferson/USC station is an at-grade light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located alongside Flower Street at its intersection with Jefferson Boulevard, after which the station is named, along with the nearby University of Southern California (USC). The station also has nearby stops for the J Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system, southbound buses stop on Flower Street, across from the station and northbound buses stop on Figueroa Street, one block to the west. Jefferson/USC station serves the North University Park in neighborhood of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expo/Vermont station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Expo/Vermont station is an at-grade light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located in the center median of Exposition Boulevard at its intersection with Vermont Avenue, after which the station is named, near the Exposition Park and West Adams neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expo/Crenshaw station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Expo/Crenshaw station is a light rail station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles at the intersection of Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards. During construction, it was known as the Crenshaw station. The station is the transfer point between the E Line, which stops at two street-level platforms alongside Exposition Boulevard, and the K Line, which has its northern terminus at a single island platform under Crenshaw Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmdale station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Farmdale station is an at-grade light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located in the center median of Exposition Boulevard at its intersection with Farmdale Avenue, after which the station is named, in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is located between Expo/La Brea station to the west and Expo/Crenshaw station to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expo/La Brea station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Expo/La Brea station is an elevated light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located over the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, after which the station is named, in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westwood/Rancho Park station</span> Los Angeles Metro Rail station

Westwood/Rancho Park station is an at-grade light rail station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located at the intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard in the Rancho Park neighborhood of West Los Angeles, California. It serves the E Line. The station connects to the UCLA campus via the Big Blue Bus Rapid 12 and Route 8 lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition Park, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood in California, US

Exposition Park is a neighborhood in the south region of Los Angeles, California. It is home to Exposition Park, which includes the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium, Exposition Rose Garden and three museums: the California African American Museum, the California Science Center and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It is also home to a Science Center Academy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMO Stadium</span> Soccer stadium in Los Angeles

BMO Stadium, formerly Banc of California Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened on April 18, 2018, it was the first open-air stadium built in the City of Los Angeles since Dodger Stadium in 1962. Constructed on the site of the former Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, it is located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the main campus of the University of Southern California. Los Angeles FC subleases the site from the University which has a master lease with the LA Memorial Coliseum Commission for operating and managing the Coliseum and stadium properties.

The history of the Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway system begins in the early 1970s, when the traffic-choked region began planning a rapid transit system. The first dedicated busway opened along I-10 in 1973, and the region's first light rail line, the Blue Line opened in 1990. Today the system includes over 160 miles (260 km) of heavy rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit lines, with multiple new lines under construction as of 2019.

The Vermont Transit Corridor is a proposed 12.5-mile (20.1 km) bus rapid transit line in the Metro Busway network in Los Angeles, California with plans to convert it to rapid transit in the future. It is planned to operate on a north-to-south route on Vermont Avenue between the B Line's Vermont/Sunset station and the C Line's Vermont/Athens station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The project feasibility study was released in February 2019 with a proposed completion date of 2028 for BRT and after 2067 for rail. It is part of Metro's Twenty-eight by '28 initiative and is partially funded by Measure M. The route will have signal priority at traffic lights and will have a dedicated right of way. Metro reports the initial cost is $425 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expo Bike Path</span> Rail with trail bicycle path in Los Angeles County, California

The Expo Bike Path is a 12-mile-long (19 km) rail with trail bicycle path and pedestrian route in Los Angeles County, California that travels roughly parallel to the Los Angeles Metro Rail's E Line between La Cienega/Jefferson and 17th Street/SMC stations. The Expo Bike Path is one of two major bicycle routes in Los Angeles that share dedicated rights-of-way with public transport, the other being the G Line Bikeway in the San Fernando Valley.

References

  1. ↑ "Exposition Park & USC Area Connections" (PDF). Metro . June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Games Plan". 2028 Summer Olympics . Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Banc of California Stadium | LAFC - Los Angeles Football Club". Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ "LA 2024 - Los Angeles 2024 Olympic Bid". la24.org. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ "USC President Steven B. Sample to step down in August". Los Angeles Times . November 3, 2009. Archived from the original on November 3, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ "USC Undergraduate Student Government - USG". Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ http://metro.net/board/Agendas/2007/09_september/20070919AP&P.pdf Archived May 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine [ bare URL PDF ]
  8. ↑ Hymon, Steve (March 23, 2012). "Expo Line to open to the public on Saturday, April 28". The Source. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Metro Regional Connector opens in Los Angeles, bringing more direct access to downtown". KTLA. June 16, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Metro E Line schedule". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  11. ↑ "E Line Timetable – Connections section" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 16, 2023. p. 2. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  12. ↑ "On Saturdays". Metro Art. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2021.

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