Overview
Background
Metro is preparing an Alternative Analysis (AA), Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS), in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Crenshaw Transit Corridor, which extends approximately 10 miles from Wilshire Boulevard on the north to El Segundo Boulevard on the south.
The project purpose is to improve public transit service and mobility in the Crenshaw Corridor between Wilshire and El Segundo Boulevards. The overall goal of the proposed project is to improve mobility in the corridor by connecting with existing lines such as the Metro Green Line or approved transit lines such as the Exposition Light Rail Transit (LRT) (under construction). Mobility issues in the corridor have been well documented in many studies, including the Crenshaw-Prairie Corridor Preliminary Planning Study (1994), the Route Refinement Study (2000), the Major Investment Study (MIS) (2003), and the 2004 Regional Transportation Plan.
Project Area
The corridor within the study area has a north-south orientation and includes five jurisdictions: the Cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne, El Segundo, as well as portions of unincorporated County of Los Angeles. The corridor study area is generally defined as the area extending north to Wilshire Boulevard, east to Arlington Avenue, south to El Segundo Boulevard, and west to Sepulveda and La Tijera Boulevards. A variety of land uses exist along the corridor including residences, religious institutions and commercial property, north of Interstate 10 (I-10) and south of Slauson Avenue, industrial and public land uses in Inglewood and El Segundo, as well as redevelopment areas in Los Angeles, Inglewood, and Hawthorne.
In addition to a No-Build Alternative, a range of reasonable alternatives will be evaluated including, but not limited to: alternative transit technologies, alignments/routes, service branches, station locations, and a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative. The TSM alternative enhances the No-Build Alternative and emphasizes transportation system upgrades, such as bus route restructuring, shortened bus headways, expanded use of articulated buses, reserved bus lanes, expanded park/ride facilities, express and limited-stop service, signalization improvements, and timed-transfer operations.
The transit technologies to be evaluated will include Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), and others identified during scoping for the project. In addition to the alternative technologies, two different BRT and LRT alignment alternatives have been identified for initial consideration. One alignment alternative provides for a BRT or LRT line operating south from Wilshire Boulevard or the Exposition LRT Line (under construction), along Crenshaw Boulevard through Koreatown, the Crenshaw District, and downtown Inglewood on the Metro-owned Harbor Subdivision railroad right-of-way, where the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway operates some freight service, continuing to the Metro Green Line Aviation Station. A transfer connection would be provided to LAX from the Aviation Station.
A second alignment alternative provides for operation of a BRT or LRT line south from Wilshire Boulevard or the Exposition LRT line along Crenshaw Boulevard to the Harbor Subdivision railroad right-of-way. The BRT Alternative would then operate along the Harbor Subdivision railroad right-of-way to La Brea Avenue, where it would turn southward to Hawthorne Boulevard and terminate at El Segundo Boulevard. The LRT Alternative would operate along the Harbor Subdivision railroad right-of-way south to Prairie Avenue, then turn west to connect with the Metro Green Line Hawthorne Station along the I-105 Freeway and south on Hawthorne Boulevard to El Segundo Boulevard. In addition to these alignment alternatives, other alternatives may be identified during project scoping.