Study Shows Limited Ridership Loss if No Crenshaw Station

Metro staff reports that they and their experts have concluded that there would be limited ridership loss to the Metro system if no subway station is built on Wilshire Boulevard between Bronson Avenue and Lorraine Boulevard, immediately adjoining the communities of Windsor Square, Wilshire Park, and Windsor Village. The news about ridership was presented during the April series of five public meetings held to update communities along the route of the proposed Purple Line Subway Extension from Western Avenue to Westwood and beyond.  In a slide shown at the meetings and available online here, Metro presented seven bullet points that reemphasized conclusions first revealed in a March 2010 community meeting held at Wilshire Methodist Church:

• Public divided on need for station
• Station spacing issue
• Limited density around station
• Crenshaw LRT not planned to extend north of Expo LRT
• Even without station, construction staging to occur on Metro owned property
• Limited ridership loss without the station

At the March 17 community meeting–and again in April–Metro predicted that, 25 years from now (in 2035), there would be 1300 fewer riders on the entire Metro Rail system if an additional station is NOT built at Crenshaw. Metro said that the cost to add a station to serve these 1300 people would be approximately $153,000,000.

The Windsor Square Association board of directors has regularly reviewed the idea of adding such a subway station ever since politicians (not transit planners) initiated the surprise concept in 1983. Our Association’s repeated conclusion—that adding such an extra station in a NON-Center so close to Western Avenue is inappropriate—has been substantiated by the passage of time. In recent years, it has become generally accepted that any future light rail extension of the Crenshaw Line now planned with a northern terminus at Crenshaw and Exposition should be further west, and NOT come to Wilshire and Crenshaw.

The WSA recognizes that, even with Measure R taxes for which we County residents have voted, funds to improve public transit are scarce. Those scarce funds are best utilized to keep extending the Purple Line as far west as possible. It would be a waste of money to build an extra, unneeded station at Crenshaw and Wilshire.

Today’s the big day:  the 25th Annual LA Marathon.   This year’s race takes a new course, from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica, and for the first time in years, Windsor Square will not be on the route.   We’ll miss those (fool)hardy runners!  And while we won’t have road closures (and the ensuing impromptu water stops and front-yard parties) in our neighborhood, this year’s festivities will take place not too far to the north, on Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards.  You can find a course map here.

We also wanted to post a quick reminder that the monthly Windsor Square Board Meeting will be held tomorrow, March 22nd, at 7:30 pm, in the Board Room at Marlborough School.  As always, all interested Windsor Square residents are invited to attend.

The following invitation was issued by the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.

To Neighborhood Leaders:

Captain Davis of the Whilshire LAPD Station and Captain Blake of the new Olympic LAPD Station will be the featured speakers at the next Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Coucil meeting:

Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00pm

The Wilshire Ebell Clubhouse

743 S. Lucerne Blvd (at the corner of Lucerne and Wilshire). Parking is available across the street from the theater in the lot on Lucerne.

Please come and meet your Los Angeles Police Captain and Senior Lead Officers. They will be speaking on crime prevention and if you have issues you would like them to address, please email the GWNC at info@greaterwilshire.org.