Regional Connector

Little Tokyo Asks Metro to Study Grade-Separated Alternative for Regional Connector

By Eric Richardson — October 28, 2009 — 28 Comments

Metro

Regional Connector Debate Hits Little Tokyo

By Eric Richardson — August 14, 2009 — 21 Comments

Metro

Metro's Regional Connector project has gained significant traction since scoping meetings kicked off in late 2007, but the planning process seems to have run into its first serious community opposition in Little Tokyo.

The project will connect the transit operator's light rail lines by building a link between the Blue Line at 7th / Metro and the Gold Line's Little Tokyo / Arts District station. At a meeting last week, vocal community members expressed their desire for that link to steer clear of their neighborhood. — Continued Inside...

Geotechnical Testing Set to Start for Regional Connector

By Eric Richardson — June 05, 2009 — 6 Comments

Metro

Boring for Metro's Regional Connector light rail link begins Monday, years before the project is scheduled to break ground.

A crew from Mactec Engineering will be drilling soil samples at various sites along the route to evaluate existing conditions. The results of their work will end up in the proposed project's Environmental Impact Report. — Continued Inside...

Regional Connector's Impact on Downtown Streets Detailed

By Eric Richardson — January 09, 2009

Metro

Two build options for the Regional Connector are headed to Metro's Planning and Programming committee, a step necessary to approve engineering funds allowing the project to move forward. The report presents one alternative that is largely at-grade and one that's mostly underground.

While the two options are the same as previous presentations, the document paints a more detailed picture of the negative impacts the at-grade approach would have on Downtown's streetscape. Lost traffic lanes and restricted turns would reduce service levels at multiple intersections to the lowest grades, and up to 88 parking spaces would be removed along the route. — Continued Inside...

Catching Up With... The Regional Connector

By Eric Richardson — December 26, 2008 — 29 Comments

Metro

As we go through the last few days of 2008, we thought it useful to take a look at some of the important Downtown projects working their way through the system.

The Project: The Regional Connector is a $700 to $900 million project to link Los Angeles' light rail lines, connecting the Blue and Expo lines (which terminate at 7th / Metro) to the Gold Line and the Eastside Extension (via 1st / Alameda). The project's main goal is to create a coherent system out of Metro's existing rail lines, opening up a variety of operational possibilities including trains from Long Beach to Pasadena and Culver City to East L.A..

Latest Status: After three rounds of public meetings, the project is preparing to send an Alternatives Analysis to Metro's Board of Directors. This document will lay out two possibilities for the project, one underground and one above. — Continued Inside...

Public Weighs In On Connector Alternatives

By Eric Richardson — October 16, 2008 — 12 Comments

Metro

|Photo Gallery| Public speakers showed strong support for an underground Regional Connector today after hearing Metro staff present options for the project. Several raised the specter of an auto accident taking out the entire regional light rail system in the case of an above-ground build.

The update, held in the Central Library's Board Room, drew a full house. Two alternatives -- one subway, one above-ground -- were presented for the Regional Connector, which would tie together all of Metro's light rail lines. — Continued Inside...