Los Angeles may catch up to world class cities around the globe, as local transit officials plan public sessions about extending Metro Rail service to LAX, Metro officials said tSaturday.
The agency has scheduled public hearings, starting later this month, to determine how it will connect two light-rail passenger train lines to the airport terminals.
The public will be asked whether extending Metro Rail's Green Line and the proposed Crenshaw Line to the airport, or if tying in to a proposed airport people-mover system may be a better concept. Bus Rapid Transit ramps are also being considered.
More than 20 years ago, airport commissioners blocked plans to bring the Green Line onto the airport itself over concerns about parking revenue and potential interference between electric train lines and airport radar. Since the train line was built, travelers have had to use shuttle buses for the 1.3- mile gap, and a trip from downtown to the airport by rail involves two transfers and delays.
If a direct airport link is built, trains will be able to make direct trips from downtown L.A. to LAX using the Crenshaw Line, now under advanced planning, Metro officials said. Trains may also link LAX to Pasadena and Ontario if a downtown connection and Gold Line extension are built as planned.
The meetings will introduce the concepts of a direct Metro Rail airport connection, construction of a People Mover link between Metro rail and the airport, and the Bus Rapid Transit lane alternatives. They will be held by Metro and Los Angeles World Airports.
The meetings will be Aug. 23 at Flight Path Learning Center, 6661 W. Imperial Hwy.; Aug. 25 at Metro headquarters near Union Station; and Aug. 30 at the Culver City Veterans Memorial Complex, 4117 Overland Ave. All three start at 7 p.m.
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More information can be had at www.metro.net/projects/lax-extension
