Community meeting tonight for connecting Metro to LAX
First of three meetings
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold the first of three meetings tonight aimed at gathering public input on ways to connect the Metro transit system to Los Angeles International Airport.
The agency will be soliciting comments on proposals such as extending a rail line to the airport or using a people-mover system or Bus Rapid Transit ramps.
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 Green Line was built, travelers have had to use shuttle buses for the 1.3-mile gap.
If a direct airport link is built, trains would be able to make direct trips from downtown Los Angeles to LAX using the Crenshaw Line, which is 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.
Today’s meeting will be held at the Flight Path Learning Center, 6661 W. Imperial Hwy. Other meetings are scheduled for Thursday 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.
More information is available at www.metro.net/projects/lax-extension.
The Federal Transit Administration gave the approval for construction to begin on Metro’s $1.76 billion light rail line along Crenshaw Boulevard that will run from the Green Line near Los Angeles International Airport to the Expo Line.
The FTA approved the final environmental impact report for the 8.5-mile line. The report still needs approval by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is expected to vote on the report at its Sept. 22 board meeting.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A $546 million federal loan will enable the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to begin building an 8.5-mile light rail line from the Crenshaw District to near LAX next spring, creating about 5,000 jobs.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—More than $30 million in federal stimulus funds has been set aside for buying property and doing other preliminary work in the Los Angeles area for a high-speed rail system that would run from San Diego to the Bay Area, transit officials announced.
California High-Speed Rail Authority and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said the money might be used to buy Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, where three segments of the line would converge.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Virgin America airline began offering flights between Los Angeles International Airport and Las Vegas today, and touted the service with a sale of tickets for as low as $39 each way.
Passengers on the inaugural flight from LAX to Las Vegas were given the red-carpet treatment upon arrival, and airline officials, including company founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin America CEO David Cush, will host a celebration tonight at The Cosmopolitan hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Fire and smoke billowed from Los Angeles International Airport this morning during a Los Angeles Fire Department exercise.
The drill began at 4 a.m. and was scheduled to last until 6:30 a.m., according to authorities who said the smoke and flames would be visible for more than 30 miles.
"There is no cause for public alarm," said fire department spokesman Erik Scott.
