Have questions on LA Metro transit line in Sepulveda Pass? Attend the meetings

A rendering of the proposed monorail option along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass. The monorail or underground heavy rail options are on the table and open for questions at three upcoming meetings, on the LA Metro Sepulveda Pass project, starting on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Rendering courtesy of LASRE)

What should a proposed LA Metro rail project — which would take passengers over or under the Santa Monica Mountains connecting the San Fernando Valley with L.A.’s Westside — actually look like?

Will it be done with an overhead monorail or underground heavy rail? Where would the stations be?

Residents, business people and community groups from two highly populated regions of Los Angeles County can offer suggestions, make general comments and ask these and other questions at three upcoming meetings about the most ambitious public transit project in the history of L.A. County.

The meetings are part of the data collection process for the development of a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for what is officially called the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project. That key document is expected to be completed in early spring 2025, said Metro. Ultimately, the LA Metro Board will determine the preferred alternative, route, station alignments — and updated cost estimates. The project completion date is estimated between 2033-2035, according to Metro.

Metro is considering six configurations and routes, either by a monorail (alternatives 1-3) or underground heavy rail (alternatives 4-6) for what would become the first transit project to connect the San Fernando Valley with L.A.’s Westside, offering an alternative to driving the busy 405 Freeway.

LA Metro says this round of community meetings will focus on the monorail alternatives, and specifically wants to hear from the public on the issue of whether or not to eliminate Alternative 2, which proposes an aerial monorail within the corridor of the 405 Freeway plus an underground automated people mover from Wilshire Boulevard to UCLA.

Here are the meeting dates, times and locations:

Saturday, May 11 – 10 a.m.-12 noon. Location: Marvin Braude Center, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, 91401. Parking available under the building, with entrance off Sylvan Street. Transit options: Metro 233 and 761 bus lines serve Van Nuys Boulevard. The Metro G Line (Orange) Busway’s Van Nuys Station is located three blocks to the south.

Monday, May 13 — Noon to 1 p.m. Virtual meeting. Zoom Link: https://qrco.de/Sepulveda-May13. Call in: 1-669- 900-6833. Webinar ID: 848 5610 6007.

Tuesday, May 14 — 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Location: Westwood United Methodist Church,10497 Wilshire Blvd.,  Los Angeles, 90024. Parking available under the Belmont Village Senior Living Westwood, just east of the church. Transit options: Metro 20 and 720 bus lines serve Wilshire Boulevard.

Project details, options

The project would have two end points: the north end would be at the Metrolink/Amtrak station at Van Nuys Boulevard and Saticoy Street, while the south end would connect to the Metro E (formerly Exposition) light rail line, which runs east-west from East Los Angeles to Santa Monica. The Sepulveda project would either use an aerial Disney-esque monorail, or an underground subway similar to those running in downtown Los Angeles. Or a mixture of the two.

Two private companies were signed by Metro to prepare the concepts and designs. Los Angeles SkyRail Express (LASRE) is developing plans to build the monorail, while Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners, including Bechtel Development Company, Meridiam Infrastructure and American Triple I Partners, would build the heavy rail.

“We are happy that Metro is doing these meeting as the more information that is shared about the project, the better it is for everyone,” wrote Mark Waier, a spokesperson for SkyRail in an emailed response.

The six alternatives being considered and examined in the EIR process are:

Alternative 1: (15.3 miles) Monorail with aerial alignment on 405 Freeway corridor and electric bus connection to UCLA.

Alternative 2: (15.8 miles) Monorail with aerial alignment on 405 Freeway corridor and underground automated people mover connection to UCLA campus. However, LASRE has asked that this option no longer be considered, Metro reported. Metro will ask about this alternative and its viability at the meetings.

Alternative 3: (16.2 miles) Monorail with aerial alignment on 405 Freeway corridor and underground alignment between Getty Center and Wilshire Boulevard. This would allow for an underground station at UCLA.

Alternative 4: (14 miles) Heavy rail with underground alignment south of Ventura Boulevard and aerial alignment generally along Sepulveda Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, with four aerial stations.

Alternative 5: (14 miles) Heavy rail with underground alignment including along Sepulveda Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

Alternative 6: (12.6 miles) Heavy rail with underground alignment including along Van Nuys Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley and a southern terminus station on Bundy Drive.

Alternatives 3, 4, 5 and 6 all include an underground station on the UCLA campus at Gateway Plaza.

Removing Alternative 2

LASRE confirmed it has asked LA Metro to remove Alternative 2 from the list of options.

“Monorail Alternative 2 was able to meet most of the basic objectives of the project but does not appear to avoid or reduce significant impacts and may have additional impacts on cultural resources not associated with Monorail Alternatives 1 and 3. Metro reviewed the LASRE request and determined that from an independent, environmental perspective, retaining Alternative 2 is not warranted,” LASRE wrote in a statement to its stakeholders, Waier said.

If Metro rejects Alternative 2, that would leave two monorail options. Only Alternative 3 would have a direct connection at UCLA. All the underground rail options (4, 5, 6) have stations at UCLA.

“Yes, Metro should accept SkyRail’s offer to eliminate Alternative 2. It provides no advantages and would be as expensive as the heavy rail alternatives. Plus it doesn’t provide a direct connection to UCLA,” said Coby King, a public affairs consultant on transportation issues with clients at Metro, on Thursday, May 10.

He said that LASRE wants this option off the list because it includes building a people mover, which he said are very expensive.

UCLA has not chosen an alternative but strongly supports a station on the UCLA campus. UCLA is the fourth-largest employer in Los Angeles County, with about 80,000 people on campus every day. Many community and environmental groups support the underground rail alternatives, including Streets For All, Sierra Club, Climate Resolve, LA Forward and other nonprofit groups, while opposing the monorail.

The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association (SOHA), which supports a monorail over heavy rail underground, had preferred Alternative 2, which may no longer be considered. The group has tussled with Metro over what it perceives as a lack of information on the project. 

Metro should provide more information on what its officials will disclose at the meetings, said Bob Anderson, SOHA’s vice president and transportation committee chair. Metro responded to the group, saying it continues to provide information but cost estimates won’t be available until next year. 

“They will only get good feedback if they give detailed information, which they never do,” said Anderson. “So the meeting looks like it will be another ‘dog and pony show.’ ”

For more details on the project, go to metro.net/Sepulvedacorridor, send an email to the project team at sepulvedatransit@metro.net or call 213-922-7375.