title
CC - CONSENT ITEM: Authorization to Prepare and Submit a Letter to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Supporting Alternatives 4 and 5, the Inclusion of a Direct, On-Campus Station at UCLA, and a Seamless Connection to the D Line at the Westwood/UCLA Station for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.
body
Meeting Date: February 10, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Diana Chang/Transportation Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6566
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (02/04/2025)
Department Approval: Diana Chang, Chief Transportation Officer (01/20/2025)
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the preparation and submission of a letter to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in support of Alternatives 4 and 5, the inclusion of a direct, on-campus station at UCLA, and a seamless connection to the D Line at the Westwood/UCLA Station for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Background
2016’s Measure M ballot initiative provided funding for a new transit corridor between the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project (STC). The STC Project is a key mass transit initiative to enhance regional connectivity, ease traffic congestion, and provide a sustainable, efficient, and high-capacity transit option between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. The STC Project is planned to be constructed in two phases, with the first segment between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside set to open in 2033-2035, and the second phase from the Westside to LAX set to open in 2057-2059.
Metro is currently in the process of conducting environmental review for the first phase of the project between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. As part of the environmental review, Metro is studying five alternatives for the project (labeled 1, and 3-6; Alternative 2 was eliminated from consideration earlier in the review process). The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the project containing updated details and cost estimates for the alternatives is expected to be released in early 2025.
STC4All, a coalition supporting a project which would include both (1) a direct station on UCLA’s campus and (2) a seamless connection to the D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA station, approached the City about supporting the project. The coalition is primarily made up of smaller non-governmental organizations, but the cities of Santa Monica and West Hollywood recently opted to join and send support letters in favor of STC4All’s positions. The Westside Cities Council of Governments (WSCCOG), of which Culver City is a member, has previously expressed its support on this project and plans to send a letter of support to Metro supporting a direct station on UCLA’s campus, a seamless connection to the D Line at Westwood/UCLA Station, and Alternatives 3-6, which meets the two criteria above. Beverly Hills opted not to join the coalition but also sent a letter of support endorsing three of the STC project alternatives (Alternatives 4, 5, and 6).
Overview of Alternatives (See Attachment 1 for comparison)
Via a pre-development agreement, Metro has been working with two private-sector design teams, LA SkyRail Express and Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners, to develop alternatives for the STC project. Three different transit technologies are proposed: automated monorail (designed by LA SkyRail Express), automated heavy rail (designed by Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners), and driver-operated heavy rail (designed by LA Metro’s consultant HTA partners). Anticipated peak headways for the three technologies are 2 mins, 2.5 mins, and 4 mins respectively. Alternatives 1 and 3 utilize monorail, Alternatives 4 and 5 utilize automated heavy rail, and Alternative 6 utilizes driver-operated heavy rail. Anticipated peak headways for the three technologies are 2 mins, 2.5 mins, and 4 mins respectively. A third monorail alternative that included an automated people mover connection to UCLA, Alternative 2, was eliminated by Metro on July 3rd, 2024, at the request of LA SkyRail Express. Its elimination was due to low competitiveness in travel time and ridership and proximity to protected sites. In the attachments to this report, Alternative 2 is crossed out or removed as Alternative 2 is no longer under consideration.
All five alternatives run from a northern terminus at the Van Nuys Metrolink station in the San Fernando Valley to a southern terminus at the Metro E Line (Expo) on the Westside. All alternatives would connect with the existing and planned Metro G (Orange), D (Purple), E (Expo), and East San Fernando Valley lines, as well as the Metrolink Ventura County Line and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. The quality and location of connections varies by alternative. Alternatives also vary in whether and where alignments are underground, aerial, or at grade, which rights-of-way they follow, and whether they directly serve UCLA’s campus. See Attachments 1 and 2 for details.
• Alternative 1 (automated monorail) is a primarily aerial alignment that runs parallel to the 405 freeway, terminating near the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station. It connects to the Metro D Line (Purple) to the west of the 405 at the future Westwood/VA Hospital Station and to UCLA via an electric bus shuttle connection.
• Alternative 3 (automated monorail) follows the same route as Alternative 1, but tunnels under parts of Bel Air and Westwood to directly serve UCLA Gateway Plaza and connect with the Metro D Line (Purple) at the future Westwood/UCLA station, instead of the VA hospital. It then emerges as an aerial alignment parallel to the 405 freeway to terminate near the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station.
• Alternative 4 (automated heavy rail) follows an elevated alignment on Sepulveda Blvd in the Valley, before tunneling under the Sepulveda Pass to directly serve UCLA Gateway Plaza and the Metro D Line (Purple) at the future Westwood/UCLA station. It follows an underground alignment parallel to Sepulveda Blvd on the Westside to terminate at the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station.
• Alternative 5 (automated heavy rail) follows the same alignment as Alternative 4 but runs underground on the Sepulveda Blvd portion of the San Fernando Valley.
• Alternative 6 (driver-operated heavy rail) is entirely underground and runs parallel to Van Nuys Blvd (and the future East San Fernando Valley (ESFV) line) in the Valley before tunneling under the Sepulveda Pass to directly serve UCLA Gateway Plaza and connect with the Metro D Line (Purple) at the future Westwood/UCLA station. On the Westside, it continues underground further west to ultimately terminate at the Metro E Line (Expo) Bundy Station west of the 405 freeway.
Ridership and travel time estimates from Metro show the highest ridership on Alternatives 4 and 5 (120,546 and 121,624 average daily riders, respectively) and the lowest travel times on Alternatives 4, 5 and 6 (20, 19, and 18 minutes, respectively). The two monorail alternatives (Alternatives 1 and 3) perform significantly worse on both measures; with projected ridership of 64,798 and 86,013, respectively, and travel time estimates of 28 and 32 minutes, respectively. Alternative 1 would also have an additional 15-20 minutes of travel time to UCLA than the other alternatives because of the electric bus connection. See Attachments 3 and 4 for details.
Analysis of Alternatives
Although the first phase of the STC Project between the Valley and the Westside does not directly serve Culver City, it would provide a high-speed and high-capacity connection between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside that would enhance mobility for Culver City residents, visitors, and transit riders. The chosen alternative for Phase 1 between the Valley and the Westside will also affect possible routes for Phase 2 to LAX, which could serve Culver City directly.
To maximize mobility benefits and ridership, the STC project needs to directly connect the most popular destinations between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. According to Metro’s projections, that includes UCLA, where a directly located station would be busiest non-transfer station in the entire system. It also necessitates seamless connections with other transit lines to create a network that is fast and convenient for riders across the region. A seamless connection with the D Line (Purple) at Wilshire Blvd is essential; it is projected to be the overall busiest station in the STC project and would serve as a key transfer point for the Metro system.
Alternatives 1 and 3 (automated monorail)
Alternatives 1 and 3 are projected to have significantly lower ridership and longer travel times than the other alternatives. In addition, Alternative 1 lacks a direct connection to UCLA and does not connect to the D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA, providing fewer benefits to regional mobility than the other alternatives.
Alternative 3 does include a station at UCLA and a connection to the D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA but remains inferior to some of the other alternatives. Its projected ridership is approximately 20%-29% lower and travel times are 60-78% longer than Alternatives 4, 5, and 6. Low ridership relative to benefits led the City of Beverly Hills to not support Alternative 3, despite a station at UCLA and directed connection the D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA.
In addition to the regional mobility challenges associated with Alternatives 1 and 3, they present other challenges. Although they terminate near the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station, the proposed monorail stations are located adjacent to freeway on and off ramps, making transfers to nearby bus service longer and more dangerous than other alternatives. For Phase 2 to LAX, the high likelihood that it would follow the 405 freeway right of way would limit possible stations in Culver City and decrease the likelihood of a station at the Culver City Transit Center, which was not included for monorail alignments in the 2019 Feasibility Study. Staff do not recommend supporting Alternative 1 or Alternative 3.
Alternatives 4 and 5 (automated heavy rail)
Alternatives 4 and 5 are the best-performing alternatives from a regional mobility benefit perspective. They have the highest projected ridership and shortest projected travel times (after Alternative 6). They include a direct station at UCLA, which is projected to be the busiest non-transfer station in the LA Metro system, and a direct connection to the Metro D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA Station. Alternatives 4 and 5 provide new service on Sepulveda Blvd in the San Fernando Valley rather than duplicating the East San Fernando Valley Line (ESFV) service on Van Nuys Blvd. Their use of automated technology allows for shorter headways (2.5 mins) compared to conventional heavy rail (4 mins). Finally, their southern terminus at the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station is anticipated to have the highest ridership (16,936 and 17,038, respectively) of all the proposed termini at Exposition Blvd.
From a Culver City mobility perspective, Alternatives 4 and 5 also offer the most benefits for the City. They include seamless connections to Culver CityBus Lines 6 and Rapid 6 at UCLA Gateway Plaza, Wilshire/Westwood, Sepulveda/Santa Monica, and Expo/Sepulveda. The terminus at the E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station is closer to most Culver City residents and businesses than the Alternative 6 terminus at the E Line (Expo) Bundy Station. For Phase 2 to LAX, Alternatives 4 and 5 enable direct alignments along Sepulveda Blvd or Overland Ave in Culver City, allowing for the most possible stations within the City and a direct connection to the Culver City Transit Center, which provides connections to other regional bus services provided by Metro, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, and Culver CityBus. Staff recommend these two alternatives as the best suited to support both regional mobility goals and the mobility of Culver City residents and transit riders.
Alternative 6 (driver-operated heavy rail)
Alternative 6 is also high performing from a regional mobility perspective, but has some key weaknesses compared to Alternatives 4 and 5. Its projected ridership is 11-12% lower, it duplicates planned East San Fernando Valley Line (ESFV) service along Van Nuys Blvd in the San Fernando Valley, and it runs less frequently at peak times. This alternative has the shortest end-to-end travel time, but the benefits of shorter travel time are counteracted by the lower service frequency. Furthermore, its terminus at the E Line (Expo) Bundy Station, west of the 405 Freeway, has lower ridership (15,518) than the E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station and is located further from existing high-frequency Culver CityBus service.
Alternative 6’s terminus at the E Line (Expo) Bundy Station is on the west side of the 405 freeway. For the initial phase from the Valley to the Westside (terminating at the E Line (Expo)), this will prevent direct connections to Culver CityBus Line 6 and Rapid 6 at Expo/Sepulveda and Sepulveda/Santa Monica and will make the nearest STC project station further away from most Culver City residents and businesses. For Phase 2 to LAX, Alternative 6’s terminus at the E Line (Expo) Bundy Station increases the likelihood that the alignment will follow Centinela Ave, potentially precluding any stations in Culver City. Staff do not recommend this alternative.
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City support Alternatives 4 and 5, the inclusion of a direct, on-campus station at UCLA, and a seamless connection to the D Line at the Westwood/UCLA Station. These alternatives are the best suited to advance regional mobility goals and the mobility of Culver City residents and transit riders. They have the highest projected ridership and lowest travel times. They include stations on the UCLA campus, which is projected to be the busiest non-transfer station in the LA Metro system, and a connection to the Metro D Line (Purple) at Westwood/UCLA station. They incorporate seamless connections to Culver CityBus Lines 6 and Rapid 6 at four locations, including the southern terminus at the Metro E Line (Expo) Sepulveda Station. Finally, Alternatives 4 and 5 best enable future alignments that directly connect with Culver City as part of the planned second phase to LAX.
STC4All
STC4ALL is a grassroot coalition in LA County that is advocating for Alternatives 3, 4, 5, and 6 for the STC project to support access and mobility to the UCLA campus. The coalition is organizing in support of the following goals:
1. Ensuring the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Metro line includes a direct on-campus UCLA station; and
2. Ensuring the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Metro line includes a seamless connection to the Purple Line at Westwood Village.
In addition to seeking the City’s support on the positions above, STC4All has invited the City to join the coalition. The coalition consists mainly of neighborhood councils, community organizations, business groups (including the Culver City Chamber of Commerce), academic institutions, and environmental advocacy groups. The Cities of Santa Monica and West Hollywood recently joined the coalition, while the City of Beverly Hills opted not to join. In consultation with the City Manager and recognizing that the City does not have a history of joining non-governmental advocacy organizations, Staff is not recommending membership in the STC4All Coalition. By sending a letter supporting Alternatives 4 and 5, the inclusion of a direct, on-campus station at UCLA, and a seamless connection to the D Line at the Westwood/UCLA Station, Culver City can align with the goals of the STC4All Coalition while expressing its preference for alternatives that best support both local and regional mobility.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact associated with the consideration of and, if desired, issuance of a letter of support.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2025-02-10 - ATT Alternatives Summary
2. 2025-02-10 - ATT Alternatives Maps
3. 2025-02-10 - ATT Boardings by Station
4. 2025-02-10 - ATT Travel Times
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
Authorize staff to prepare and submit a letter supporting Alternatives 4 and 5, the inclusion of a direct, on-campus station at UCLA, and a seamless connection to the D Line at the Westwood/UCLA Station for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.