Has L.A. Solved Its Most Important Transit Conundrum?

As Yonah Freemark explained back in March, how to make what is probably the single most important transit connection in L.A. has flummoxed transit advocates and planners in the city for decades. Now, as Dan Weikel reports, "[a]fter years of pursuing separate transportation plans for LAX, Los Angeles World Airports and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority now are working together to develop options for a rail stop that could tie the Green Line and the planned Crenshaw Line to the nation's third-busiest airport."

The best news: after initially planning a stop along the future Crenshaw Line that would have been located an eighth of a mile away from the airport, two of the four options now being considered are located inside the central terminal area.

"'Our work over the past six months has brought us light-years from where we were before,' said Paul Taylor, Metro's deputy chief executive, who noted that environmental clearances must be completed and funding secured before construction of an LAX station could begin."

The closest that rail transit currently comes to the airport is a stop along the Green Line that requires a connection to LAX via shuttle bus.

"Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro board member Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has pushed for the Crenshaw Line, praised the effort and warned against repeating the mistake of stopping rail service short of the airport," notes Weikel.