Activating L.A.’s Transit Stations

A coalition of Los Angeles transit advocates held an ‘activation’ event at the Compton A Line station in an effort to demonstrate how more services and amenities at stations can contribute to public safety and make transit hubs more pleasant and accessible. Joe Linton attended the event and reported on the experience for Streetsblog L.A. 

The Alliance for Community Transit “has pushed for treating Metro stations as commons or sanctuaries, mainly through the increased presence of people – from vendors to ambassadors to musicians – as a solution to greater public safety, without increased presence of armed law enforcement.” Co-hosted by Metro, the city of Compton, and County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, the event was one example of how community events can activate transit stations. “It included street vendors, transit ambassadors, wayfinding, an info kiosk, performances, bathrooms, bathroom attendants, and more.”

Unfortunately, those amenities are, on a usual day, a rare sight at L.A. transit stations. “Unlike most transit stops around the world, Metro keeps its rail and BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) stations nearly entirely free of vending and staffing. In theory, the agency is open to ‘improve station amenities,’ but, with very few exceptions, the agency works against vending and other activities by trying to keep its stations as sterile as possible.” Linton notes that while the willingness of officials to come together for one-day events is encouraging, “it is much harder to imagine them changing Metro’s longstanding treatment of stations as anything but commons.”