DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – In response to concerns from Little Tokyo civic and business leaders, officials planning the Regional Connector have altered the rail link’s route to minimize the impact on area shops and parking.
Under the new plan, which was presented to the Little Tokyo Community Council this afternoon, Metro no longer needs to take over the site that houses Little Tokyo’s Office Depot, Starbucks and a host of other shops on Central Avenue.
Originally, the track that approaches Little Tokyo via Second Street would have traveled past Central Avenue and made a sharp turn north toward First and Alameda streets. The route would have required tearing up a block of Second Street for so-called cut and cover construction.
Metro planners now envision a route that turns northeast from Second Street with a softer, more gradual curve that will tunnel under Japanese Village Plaza.
Previously, Metro planned to use the Office Depot property primarily as a construction staging area; it would have served as temporary storage for the hulking tunnel boring machine that will work under Second Street. The agency is now in negotiations to move staging to the city-owned “Mangrove” property on the northeast corner of First and Alameda streets. A proposed mixed-use development for that site has long been stalled.
The changes reflect preliminary solutions to a host of concerns lodged by Little Tokyo stakeholders in response to the draft environmental impact report that Metro released on the project last year.
The Regional Connector is an underground light-rail track that will connect the major Metro hub at Seventh Street Metro Center with the Gold Line in Little Tokyo. The latest plan envisions three new stations, including a new station at First Street and Central Avenue. The others are at Second Street and Broadway and at Second and Hope streets.
Current plans call for construction to begin in 2014, with completion of the $1.4 billion project by 2019.
Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
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anonymous posted at 6:53 am on Tue, Jan 18, 2011.
5th/Flower is needed--7th/Flower is very crowded during rush-hour periods, with two classes of passengers* transfers between Red and Blue Lines* people whose destination is the Financial District area. And it will only get worse as more rail lines are built/extended.If a station 5th/Flower is provided, a lot of the pressure will be taken off 7th/Flower
anonymous posted at 8:23 am on Mon, Jan 17, 2011.
The original plan had tracks at-grade, with the roadway grade-separated. That was crazy. The new plan will take less land from the Nikkei Center site than the original plan did, since the tracks will now be underground.As for Senor Fish vs. Office Depot, I honestly don't think one was chosen over the other for destruction based on aesthetics or history. Senor Fish will be torn down because of its location at First/Alameda. It's as simple as that.Finally, as I've said before, the 5th/Flower station is a very important station. No it's not about people "too lazy to walk two blocks". It's about building a transit system that puts stations in the middle of activity centers. 5th/Flower will serve tens of thousands of people in City West and lower Bunker Hill who will not be served well by 7th/Flower. Hopefully the Metro Board will come to its senses on January 27 and reinstate the station, at least for FEIR study.
anonymous posted at 8:46 am on Fri, Jan 14, 2011.
This transit project is much more important than your local favorite fish place.
Alan Fishel posted at 7:31 am on Fri, Jan 14, 2011.
Great idea, but why wasn’t this design proposed in the first place. It is by no means perfect but it sure is a whole lot better than their very slow design with the sharp curves. Now the second street section can be fully bored with no cut and cover required. Just as long as everything is underground at 1st and Alameda. A temporary detour can be built on the now empty but to be Nikki Center property to allow for the rebuilding of the of the Little Tokyo Station and bringing the track level from grade to below grade.
anonymous posted at 6:10 am on Fri, Jan 14, 2011.
As a 10 year resident of LA, I go to Little Tokyo for dinner or drinks almost every week. One of my favorite spots in all of LA is Senor Fish, which continues to be threatened by this proposal while the hum-drum Office Depot/Starbucks complex is preserved? Rubbish! I am as excited about the RTC as the next transit rider, but not at the expense of this local favorite. They can tear Senor Fish down AFTER they have built a new one - preferably within walking distance of the original and with the same amenities (big enough for parties, outdoor patio).
anonymous posted at 8:46 am on Thu, Jan 13, 2011.
I would add to my previous comments that if the community is okay with these changes, then I'm okay with it.
anonymous posted at 3:27 pm on Wed, Jan 12, 2011.
Not sure how I feel about this one.Tunneling under Japanese Village Plaza, home to many of Little Tokyo's Japanese American businesses, versus taking out the Office Depot block, one of the least Japanese blocks in Little Tokyo?I'm sure that the tunneling is safe, but this would also require using what would have been the Nikkei Center as tunnel staging.This is a victory for Little Tokyo?