Support for Station Located Directly on the UCLA Campus as Part of Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project

Motion

The Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC) strongly echos the sentiments expressed by numerous elected officials, neighborhood organizations, community groups, business associations, and many local citizens who urge that Metro must include a Station located directly on the UCLA campus as part of this pivotal transportation corridor project — specifically a one-seat ride from the San Fernando Valley directly to UCLA, hewing to Metro’s original proposal which suggested a 16-minute travel time for that segment, the fastest connection between the Valley and Westside and one that directly links people to where they want to go. This would be one of the most heavily trafficked Metro stops in the State, and would be the busiest non-transfer station in Metro’s system.

The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project is part of the Measure M expenditure plan, with approximately $5.7 billion for new transit service to connect the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, scheduled to open by 2033-35. Approximately $3.8 billion is allocated to extend that service from the Westside to LAX with a 2057-59 opening date.

Metro is making strides to improve travel between the San Fernando Valley, the Westside and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The natural barrier created by the Santa Monica Mountains means that most people traveling between these areas are funneled primarily onto the I-405 Freeway, already ranked as one of the most heavily congested urban highways in the nation. More than 400,000 people travel through this area every day to commute to work, school, and other destinations along the freeway and beyond.

Having a Metro Station located directly on the UCLA campus would also help transport the tens of thousands of individuals who travel to UCLA on a daily -basis, including: UCLA students, staff, faculty, medical personnel, patients, and campus visitors.

Not having a Metro Station on the UCLA Campus would be a sorely missed opportunity, and have significant negative impacts on the West L.A. region and regional traffic congestion for decades to come. An on-campus UCLA Station also presents the opportunity to connect the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project to the Metro Purple Line Subway Station Extension, which will have a Westwood/UCLA Station located at Wilshire & Westwood Boulevards.  Additionally, without a one-seat ride to the Valley, ridership would be significantly hindered, thereby negatively impacting Metro’s farebox recovery needs.

To provide this essential connectivity between transit lines in the San Fernando Valley and the City, to provide the critical “first mile, last mile” link between the Wilshire Purple Line Subway and the UCLA campus, and to build a robust transportation system that will serve transit riders for many decades to come, we also urge the Metro Board to ensure that the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project also connect directly from the on-campus UCLA Station to the Westwood/UCLA Purple Line Subway Station at Wilshire Boulevard, to connect these two major north-south and east-west transit corridors.