Westwood/Rancho Park station

Westwood/Rancho Park
The platform at Westwood/Rancho Park looking eastbound
General information
Location	2594 Westwood Boulevard Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34.0368°N 118.4258°W / 34.0368; -118.4258
Owned by	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Big Blue Bus Culver CityBus
Construction
Bicycle facilities	Metro Bike Share station,[1] racks and lockers[2]
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	October 17, 1875 (1875-10-17)
Rebuilt	May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20)[3]
Previous names	Talamantes
Passengers
FY 2024	1,005 (avg. wkdy boardings)[4]
Services
Preceding station Metro Rail Following station Expo/Sepulveda toward Santa Monica E Line Palms toward East Los Angeles
Former services Preceding station Pacific Electric Following station Home Junction towards Rustic Canyon Air Line Palms towards Pacific Electric Building
Location

Westwood/Rancho Park station is an at-grade light rail station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located at the intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard in the Rancho Park neighborhood of West Los Angeles, California. It serves the E Line.[5] The station connects to the UCLA campus via the Big Blue Bus Rapid 12 and Route 8 lines.[6]

Although opponents filed a lawsuit to halt construction, they were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts (see Opposition section, below).

Service

Station layout

Westwood/Rancho Park Station is located at Exposition Boulevard just east of Westwood Boulevard, between Westwood Boulevard and Overland Avenue.[7] This station is located in Rancho Park, an affluent single-family neighborhood south of Westwood and southwest of Century City. The station location is a short walk from the Westside Pavilion shopping mall.

The final environmental impact report included 170 surface parking spaces at this station, with an option to remove all parking for transit users (20 parking spaces would be provided for local residents only). In March 2011, the Expo Board approved the no-parking option. Sepulveda station, less than one mile away, has a parking lot.

Hours and frequency

E Line service hours are from approximately 4:30 a.m. and 11:45 p.m daily. Trains operate every 8 minutes during peak hours, Monday to Friday. Trains run every 10 minutes, during midday on weekdays and weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Night and early morning service is approximately every 20 minutes every day.[8]

Connections

As of June 23, 2024^[update], the following connections are available:[9]

• Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica): 8, Rapid 12
• Culver CityBus: 3

Opposition

In the Final EIR, Metro staff recommended routing the Expo Line along the Exposition Right-Of-Way through Rancho Park (which includes Westwood Station), at-grade. During the EIR process, a group of neighbors known as Neighbors For Smart Rail (NFSR) organized to oppose at-grade light rail through this ROW.[10] The group claims that this design will be dangerous if built as specified, and that Metro failed to comply with environmental law. Metro publicly disputed these claims,[11] as did several groups supporting the current design.[12][13][14]

On March 5, 2010, NFSR filed a lawsuit to halt construction of Expo Phase 2.[15] This lawsuit was dismissed by the Superior Court of the State of California on February 22, 2011.[16]

Attractions

The Westwood Neighborhood Greenway, a linear park built on unused right-of-way and planted with native species, is located next to this station.[17]

References

1. "Station Map". Metro Bike Share. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
2. "Secure Bike Parking on Metro" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
3. Nelson, Laura J. (May 20, 2016). "Expo Line Service Can Be Less Than Expeditious". Los Angeles Times. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved November 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "FY2024 Ridership by Station". misken67 via Los Angeles Metro Public Records. August 2024.
5. ".:: Expo Line::". Archived from the original on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
6. Pei, Andy (23 May 2019). "How to Take the Train to UCLA". UCLA. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
8. "Metro E Line schedule". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
9. "E Line Timetable – Connections section" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 23, 2024. p. 1. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
10. "St. Louis Workers Compensation Lawyer for Railroad Workers". May 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
11. Steve Hymon (March 12, 2010). "Expo Line Construction Authority responds to lawsuit |". Thesource.metro.net. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
12. "Trail of Light Media – Emanating Information to All". Trail of Light Media. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
13. "The Expo Line – Friends 4 Expo Transit Home Page". Friends4expo.org. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
14. "Neighbors for Smarter Rail". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
15. "Neighbors Lawsuit Could Derail Expo | Santa Monica Mirror". Smmirror.com. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
16. "Court dismisses Expo Line lawsuit |". Thesource.metro.net. February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
17. jonlaweiss. "Home Page". Westwood Greenway. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-07-10.

• Curbed Staff (November 24, 2014) "Expo Line Extension is 80 Percent Done; See the New Stations" Curbed Los Angeles