LA Metro Gets $39M Cap and Trade Grant

July 1, 2015

The California State Transportation Agency on June 30 announced that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has been selected to receive $38.5 million in “Cap and Trade” grant funds to revitalize the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Metro Blue/Green Line station in Southeast Los Angeles, as well as to make other Metro Blue Line improvements.

The grant, part of the State’s 2015 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, is intended to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by expanding public transportation ridership and capacity.

Metro’s project will make truly transformational mobility improvements to the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station, a key transfer station and fourth busiest station on the Metro system. Improvements will significantly improve station access, safety and connectivity with the surrounding community.  Project improvements will ease transfers between the Metro Blue Line and Green line and between rail and bus services.

Metro plans to upgrade the signal and crossover system along the Metro Blue Line corridor to enhance safety, reliability and allow trains to operate more flexibly. Signal system improvements will reduce maintenance disruptions, maintain train headways, and accommodate higher service levels.  New rail tracks will be installed as well to provide additional storage capacity for trains that are not in service, and will eliminate unnecessary train movements during non-service hours.  The decrease in train movements will reduce overall energy consumption for Blue Line trains. 

Overall, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 86,207 metric tons over the project’s life. 

“Thanks to our state partners, this investment will help us make much-needed modernization improvements to South Los Angeles transportation projects,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti. “The riders served by the Blue Line's Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station will gain more access to opportunities across our region by offering new ways to get places quicker, cheaper, and greener.”

“I am grateful to the State for this support which will go a long way towards funding this very worthy project,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, who assumes the Metro Chairmanship role July 1. “The riders that use this station deserve to have first class amenities and services. I look forward to beginning the hard work of renovation and making this station a gem among Metro’s stations.”

Opened in 1990, the Metro Blue Line is Metro’s oldest and most heavily used light rail line and one of the busiest light rail lines in the nation, with nearly 80,000 daily boardings.

“Metro is very pleased to be named one of the major recipients of the State’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program,” said Phillip A. Washington, Metro CEO. “The nearly $39 million in recommended grant funds will help Metro make some critically needed investments in the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Metro Blue/Green Line Station, including improved access, safety, security and connectivity.  These and other planned Blue Line upgrades will deliver better service for our customers and attract new ridership to the Metro system.”

A total of 14 projects were named for grant funding as part of an ongoing, statewide commitment to sustainable and affordable public transportation in California through revenues accruing from the state’s cap-and-trade auction proceeds.  Other L.A. County grant recipients named today include the Antelope Valley Transit Authority, which will receive $24.4 million for its Regional Transit Interconnectivity & Environmental Sustainability Project, which will include the launch of a Bus Rapid Transit Line in Palmdale and Lancaster using electric buses.