The South Bay is home to many hard-working Angelenos who travel daily throughout the county for work and leisure. However, those trips are crippled by traffic and congestion because our region is largely underserved by fast and efficient public transit. It doesn’t have to be this way: we could transform mobility in the South Bay with the Metro C Line Extension–but it needs our support!

UPDATE: Metro has released their staff recommendation for the Hybrid ROW after extensive study and community outreach. Learn more here. We support the staff recommendation and are inviting South Bay residents to show up and provide supportive comments at the May 23rd Metro Board Meeting. RSVP with us here. See our toolkit for public comment.

The Metro C Line Extension extends the Metro C/K Line light rail system by 4.5 miles and adds 2 new stations in Redondo Beach and Torrance. The extension will provide an affordable, convenient, and efficient light rail trip from Torrance to Redondo Beach, El Segundo, LAX, and Inglewood without transfers, plus easy connections to Santa Monica and Downtown LA from the Expo Line. LA Metro purchased the Harbor Subdivision freight corridor in 1993 with the goal of providing rail service to the South Bay, and has been studying the extension since at least 2002. It’s time we get this built!

Here’s a few more key details about the project overall (you can also read more on the Metro project webpage and StoryMap):

• HIGH-QUALITY TRANSIT: South Bay LA is a major jobs center (think: aerospace, logistics, healthcare, tech) but lacks high-quality transit. Transit is the best way to move more people as the region adds more jobs and housing. These benefits extend throughout the South Bay – including the Beach Cities, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance, Lomita, Lawndale, Gardena, Carson, Hawthorne, and Harbor Area.

• DIRECT AIRPORT CONNECTION: The extension will connect the South Bay with a one-seat ride to LAX from Torrance, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, and Inglewood. You will never have to drive to LAX again!

• FASTER THAN DRIVING: The extension will provide an alternative to Sepulveda Blvd and the 405. Projected travel time from Torrance Transit Center to LAX is 19 minutes compared to 40+ minutes during rush hour. The train would take 23.5 minutes to get to Inglewood for game days and 63.5 minutes to get to Downtown Santa Monica. When people choose transit, it reduces car traffic on the road for people who still choose to drive.

• FUTURE INVESTMENTS: This extension will join the K Line, and Metro plans to extend the K Line further to the North, linking to the D and B subway lines in Mid-City and Hollywood. This will create a major North-South light rail line connecting destinations in LA like The Grove, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Miracle Mile and so much more. One day you can ride to UCLA and the Hollywood Bowl from Torrance entirely via Metro rail.

• LOCAL SUPPORT: Public polling shows that 67% of Lawndale, Redondo Beach, and Torrance residents support the project, with 8% opposing the project and 24% with no opinion. Elected officials who represent South Bay cities on a local and regional level have consistently supported the project for its benefits such as reducing pollution and reducing traffic.

This is the South Bay’s moment to say YES to the train–we can boost our local economy, make our commutes easier, make our streets calmer, and take cars off congested roads and highways. We need your help to tell the Metro Board that South Bay families, professionals, and students support high-quality and cost-effective transit.

Metro staff engaged in extensive studies in the past few years and has recently released their recommendation to the Metro Board for the Hybrid ROW option, which we support. In the Draft EIR, they studied 2 main routes: one on Metro's property (right-of-way or “Metro ROW”) where a freight train currently travels, and another elevated over Hawthorne Blvd, the “Hawthorne option” (see simulation video and StoryMap).

The biggest differences between the two alignments are cost, timeline, and connectivity:

• COST: According to Metro's reports, the Metro Hybrid ROW costs $2.23B and adds approximately 5,000 new daily riders. The Hawthorne Elevated alignment costs $2.96B and adds approximately 5,500 new daily riders. The Hawthorne option has a higher cost per new daily rider than Metro ROW and is $730 million more costly overall.

• TIMELINE: Metro ROW Hybrid is scheduled to open in early 2034 while the Hawthorne option would open in late 2035. Caltrans, which has jurisdiction over Hawthorne Blvd, has not yet approved an encroachment permit and would require NEPA documentation, which would delay the project by another 2 years. Construction on Hawthorne Blvd would worsen traffic for 5-7 years. NEPA and Caltrans introduce veto points for the project and add risk of cost escalation and further delays.

• CONNECTIVITY: Metro ROW options will add a station along the tracks directly next to the new Redondo Beach Transit Center which opened in 2023 for $15 million and serves Beach Cities Transit, GTrans, Lawndale Beat, Torrance Transit, and Metro buses. The Hawthorne option, in addition to being $730M more costly, will construct a station in the middle of busy Hawthorne Blvd, a state highway and a dangerous environment for pedestrians. Both options provide good service to the South Bay Galleria/South Bay Social District.

Overall, we support the staff recommendation that the Metro Hybrid ROW is the best choice for this project for the following reasons:

1. COST-EFFECTIVE: Metro Hybrid ROW will be completed sooner and with the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars ($730 million less expensive than Hawthorne Blvd and less cost per new rider) allowing for quicker completion and realization of VMT reductions. Metro already owns the right-of-way and will not need to acquire or demolish any homes.

2. FIRST/LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY: Metro Hybrid ROW will provide seamless bus, bike, and parking connections at the new Redondo Beach Transit Center on Kingsdale Ave. The RBTC station has already been constructed next to the tracks, has bike lockers and over 300 parking spaces, and is quieter and more pleasant for transit riders compared to a highway median station on Hawthorne Blvd, where riders would have to cross 4 lanes of busy car traffic.

3. ENHANCED MOBILITY: Metro ROW will add new neighborhood multi-use trails for safe mobility where there is no sidewalk currently, including in Lawndale parallel to Condon Ave, and at the RBTC station spanning the train tracks from Grant and 182nd. ROW bike and walk paths will enhance our pedestrian and bicycle network and will allow people in Lawndale and Redondo Beach to connect to their train by foot, bike, or bus.

4. MODERNIZATION & SAFETY UPGRADES: The ROW currently serves an old freight rail and pipeline corridor, and the Metro ROW option would revitalize the route by upgrading aging freight tracks (decreasing noise and vibration), securing pipelines, and building new bridges and grade separation for light rail. These safety plans and mitigations would not occur if light rail is not installed on the Metro ROW. Additional planned upgrades include new pedestrian gates, sound walls, tree plantings, and quiet-zone technology to make conditions safer and more beautiful for the entire neighborhood. Hybrid ROW will also be fully grade-separated at 170th and 182nd for safer routes to school and for emergency vehicles.

5. ZERO RESIDENTIAL DISPLACEMENTS: The project will not require acquiring any homes to build, and Metro has confirmed that everything fits within the Metro-owned right-of-way. No residential displacement would occur. Metro will work with the various utilities in the corridor to secure and relocate utilities using a phased construction approach. Hawthorne option would require significant property acquisitions of 13 commercial parcels and 1 residential parcel. It would also involve challenging utilities relocations of an underground storm drain in the center of Hawthorne Blvd and overhead high voltage transmission lines.

6. SAFETY & SECURITY: The location of the Redondo Beach Station along the rail corridor will be safer, quieter, and easier to access than the ground-level street crossing at Hawthorne Blvd – a 6-8 lane state highway (SR 107) and high-injury corridor. The Redondo station next to the Transit Center will be easier to manage from a security and and fare enforcement standpoint than an elevated station in the center of Hawthorne Blvd.

Metro has been met with fierce opposition from people who live near the freight tracks in Lawndale and Redondo who oppose ROW options. They question Metro's engineering reports, data, and records, and are trying to hold the South Bay hostage for nearly $1 billion to build the Hawthorne option. But the rest of the South Bay would like to see this project get built efficiently, cost-effectively, and without more delays. Similar opposition occurred years ago in the Cheviot Hills neighborhood with the Expo Line in an old freight ROW. In the end the line was built and neighbors there today enjoy reliable light rail transit and a ROW bike and walk path (pictured below).

As we look to the future, this project will be a game-changer for South Bay transportation and mobility. With our population and jobs growth projected to grow, we need alternatives to driving and endless traffic congestion. Our state assemblymember Al Muratsuchi delivered $231 million in state funding to get the train to Torrance and supports the ROW options. It’s time to get this project built.

The LA Metro Board needs to hear that the South Bay overwhelmingly supports the C (K) Line Extension and supports Metro using their right-of-way. We support the route that is most financially feasible, that connects to our bus centers for first/last mile connectivity, and that adds much-needed modernization and rail safety measures to neighborhoods. We support Metro's community engagement process and staff recommendations and would like to see this built without further delay!

UPDATE: Metro staff has released their recommendation for the Metro Board to adopt the locally preferred alternative utilizing the ROW Hybrid Alternative, which adds grade separations for light rail at 170th and 182nd St in Lawndale, making the route fully grade-separated for light rail. Take a look at the video about the recommendation and updated FAQs at Metro's Source Blog.

IMPORTANT: The Metro Board will hear the final update and vote on the recommendation at their board meeting on Thursday, May 23 at 10 am.

We are asking all supporters to attend this meeting, either in-person or via telephone to share a 1-minute public comment in support of the staff recommendation for ROW Hybrid.

• RSVP to join us for public comment.
• See our toolkit for suggested comments.

Join your pro-transit friends to speak on this historic and transformational project and add your voice to a chorus of South Bay residents saying YES to the Extension and YES to the Metro ROW.

Thank you for supporting modernized, cost-effective, and enhanced public transit to the South Bay!

--

If you represent an organization (nonprofit, church, business, community group) that can sign onto our coalition, fill out this form.

To learn more about how to support housing, transit, and mobility improvements in the South Bay, find us at South Bay Forward and @southbayforward on social media.