Chapter 2: Proposed Bus Modifications - Metro Gold Line Foothill ...

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CHAPTER 2 | PROPOSED BUS ROUTE MODIFICATIONS
IRWINDALE STATION
The Irwindale station will be located north of Avenida Padilla, and east of Irwindale Avenue. One existing bus route operates
in the immediate vicinity of the station, as shown in Figure 2-14.
Foothill Transit Route 185
This local bus route carries nearly 2,000 passengers per weekday on a predominantly north-south alignment between
Hacienda Heights and Azusa via West Covina and Irwindale. It passes one block west of the Irwindale Station site along
Irwindale Avenue at Montoya Street and the I-210 Freeway. To the south, Route 185 provides a 20-minute connection to the
Plaza at West Covina Transit Center and continues through West Covina, La Puente and Industry to Puente Hills Mall via Sunset
Avenue, Glendora Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard. To the north, Route 185 continues to Foothill Boulevard and turns east
toward downtown Azusa, overlaying Route 187 between Irwindale Avenue and Alameda Avenue.
The results of the bus rider survey conducted for this study indicate that 68 percent of existing Route 185 riders are likely
to use the Gold Line Extension, and that 30 percent consider Irwindale Station as the preferred point of access, followed by
Azusa-Alameda (21 percent), Azusa-Citrus (18 percent), Monrovia (11 percent), and Duarte (9 percent). The concurrent survey
of current Gold Line riders indicated that Irwindale Station is the least preferred among the six new stations as the initial
point of access to the rail line. Detailed ridership data for Route 185 were not available for this analysis, making defi nitive
recommendations more diffi cult. Truncation at Irwindale Station could be considered when ridership data become available,
given service redundancy with Route 187 on Foothill Boulevard east of Irwindale Avenue and to improve opportunity for
schedule coordination with Gold Line trains.
In the immediate term, it is recommended that Route 185 divert from Irwindale Avenue to Irwindale Station in both directions
when the Gold Line Extension opens. Northbound buses would turn right from Irwindale Avenue onto Adelante Street,
where a new traffi c signal is planned, and continue north on Avenida Padilla to a new bus stop located on the north side of
Montoya Street, southwest of the station. Ideally customers should have a line-of-sight visual connection to buses from the
rail platform. Departing buses would continue west on Avenida Padilla, pass under the Irwindale Avenue bridge and turn left,
running parallel to Irwindale Avenue until the traffi c light at Adelante Street and Irwindale Avenue, where the existing routing
would be resumed. Buses running in the southbound direction would turn left at the intersection of Irwindale Avenue and
Adelante Street, follow the same itinerary as described for northbound service and then continue south after the traffi c light at
Adelante Street/Irwindale Avenue. Proposed changes are shown in Figure 2-15.
Foothill Extension Bus Interface Plan