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

RECOMMENDATIONS BY STATION
ARCADIA STATION
The Arcadia Station will be located in the downtown area on the north side of Santa Clara Street between North 1st
Avenue and Santa Anita Avenue. Three bus routes currently operate in the vicinity as shown in Figure 2-2.
Metro Route 79
This local bus route extends from downtown Los Angeles to Arcadia and currently terminates near the proposed Gold
Line station site. Eastbound buses approach the station area via Huntington Drive, turn north on 2nd Avenue and west
on St. Joseph Street to an on-street layover point facing west. Departing westbound trips turn south on 1st Avenue and
west on Huntington returning to Los Angeles.
Weekday ridership information compiled from Metro automatic passenger count (APC) data indicates that Arcadia is a
signifi cant trip generator on Route 79. An average 272 riders board at six bus stops east of and including Santa Anita
Avenue, which represents 6.7 percent of approximately 4,100 total average weekday daily boardings on the route.
Alightings (227) represent 5.5 percent of total alightings. Minor realignment is recommended to bring Route 79 nearer to
the Gold Line station entrance on Santa Clara Street and to provide a new layover point. As proposed, eastbound buses
would approach via Huntington Drive, turn north on 1st Avenue and west on Santa Clara Street to a new terminal point
located in a bus pullout on Santa Clara Street. Westbound departures would turn south on Santa Anita Avenue and west
on Huntington Drive, returning to Los Angeles.
Metro Route 487
This express bus route operates
between the Westlake District in Los
Angeles and the El Monte Busway
Station via downtown Los Angeles
and a “U”-shaped alignment passing
through San Gabriel, Pasadena and
Arcadia. The existing alignment
serves both the existing Sierra
Madre Villa Station and the planned
Arcadia Station. Route 487 travels
north-south on Santa Anita Avenue
and passes one-half block west
of the proposed Arcadia Station
site. Existing northbound and
southbound bus stops are located
at the intersection of Santa Anita
Avenue and Santa Clara Street.
Ridership information compiled
from Metro Automatic Passenger
Foothill Extension Bus Interface Plan
Passengers
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Metro Route 487
Weekday Eastbound Ridership
Boardings
Alightings
Left on Board
Figure 2-3
Passengers on Board
Station Vicinty
SMV
Arcadia
1,000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
CHAPTER 2 | PROPOSED BUS ROUTE MODIFICATIONS
Counter (APC) data is displayed in Figure 2-3 for weekday eastbound trips. The profi le refl ects a radial orientation with
distinctly higher ridership on the western portion of the route. The highest number of accumulated passengers aboard all
weekday trips (i.e., maximum load) occurs at the USC Medical Center Busway Station (863 passengers) per day. Passenger
volumes are signifi cantly lower in Pasadena and Arcadia, where the cumulative daily passenger load drops below 200
passengers per day in San Gabriel and reaches a minimum load point of 103 passengers per day approaching the Sierra
Madre Villa Station.
A similar pattern is seen in Figure
2-4 for westbound trips. Buses
depart from the El Monte Busway
Station with approximately 200
passengers per day on board and
the accumulated passenger load
rises to 295 passengers per day as
buses proceed north on Santa Anita
toward Live Oak Avenue. The load
declines approaching Arcadia from
the south with 170 passengers per
day on board at Santa Clara Avenue.
It declines further along Sierra Madre
Villa Avenue with 71 passengers per
day alighting at the existing Gold
Line station. Thirty-seven passengers
per day also board at the station
for continuing service through
San Gabriel and downtown Los
Passengers
250
200
150
100
50
0
Metro Route 487
Weekday Westbound Ridership
Figure 2-4
Angeles via I-10. The maximum load point for westbound trips occurs at the Cal State Los Angeles Busway Station (1,057
passengers per day).
These data suggest that the Sierra Madre Villa Station is an appropriate point at which to terminate Route 487 when the
Gold Line Extension from Pasadena to Azusa opens in 2014. The results of a recent survey of bus riders conducted for this
study reported that 72 percent of existing Route 487 riders are likely to use the Gold Line Extension and that Arcadia is the
most likely point of access identifi ed by 29 percent of survey respondents, followed by Sierra Madre Villa Station preferred
by 25 percent of respondents. Similarly, results from the concurrent survey of current Gold Line riders suggests that
Arcadia Station will attract up to 8 percent of total a.m. peak boardings on the extended Gold Line. Many of these patrons
currently transfer at Sierra Madre Villa.
Station Vicinty
SMV
Arcadia
Passengers on Board
Truncation of Route 487 at the Sierra Madre Villa Station and introduction of a new local route between Sierra Madre
Villa and El Monte via Arcadia is proposed as a means of enhancing intermodal access for most Arcadia as well as some
Pasadena passengers. Operationally, Route 487 is a very long route requiring nearly two hours to complete a one-way
trip, which is signifi cantly longer than most customers are willing to ride a bus. The proposed local route would operate
within a 120-minute schedule cycle allow one-way running times of up to 52 minutes. This includes rerouting to serve
the Arcadia Station directly by diverting buses from Santa Anita Avenue via Huntington Drive, 1st Avenue, and Colorado
Boulevard in both directions. Schedule coordination would focus on peak direction connections at both stations.
Boardings
Alightings
Left on Board
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
27