TOP TEN REASONS TO HAVE THE SUBWAY STATION AT
CONSTELLATION & AVENUE OF THE STARS
10. It will bring passengers into the “heart” of Century City, maximizing the number of employees and visitors within a convenient walking distance from all directions.
9. Will reduce the need for shuttles to bring passengers from the outside fringe areas on Santa Monica Blvd., to the center of the business district.
8. Century City is a vital economic engine for the City of Los Angeles and bringing the subway to the corporate “hub” will contribute to the economic vitality of the community and the Westside region.
7. Improve the environmental quality and reduce vehicular traffic on major thoroughfares leading into and around Century City…or at a minimum slow the increase of future vehicular traffic.
6. Location of the station will greatly enhance a high-pedestrian-use environment which complements the Century City Greening Plan which was adopted by the Los Angeles City Council.
5. With nearly 50,000 employees within Century City clustered around this intersection, they are more likely to use the subway for commuting and trips during the day if the portal is conveniently located.
4. This location will encourage travelers that work and live in the southern region of Century City to utilize the subway rather than walking or driving increased distances to Santa Monica Blvd.
3. If you build it (and in the right location at AOS and Constellation), they will come!”
2. Having this subway centrally located, reduces emissions and contributes to a greener and cleaner environment for generations to come.
1.….and the Number One reason to put the subway station at Constellation Blvd. and Avenue of the Stars…aligning a subway station along an employment corridor makes the most “cents” and “sense” both financially and practically!
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Myth: A Santa Monica Boulevard station would cost significantly less – $60 million less - than the alternative at Constellation;
Fact: This assertion is based on preliminary information contained in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report. METRO is currently in the process of conducting additional analysis and Preliminary Engineering, including updating costs, associated with all of the Century City Station alternatives. More accurate information will be documented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report. It is misleading to talk about comparative costs until all of the information is available.
Myth: A Santa Monica Boulevard station is closer to more commercial space than the alternative at Constellation
Fact: The one-quarter mile radius around the intersection of Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars encompasses 11,555,261 square feet of commercial space with 27,263 occupants The one-quarter mile radius around Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East encompasses 4,241,760 square feet of commercial space with 9,874 occupants (This does not include any proposed new development projects on AOS and Constellation Blvd. which would add to the existing square footage)
Myth: A Santa Monica Boulevard station would attract more riders, according to current calculations by the MTA;
Fact: No conclusions on ridership for each station have been made. Again, this assertion is taken from the Draft EIS/EIR which is currently being updated. METRO is still in the process of calculating ridership for all of the Century City Station alternatives.
Myth: A Santa Monica Boulevard station would reduce travel time to Westwood.
Fact: Even if travel time is reduced by a minute or two, the true cost in lost ridership is likely to be huge. Until METRO completes its analysis of all of the station alternatives, no one can predict what the real time or cost consequences will be.
Myth: While the geographic center of Century City is at Constellation and Avenue of the Stars, the workday population is clustered closer to Santa Monica.
Fact: A station located on Santa Monica Boulevard would abut the Los Angeles Country Club golf course on the north with commercial space only to the south. Conversely, commercial space in Century City surrounds Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars on all sides. A station there would likely be easily accessible to the same commercial buildings as a Santa Monica station and will also be more easily accessible to properties farther south including Fox Studios, the residents south of Olympic and the Hyatt Intercontinental located even farther away from Santa Monica Boulevard.
Myth: Tunneling under the campus could also severely restrict the BH district’s ability to build and modernize.
Fact: The tunnel will be located so far underground that no building or modernization project will ever come close to it. Schools all over the country and the region are located next to and on top of transit systems with zero effect on their operations, or the health and safety of their students. Metro tunnels today run under many buildings without problems. Some of the buildings were there before the tunnels were built. In other cases, the buildings have been successfully built atop existing Metro tunnels and stations.
Myth: METRO always contemplated a station at Santa Monica Boulevard. The Constellation Station is a ‘bait-and-switch.’
Fact: A station in Century City has been part of METRO’s planning since the 1960’s. Prior subway planning studies conducted in 1968, 1974 & 1990 all show a Century City station on Constellation. The January 1, 1968 minutes of SCRTD (So. California Rapid Transit District) state the following from the Los Angeles City Council Ad Hoc Transit Committee: “On the Wilshire Corridor, specifically, this Committee has recommended to the Council, which they are now considering, that the alignment is satisfactory as far as it goes, but we think it should go beyond. We feel that the Wilshire Corridor Line should be extended west under Wilshire with stops at Robertson Blvd., Beverly Drive, and then under Constellation Avenue in Century City, with a stop at Century City, and a return to Wilshire Blvd., The line should continue west in subway with stops to serve Westwood and terminate at Barrington Avenue. We feel the extension of that Wilshire Corridor to serve these areas is imperative.” (Official Documentation is available)
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