Westwood/Rancho Park station

Westwood/Rancho Park
The platform at Westwood/Rancho Park looking inbound
Location	2594 Westwood Boulevard
Coordinates	34°02′12″N 118°25′33″W / 34.0368°N 118.4258°WCoordinates: 34°02′12″N 118°25′33″W / 34.0368°N 118.4258°W
Owned by	Metro
Platforms	1 center platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	None[1]
Bicycle facilities	TBD
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	October 17, 1875
Rebuilt	May 20, 2016
Previous names	Talamantes
Services
Preceding station   Metro Rail   Following station Expo/Sepulveda toward Downtown Santa Monica Expo Line Palms toward 7th Street/Metro Center   Former services   Pacific Electric Home Junction toward Rustic Canyon Air Line The Palms toward Pacific Electric Building

Westwood/Rancho Park (formerly Talamantes) is an at-grade light rail station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system located at the intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard in the Rancho Park neighborhood of West Los Angeles. It serves the Expo Line.^[2]

Although opponents filed a lawsuit to halt construction, they were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts (see Opposition section, below).

Location and design

Platform	Westbound	←  Expo Line toward Downtown Santa Monica (Expo/Sepulveda)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Eastbound	→  Expo Line toward 7th Street/Metro Center (Palms) →

Westwood/Rancho Park Station is located at Exposition Boulevard just east of Westwood Boulevard, between Westwood Boulevard and Overland Avenue.^[3] This station is located in Rancho Park, an affluent single-family neighborhood south of Westwood and southwest of Century City. The station location is a short walk from the Westside Pavilion shopping mall.

The Final EIR included 170 surface parking spaces with this station. However, the FEIR included a design option to remove all parking for transit users (20 parking spaces would be provided for local residents only). In March 2011, the Expo Board approved the no-parking option. Sepulveda station, less than one mile away, will have parking.

Opposition

In the Final EIR, Metro staff recommended routing the Expo Line along the Exposition Right-Of-Way (ROW) through Rancho Park (which includes Westwood Station), at-grade. During the EIR process, a group of neighbors known as Neighbors For Smart Rail (NFSR) organized to oppose at-grade light rail through this ROW.^[4] The group claims that this design will be dangerous if built as specified, and that Metro failed to comply with environmental law. Metro publicly disputed these claims,^[5] as did several groups supporting the current design.^[6][7][8]

On 5 March 2010, NFSR filed a lawsuit to halt construction of Expo Phase 2.^[9] This lawsuit was dismissed by the Superior Court of the State of California on February 22, 2011.^[10]

Bus connections

• Culver CityBus: 3
• Santa Monica Big Blue Bus: 8, Rapid 12

References

1. Nelson, Laura J. (May 14, 2016). "The Expo Line is finally coming to the Westside, but limited parking raises concerns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
2. http://backup.buildexpo.org/phase2_overview.php
3. http://backup.buildexpo.org/phase2/Phase%202%20FEIR%20Documents/02_ProjectAlternatives_FEIR.pdf
4. http://smartrail.org
5. Steve Hymon (2010-03-12). "Expo Line Construction Authority responds to lawsuit |". Thesource.metro.net. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
6. http://lightrailforcheviot.org/
7. "The Expo Line - Friends 4 Expo Transit Home Page". Friends4expo.org. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
8. http://smarterrail.org/
9. "Neighbors Lawsuit Could Derail Expo | Santa Monica Mirror". Smmirror.com. 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
10. "Court dismisses Expo Line lawsuit |". Thesource.metro.net. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

• Curbed Staff (November 24, 2014) "Expo Line Extension is 80 Percent Done; See the New Stations" Curbed Los Angeles

External links

Media related to Westwood/Rancho Park station at Wikimedia Commons

• Metro Expo Line Construction Authority
• Project Website, Metro Rail Expo Corridor, Phase 2 to Culver City
• Expo Line Phase-2 Photo Gallery