Petition To Give Expo Line 'Signal Preemption' Gains Steam
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — With the Expo line extension to Santa Monica opening Friday, some transit advocates are raising concerns that the ride to downtown Los Angeles will take too long to truly cut down on their commute times.
The trip from Santa Monica to downtown L.A. is expected to take about 46 minutes, according to Metro.
Hoping to make the trip faster, transit advocates are asking the Los Angeles Department Of Transportation to grant the Expo line "signal preemption" along parts of its route, which would give the train priority over cars at red lights. Currently, the train must stop at red lights on parts of its route, just as a car would.
A recently launched Change.org petition says trains should get priority at intersections due to the higher volume of people aboard trains.
It calls on "LADOT to provide signal preemption for Expo Line through downtown Los Angeles and give priority to a three-car train, with maybe 250 people on it rather than sitting and waiting for vehicle traffic, which carries 1 or 2 persons per car."
The petition had gained 1,178 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The petition focuses on a stretch of the Expo Line near downtown Los Angeles. The stretch of the Expo Line between Vermont and Seventh Street comprises about 30 percent of the distance between the Expo Line's Culver City stop and downtown L.A., but takes 50 percent of the time, L.A. Weekly reported.
On the newer tracks, between Culver City and Santa Monica, the train will have signal preemption at many intersections, the L.A. Times reported, and the tracks are above-grade in other parts of the new line.
