South L.A. commuters brace for Willowbrook station overhaul
BY JOSEPH PATRICK DABU AND KYLIE STORM
Clarice Cooper sat on a bench at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station after a long day in Los Angeles waiting for the Metro Blue Line train toward Long Beach to arrive. To her right, a broken elevator was inoperable for riders to access the Green Line above. Scattered trash and the stench of sewage surrounded her.
Cooper has been a caregiver for nearly 40 years and has been using Metro almost every day to commute to work and visit family and friends from her Long Beach home.
Like others who depend on the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station, Cooper will soon be subject to a renovation project that will shut down the station in January 2019. The station — which connects to Willowbrook, Compton and Watts — is the fourth most used of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency said.
The renovation includes an extended platform, upgraded elevators, stairs and an escalator. A new canopy, a civic plaza and new artwork are also part of the additions. The project, which is funded by state and federal grants, costs about $109 million and is part of the larger $1.2 billion plan to create a faster and more reliable new Blue Line, according to Metro.
The New Blue additions include four new switches to enable trains to change from different tracks, new system upgrades, overhead wire refurbishment and rail improvements in downtown Long Beach, Metro said. Demolition and utility grading began late August.
During these closures, which will last from January 2019 to the beginning of 2020, local bus shuttles will replace rail services.
Metro has designed various shuttle systems for each closure of the Blue Line. An express route from downtown Long Beach to downtown L.A. will run in length about 55 minutes to an hour — the same amount of time a regular Blue Line ride lasts, said Timothy Lindholm, Metro executive officer of program management and capital projects. Buses will also run from Long Beach to Willowbrook.
“We’ve never shut down a whole rail line before,” Lindholm said. “We’re taking it very seriously so we don’t lose frequent passengers.”
A transit security center and a new customer service center will also be added to the Willowbrook station, according to Metro’s website. The new security center will house newly installed cameras to maximize coverage of the plaza, bus bays, parking lot and platforms.
Lindholm said the station’s design has contributed to issues with safety.
He said the acquisition of additional property for an open plaza aims to give the station more natural light than before, considering that it’s under the 105 freeway. Security officers and cameras can visually cover more ground when the plaza is not tucked away under the darkness of the freeway ramp, Lindholm said.
The Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station has had its fair share of crime. According to the Los Angeles Times, 103 serious felonies a year were reported at the station between 2012 and 2014.
Cooper, the caregiver, cited safety as one of her primary concerns with this station and hopes crime will decrease.
“Some things are kind of wicked that happen on the train,” she said. “I hate to be here in the evening. I try to get in before the sun goes down … because there’s just really like a party train. [Passengers are] just going crazy.”
Marlena Arredondo, who takes a 30-minute commute from Lynwood, has seen similar occurrences at the station.
“Sometimes on the weekends, especially around noon, I see a lot of people [and] they start yelling at the Metro attendants,” Arredondo said. “[The attendants] have to calm them down or get them to leave the station.”
Aside from addressing safety concerns, Lindholm said Metro plans to connect with the Willowbrook community with the addition of the new customer service center and civic plaza where movie nights and food truck gatherings can take place.
“Previously we weren’t as connected to the community itself,” Lindholm said. “We want to welcome pedestrians and the Willowbrook community with this new design.”
