Arcadia Dial-a-Ride service to return to seniors, disabled after years of students "monopolizing" the service. On July 1, the fare will increase from 25 cents to 50 cents per ride and will have new fixed routes. The Dial-a-Ride will be for seniors over 62 years old and riders who are disabled.
Metro adds Gold Line service. Every train will run from Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College to East Los Angeles. Due to unprecedented demand, the Gold Line will run every seven minutes during peak morning and afternoon hours on weekdays. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 2, June 30, 2016 "LA Metro improves Gold Line; relieves crowding for SGV communities."
Arcadia wrestles with homeless issue. Metro Gold Line is seen as factor by some in the growing numbers camping nearby. In 2016, the Arcadia Station of Metro Gold Line opened and police began seeing a marked increase in calls for service regarding homelessness, said Sergeant Dan Crowther.
Gold Line Foothill extension opens today. Timeline of history is shown. Parties begin at 10:00 AM for opening ceremony, free rides today. The $1 billion, 11.5-mile extension opens for passenger service. New stations in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and two in Azusa.
Lack of train cars may delay the openings of the Expo Line Phase 2 from Culver City to Santa Monica and the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa. Metro reports delivery of rail cars won't be complete until January 2017, while construction of the extensions should be done July/August (Expo) and late September (Gold Line), of 2015. The builder of the train cars is Kinkisharyo International, a Japanese company that is assembling the light rail trains in Palmdale, California. The Expo Line needs 42 cars and the Gold Line needs 15.
Riders head to Pasadena, not Los Angeles. Ridership on the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is surpassing expectations. The east Pasadena to Azusa/Glendora extension, which opened March 5 is carrying 4000-5000 riders on weekdays and 3800 to 4000 on Saturday and Sunday. 18 percent of the riders from Arcadia Station went to Pasadena. Other rider statistics are given.
Arcadia has new hiking shuttle. U.S. Forest Service starts bus service to Chantry Flat trails from Arcadia Gold Line station. The shuttle goes to Chantry Flat Road, an area that connects to trails that lead to Sturtevant Falls, Hermit Falls, and historic Mount Wilson. The shuttle will run the next three weekends. Plans to make it permanent have not been formulated. See also Pasadena Star News, September 21, 2016, p. A7.
A Metro Gold Line deal to purchase land in Monrovia for a maintenance yard for $56 million, from George Brokate, a Marine veteran from Newport Beach, has been reached. This cleared the last major obstacle to the $735 million Pasadena to Azusa Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension. Photo shows the Gold Line bridge over the 210 Freeway in Arcadia under construction.
Colorado Boulevard between Santa Anita Avenue and San Antonio Road will be closed for nearly 5 months to allow crews to build a bridge needed for Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension. The Colorado Boulevard bridge is one of three Gold Line bridges to be built on Arcadia streets. The stretch of Colorado Boulevard will be closed 24 hours/day, 7 days/week until April 30.
Metro Gold Line Bridge, which represents woven baskets, over the 210 Foothill Freeway near Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia, gets its fifth award. The latest one was "Best Project in Southern California" for highways and bridges from Engineering News-Record, a national trade journal on construction and design. The award was presented to Habib Balian, CEO of Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. Sharing in the award was AECOM, the lead architectural firm that implemented the concept from artist Andrew Leicester and Skanska USA, the construction contractor.
The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension had a ground breaking ceremony at Newcastle Park in Arcadia, for a project that would extend the line from East Pasadena to Azusa, with stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and Irwindale. This phase is fully funded through Measure R, the Los Angeles County half-cent sales tax increase that voters approved to fund transportation projects. Eventually the Gold Line will reach the Inland Empire.
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension moves ahead. Contractor Kiewit Parsons is given full "notice to proceed" to build the 11.5 mile route for the light rail train from Pasadena to Azusa, with a stop in Arcadia, by a planned 2015 completion date.
Gold Line construction extends closure of Colorado Boulevard for another three weeks, until the third week of May, due to underground utility work. See hard copy in VF Railroads-Light Rail-Gold Line.
Gold Line bridge construction work will cause up to 20 nights of complete closures on the 210 Freeway in the next two months. The freeway bridge is the first part of the $735 million, 11.5 mile Pasadena to Azusa Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension.
All aboard: Gold Line extension opened yesterday with free rides, and nearly 30,000 people jammed into the 6 new stations from Arcadia to Azusa. Photos of the grand opening.
The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority opened bidding yesterday on Phase 2A of the light rail's extension toward Azusa, which would make a stop in Arcadia. The project is estimated to cost more than $450 million with a completion date in 2017. Measure R guarantees full funding for the Gold Line Extension minus a gap of $500,000. With possible help from a private investment, the completion could be moved up to 2013.
The county Metropolitan Transportation Authority will sell naming rights to all rail lines, bus lines, and transit stations, such as the Gold Line Monrovia Station (in photo) and Foothill Gold Line Arcadia Station (in photo). The Corporate Sponsorship/Naming Rights Program was approved by the Metro board. CEO Phil Washington wants to stretch revenue; board member objects to commercialization.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has voted to fully fund the $690 million Gold Line Foothill Extension, from Pasadena to Azusa, and to complete it by 2014, with money from Measure R. Measure R was approved by voters in the November 2008 election. It created a half-cent county sales tax intended for transportation projects. The MTA has the funding for the first phase of the Gold Line light rail to Azusa. The first phase is an 11-mile extension that includes stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa.
The Arcadia City Council unanimously approved a General Plan update that aims to make the future Metro Gold Line station the heart of a revitalized downtown and the plan includes a revitalization of Live Oak Avenue.