GOLD LINE EDITION 2003

IN  THIS  ISSUE:

Worth Its Weight In Gold:  A New Way To Commute

ASADENA IS A POPULAR PLACE. Millions of people shop, work, live, dine and play here every year. That’s simply marvelous, except for one thing: the traffic!  Soon that will all change, thanks to the grand opening of the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Gold Line. The new $859 million light rail line will be a great plus for Pasadena - not to mention Los Angeles County - by easing traffic congestion, boosting our economy and helping us clean up the air. The project was paid for through state and county funds plus two propositions approved by county voters to help improve public transit and reduce traffic on our freeways.

You can help the Metro Gold Line succeed by giving it a try! From six stations in Pasadena, you can catch a train to downtown L.A. From there, you can transfer to other Metro rail lines headed for Long Beach, North Hollywood, mid-Wilshire Boulevard, Lakewood, El Segundo and points in between. You can leave your car at home and explore Chinatown, Dodger Stadium, Olvera Street, Pershing Square, the NoHo Arts District, Hollywood, Thai Town, Long Beach’s Shoreline Village and Barnsdall Park, among many other destinations.

Even better, commuters accustomed to driving to Pasadena for work can leave their cars behind and enjoy a quiet, easy and safe ride into town. For your convenience, the Pasadena City Council has added and expanded Pasadena ARTS bus routes to get you to and from Metro Gold Line stations.

This edition of Pasadena In Focus has the information you need to know. And now...all aboard the Metro Gold Line!

Photo: Memorial Park Station     Photo Credit: David Ng

Catch A Free Ride

You, your friends and family can see history in the making Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launches Metro Gold Line trains down their tracks.

That weekend, you can hop on for free rides from one end of the line to the other - a total of 13.7 miles from East Pasadena to Union Station in downtown L.A. MTA hosts will be available all weekend to show you how to use the system safely and efficiently and how to get where you want to go.

Look for Pasadena’s six Metro Gold Line stations: Fillmore, Del Mar, Memorial Park, Lake, Allen and Sierra Madre Villa.

At the Memorial Parkand Sierra Madre Villa stations that weekend, you’ll find special performances and displays from Pasadena’s cultural and arts institutions. Show your support for car-free transit by walking, biking or riding a Pasadena ARTS shuttle to the celebration. (And don’t forget your camera for a little shot of history.)

Beginning Monday, July 28, regular Metro Gold Line hours will be 4 a.m.to 2 a.m.

A Little History

THIS SUMMER, gleaming Metro Gold Line light rail trains will carry thousands of passengers quietly and effortlessly through Pasadena.

The 20-year odyssey of the Metro Gold Line - originally called the Pasadena Blue Line - was anything but smooth. It took a group of determined visionaries to steer this train from dream to reality. Among these visionaries were the Pasadena City Council including five mayors and the city councilman who provided leadership to the Blue Line Construction Authority; two city managers; community leaders who developed plans, wrote letters, spoke before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and traveled to Sacramento to meet with legislators; and other city officials from Los Angeles to Pasadena.

For nearly 20 years, public transportation plans for the region incorporated building a rail transit line along the 13.7-mile corridor linking the cities of L.A., South Pasadena and Pasadena. Work on the line began in 1988 with the required environmental impact report; construction began in 1994. The line was originally scheduled to open in 2001, but lack of funding and other complications forced the MTA to suspend construction in early 1998.

Within months, however, with support from the corridor communities, Pasadena’s state senator at the time introduced legislation to create the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority to complete construction of the first phase and any extensions east to Claremont.

The city of Pasadena and its corridor city partners developed an implementation plan to complete the line by July 2003.

After a long and winding journey, the Metro Gold Line is scheduled to begin official operations Saturday, July 26 - thanks to those determined visionaries.

Just The Facts

  • The Metro Gold Line will use 26 state-of-the-art rail cars.

  • From 4 a.m. to 2 a.m., trains will run every eight to 10 minutes in each direction during rush hour and every 12 to 20 minutes during slower periods.

  • MTA expects 26,000 to 32,000 passengers per day after the first year of operations.

  • Each train consists of two 90-foot-long cars, each serving up to 288 sitting and standing passengers.

  • The boarding platforms at each of Pasadena’s six stations are open-sided, 270 feet long, 3 12 feet high, 10 to 14 feet wide and covered by canopies nine feet above each platform.

  • The trains are run by electric current through an overhead wire 14 to 18 feet above the tracks.

Enjoy the View at the Metro Gold Line Stations

A UNIQUE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM has dressed up Pasadena’s stations. A continuation of MTA’s ongoing program to beautify its transit system, the artworks were created by a diverse mix of Southern California artists who drew on Pasadena’s one-of-a-kind character.

Fillmore Station

With limited space to work with, artist Michael C. McMillen has created a 38-foot-high piece called “Geologica 42” at the Fillmore Station. Made of telescoping steel pipe and bronze, the structure is topped by a weather vane and moving parts powered by the wind. A nine-foot-high bronze collar encircles the tower and is decorated with interesting designs, textures and artifacts related to rail transportation, geological time and Pasadena history.

Memorial Park Station

  The tunnel at the station reminded artist John Valadez of the caverns, rocks cliffs and formations decorated by California’s native Americans. Valadez created a work of art based on ancient pictographs but used laser-cut aluminum and thin steel painted in semi-gloss colors. Spanning 105 feet, the images create shadows against the painted back walls of the station.

Del Mar Station

Doubling as a protective barrier, “Kinetic Energy” by artist Ries Niemi consists of fencing and gates along the tracks that vary in height and seem to move with you as you ride from the station. In its use of familiar mechanical forms associated with 19th and early 20th century rail transportation, the art pays tribute to the historic site of Pasadena’s famous train depot.

Lake Station

Focusing on riders’ daily travels, artist Pat Ward Williams created life-size portraits of Pasadenans caught in everyday moments - pointing, waving, laughing, talking, scolding, waiting and daydreaming - all snapped during a casting call at the Armory Center for the Arts. The black-and-white images are embedded in glass panels set against a background of color-changing glass.

Allen Station

Artist Michael Amescua has brightened this station with a 15-foot-high, 20-foot-long work of Papel Picado. Literally “perforated paper” in Spanish, this beautiful creation is made of cut steel, painted green and mounted flush against a yellow ceramic tile wall. Perforated designs of flowers, palm trees, mountains, and the sun and moon are hung together like a string of flags. On the platform level, Amescua has created a 10-foot-tall, 10-foot-diameter stainless steel sun marker to show the changing seasons.

Sierra Madre Villa Station

Marking the end of the Metro Gold Line, artist Tony Gleaton has suspended large, double-sided panels with eye-catching and intimate portraits of people of different ages and backgrounds.

Visit each station and enjoy the artwork!

Photo: Memorial Park Station      Photo Credit: David Ng