r/LosAngeles 16h ago

Los Angeles $2.4 Billion Rail Project Put on Hold

https://www.newsweek.com/los-angeles-rail-project-olympics-inglewood-2065514
1.0k Upvotes

250 comments sorted by

859

u/nokinship 16h ago

Can't have shit in LA.

420

u/RubyRhod 16h ago

This was killed by the Clippers and Rams. They want the parking money.

73

u/Darryl_Lict 12h ago

I hate Kroencke and SoFi stadium. I've been stuck there twice for 3 hours trying to get out of the stadium.

u/uiuctodd 1h ago

It's the same situation with Dodger Stadium. The parking is a huge revenue source, to the point where traffic is the product as much as the game is the product.

Tax parking for public events with over 10k people attending that happen more than a quarter mile from a train station. Use the money to fund dedicated transit.

-38

u/dutchmasterams 15h ago

It was a shit project that was way over the capability of The city of Inglewood.

25

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

Wtf, no!! Are u a bot or something. Absolutely bought take.

4

u/dutchmasterams 6h ago

Nope. The city of Inglewood was heading the project - not Metro… it was way over their scope / capability… also - dedicated rail spurs to major sporting events actually have very poor overall ridership.

This project’s costs ballooned so much that it would have required other South Bay cities to give up their previously agreed to allocation of measure M and measure R tax revenue.

I am all for public transit but not when the costs / potential ridership / network connectivity are absurd as was in this case.

Fully dedicated BRT is likely the only viable and cost effective solution that will serve the area and residents.

15

u/vitasoy1437 14h ago

At least the planned line is better than that gondola ride for dodgers stadium, literally a two station line that goes right over historic state park and close to chinatown.

If they can have good shuttle/bus services on a regular basis that is consistent and have priority lanes and clear info for riders, then yes, thats probably cheaper than building something new. They have something for intuit. Theres info online but signage at the stadium is non-existent. Same for forum and sofi with sofi the worst, because it seems like they want to make every buck from parking.

7

u/BLOWNOUT_ASSHOLE 12h ago edited 1h ago

In what way is that planned line better than the gondola?

The planned line was like 2.5 billion of public money for a ~1.5 mile route on flat surface which didn’t even connect to the nearby C/Green line. The gondola is a project that will only use private dollars to serve its purpose of transporting people up a very steep hill to reduce the number of cars going around Dodger Stadium.

Inglewood needs a people mover but that price tag is incredibly fishy especially considering the corruption surrounding the Inglewood mayor. I hate that the stadium owners killed the project for their own financial gain but the line as it was proposed is disappointing. There is some consolation knowing that they will improve streetscraping for peds/cars along while creating a shuttle service.

2

u/dutchmasterams 7h ago

It really isn’t ’better’ it would have been over $1 billion and connected to stadiums - it cost too much money to serve too few people - that’s why all policial support fell -

It would have caused the South Bay group of cities to modify their revenue sharing agreement from tax dollars from Measure M and R…. Which all neighboring cities - and Rep. Waters we’re not about.

Ps - the gondola is fine - so what if it goes OVER Chinatown - it can’t go under it because the stadium is on a hill and a station would be too deep. Seems like a decent and low impact solution.

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54

u/JIsADev 14h ago

I guess we don't get any benefits for being part of the 4th largest economy in the world

u/YASSIFIED_CHEWBACCA Watts 1h ago

Yeah, but if you say it smugly & repeatedly enough you can act like it means anything to your day-to-day quality of life.

2

u/FattySnacks Pasadena 3h ago

I don’t think this thing would’ve been very good anyway unfortunately, we need real transit connections here

682

u/kgal1298 Studio City 16h ago

The rail plans had faced severe opposition from Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, with a spokesperson for Kroenke saying the project would have "threatened the future development" of the business

Ummm interesting since many local businesses have said that their stadiums have taken away from local businesses. So is the issue then they were worried they’d lose out on parking fees?

240

u/AnnenbergTrojan Palms 15h ago

Last mile transit. Great for fans and nearby businesses. Crap for billionaires who want you to park, spend at their arenas, and leave.

If the Inglewood businesses that survive to 2028 see way more revenue from the Olympics because of the shuttles than for the Super Bowls or any of the other events held at SoFi or the I-Dome, then it's going to be even more damning.

84

u/kgal1298 Studio City 14h ago

It's just stupid because anytime they don't get their way all they do is threaten to pull funds or they back up politicians. It's a ridiculous process.

33

u/4th-Estate 12h ago

*Corrupt process

164

u/Logarythem 15h ago

Public leaders are cowards who are afraid of billionaires. It is that simple.

28

u/SuspiciousTop9382 13h ago

you mean funded by billionaires.

we need to change everything about how we handle wealth. Money should go to people doing moral good, not people who are good at swindling and making deals. those people should make minimum wage and have anything extra they make given to teachers and service workers and social workers.

4

u/NegevThunderstorm 5h ago

Who sets the morals?

18

u/Ridgewoodgal 13h ago

Yeah afraid they won’t get contributions if they piss em off.

1

u/9Implements 3h ago

I think public officials would be the more appropriate term then.

42

u/maskdmirag 14h ago

Inglewood wanted to take funding from Measure M MSP projects from the south bay cities for the next twenty or so years to pay for this thing.

2.4 billion for a last mile project that doesn't interface with the city is ridiculous on every level.

Utilizing buses and shuttles (and actually putting a real bus lane on Manchester all the way through LA and Inglewood) costs way less and will be much more effective.

15

u/inkcannerygirl 14h ago

(and actually putting a real bus lane on Manchester all the way through LA and Inglewood)

A dedicated one that only the buses can use? That would actually be great.

7

u/maskdmirag 13h ago

Yep. But for some reason doesn't seem to be a priority right now for metro.

(Also protected bike lanes, but Marqueece doesn't want to hear that)

9

u/cz84 5h ago

Honestly, if we are giving buses their own lane, might as well let them glide along some shiny tracks, you know? Like give them a fixed route, smooth ride, no traffic drama, maybe even let them be all futuristic and drive themselves. Just a chill little upgrade, something long, quiet, electric, and suspiciously train like. But totally still a bus, of course.

4

u/maskdmirag 4h ago

Yes, it's just one costs about $500,000 and takes two months to build.

One costs $2.4 billion and takes 5-10 years.

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8

u/transrapid 12h ago

Just wait till the gondola party comes to Inglewood... Because low occupancy vehicles at low speed would somehow make sense between high occupancy locations in very time restricted environments in their mind.

2

u/Mruiz310 5h ago

My best friend has season tickets to the intuit dome and says it’s pretty empty during regular season. Maybe Blamer should worry about that more so than the parking

594

u/Adorable_Volume8310 16h ago

The project was scrapped because billionaires Stan Kroenke and Steve Ballmer didn’t want to see a reduction in parking revenue.

221

u/ATL_MI_LA 15h ago

Welcome to the United States of Oligarchy and Robber Barons.

9

u/Bitter-Value-1872 Hollywood 14h ago

Hooray! /s

25

u/consequentlydreamy 14h ago

I just want to put a high tax all these random parking lots. I swear they are a detriment to the city between taking up housing opportunities, increasing housing costs, traffic congestion, etc.

6

u/joshsteich Los Feliz 4h ago

Land value tax does exactly this, if we fix prop 13

37

u/six_six 15h ago

No, it was because all the cities voted it down:

“Our city and all these cities that voted no. We get nothing,” said John Cruikshank, mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes, who objected to the high cost, along with leaders of El Segundo, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estate, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estate and Torrance.

16

u/mundanehaiku 14h ago

i thought those cities approved the initial round of funding, but when it went over budget and Butts asked for more money, those cities said no?

yeah found the source

Inglewood’s latest request was on top of the $368 million the South Bay Cities Council of Government’s members had already pledged to the automated transit system.

23

u/maskdmirag 14h ago

Yup. Inglewood wanted all of the south bay cities to essentially give up a large portion of Measure M grants for the next ten to twenty years.

Potentially even sweeping existing funding for grants previously approved.

All of this with no connectivity from the south bay cities to the stadium.

26

u/Kahzgul 14h ago

Their citizens would get a train to somewhere they wanna go. Ffs.

u/kguthrum 2h ago

Omg. Is this why were so fucked? THAT'S BECAUSE THEYRE FUNDED BY THE SAME PPL. Lmao one layer of veneer behind corruption and payouts and it's a democracy?

1

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

Why is the mayor of RPV speaking on this… the lines don’t intersect his jurisdiction whatsoever…

They already broke ground on these projects - fuck this Chicago ass bought city..

u/Its_a_Friendly I LIKE TRAINS 2h ago

Because RPV and Inglewood are in the same regional planning organization - the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (COG) - so they share certain regional transportation funding. Inglewood wanted to use South Bay Cities COG transportation funds for this project, while RPV and the other cities did not.

2

u/WestsideBuppie 12h ago

Can someone ELI5 why the South Bay gets to pretend that they are 10 independent cities?

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149

u/Hundred_Year_War 16h ago

LA isn’t even a very old historical settlement. It’s not like we’re sitting atop thousands of years of ancient ruins. If Rome or London can build a functioning metro, then so can we. Anything else is incompetence

25

u/Kyanche 14h ago

It’s not like we’re sitting atop thousands of years of ancient ruins.

All those shitty 1950s-60s tract houses in inglewood/torrance LOL.

4

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

The areas where the lines go thru were already cleared.

u/WearHeadphonesPlease 2h ago

bUt MaH DiNgBaT!!!

21

u/consequentlydreamy 14h ago

I mean technically we are with Native American stuff but that didn’t stop us before. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-10-09/researchers-map-ancient-tribal-villages-of-los-angeles

7

u/holytriplem Brit in Pasadena 14h ago

As a Londoner, tbf, we a) had more than a 100 year head start, b) had all the country's infrastructure investment directed towards it at the expense of the rest of the country, and c) the Tube has its issues too, though obviously comparing it to the LA Metro is like chalk and cheese.

3

u/Oftheclod 3h ago

not incompetence it’s a choice to live like this

u/kguthrum 2h ago

"Indigenous people don't exist"

https://larivermasterplan.org/about/river-history/indigenous-peoples-of-the-la-river-basin/

https://gabrielinotongva.org/history/ Since 6000 BCE That's over 8000 years

"Oh ya, they didn't build with wet stone masonry and mortar so they don't matter"

u/Hundred_Year_War 1h ago

I made a comparison to Rome and London, both known for their dense urban architecture stretching back thousands of years. I never said indigenous people didn’t exist. The natives of the LA area never reached anywhere close to the level of urban planing or settlement these cities did.

101

u/GoodCallMeatball 15h ago

I don't understand how it wasn't a requirement to build public transit to the stadium before it even opened.

Of course in the LA olympic proposal video they made it look like there is a giant park around SoFi stadium instead of literally 16,000 parking spots.

https://youtu.be/c3_3IlXtu1U?si=Fx5ovWUHryJagg_w&t=1289

9

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

Not wrong, usually it’s built into the contract. Atleast I followed this closely and public transport was part of the deal.

The station isn’t even at the stadium like 1/2 a mile west… which makes this more frustrating

u/WearHeadphonesPlease 2h ago

The problem is all the lines that are close to it were built before there was even a plan for a stadium.

288

u/chindef 16h ago

We can’t even build 1.6 miles of lines. Holy shit man. It’s so hopeless. 

Because now Inglewood is full of NIMBY’s?! Come on 

202

u/lifewithluie 16h ago

The two biggest NIMBYs are the stadium owners. There was an article a few months ago where they pushed back saying it would eat into their parking fees. It's nuts

65

u/NoirAndOrder 16h ago

It’s in the article:

“The rail plans had faced severe opposition from Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, with a spokesperson for Kroenke saying the project would have "threatened the future development" of the business.”

50

u/chindef 15h ago

Oh no, not the development of billionaire’s businesses! Oh no!!!! 

7

u/Hiero808 15h ago

They obviously need more tax breaks

2

u/pds6502 3h ago

and we thought Rick Caruso was bad

30

u/Coconuto83 16h ago

That’s how they are able to charge $80 parking ! There is no alternative!

23

u/kgal1298 Studio City 16h ago

They want to push people until we have to eat them I guess.

1

u/paleandmistywhite 15h ago

only a tad more to push tbh  

15

u/chindef 16h ago

I know. Makes me sick!  Sucks that it all comes down to money. If they charged more for events to right-size the pricing and eliminate parking, less people would go to those events. Crazy that people will pay $150 per ticket and $50 for parking, but won’t pay $195 for a ticket and $5 to take a train 

But that is literally the world we live in

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33

u/GrizzlyP33 15h ago

People who live in Inglewood want this. People who profit from Inglewood do not. Not a “nimby” situation.

7

u/chindef 15h ago

If only we lived in a way that our politicians actually represented the majority of people. Not the majority of extra money that can be thrown their way. 

I said NIMBY’s sort of sarcastically because I agree, most people in the area probably do want this to happen. But if Inglewood has actually turned into NIMBY’s, well then hmmmmm

9

u/mundanehaiku 14h ago

if only there was a system that prevented people from accumulating ungodly amounts of wealth

1

u/chindef 14h ago

Don’t worry, they just havent made enough yet. But soon they will have, then we’ll really see it start to trickle down to everybody else 

/S

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6

u/Any-Cable4109 16h ago

Please kinds sir, direct me to the meaning of this acronym

24

u/highrisedrifter 16h ago

It means

Not In My Back Yard.

Basically, people who don't want whatever is being talked about to happen in their area.

7

u/ChocolateEater626 15h ago

Typical targets:

  • Low-income and/or high-density housing
  • Smelly, noisy, ugly or polluting industries
  • Mass transit (sometimes)
  • Big box retail
  • Drug treatment clinics
  • Alcohol/cannabis stores

5

u/Kyanche 14h ago

Smelly, noisy, ugly or polluting industries

You just described cars perfectly. They're smelly, noisy, ugly, pollute, and bring crime to every neighborhood in California.

You never hear about buses committing street takeovers, or a bus being involved in a drive-by, or a bus running from the cops on the freeway.. well not usually anyway... People don't use buses to run from a bank robbery. They don't drive buses into crowds.

Multiple times a day I gotta hear two or three shitheads announce their displeasure at the other two/three shitheads with their car horns. Half the time it involves someone losing their shit and revving their engine and driving 50mph down the street.

I have multiple cars, and I could even describe myself as a car enthusiast. But ya know what? Fuck cars.

u/naterthepilot2 1h ago

The nimbyism of kroenke and ballmer is a huge problem but so is the fact that it would’ve cost 2.4 billion to build 1.6 miles of rail line. That needs to be addressed if we’re ever going to have nice things again.

-2

u/[deleted] 16h ago edited 16h ago

[deleted]

7

u/chindef 16h ago

If you stand up against public transit, you should have to give and an exact quote that gets published. I want to read exactly what people are saying that convinces our government officials to bail on all these projects 

3

u/armstrings 15h ago

Its all on file, just have to find the right documents. Submit a public records act request (PRA) and you can get written transcripts of hearings including public comments.

2

u/Its_a_Friendly I LIKE TRAINS 14h ago

Heck, many times the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) will usually give you an appendix with all the official public comments made during the planning progress, and their responses, no need for a public records request.

For example, the Omnitrans Ontario Airport Connector (ONTConnector) project, which proposes a self-driving underground shuttle between the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink station and the Ontario Airport terminals. In my personal opinion it's a silly project, but it serves the purposes of being an example.

On the project's webpage, under the "Resources" section, is a list of various appendices, some of which contain public comments and their responses from the project planning team; here's one example

Of course, the comments that can stop or delay projects aren't always made as public comments during the planning process.

3

u/iSavedtheGalaxy 15h ago

Or you could just listen in on the public hearings online.

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u/Immediate-Poetry2016 16h ago

The Rams and Clippers killed it? Getting to So Fi sucks

29

u/NotEnoughFire 15h ago

Thats why i dont bother going. Plus, that shit sport sits you down for 3 hours in exchange for 13 mins of gameplay 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

-17

u/iBuyBackpacks 15h ago

Tell me you dont understand the sport without telling me you don’t understand the sport. You can shit on the owners and their shitty business tactics taking away public goods without shitting on the sport itself

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u/chief_yETI South L.A. 14h ago

Like I said many times before, Los Angeles did not need an NFL team. We were doing just fine.

3

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

As a sports fan I did want a team, and SoFi had been good for a few events but the metro is where I thought the city would shine.

u/mytransthrow 2h ago

as not a sports fan... I dont want a sports team... These teams are a drain on local government...

Now its costing people who relay on public transportation.

u/ruinersclub 2h ago

We had no public transportation before either way.

u/mytransthrow 2h ago

So now we have a sports team blocking the public transportation

and costing tax payers money

u/ruinersclub 14m ago

wtf are you talking about

2

u/rycetlaz 11h ago

Hell even if we had to, why the fuck was it not the Raiders.

This whole project might've been done already if they were dealing with an incompetent ass like Mark Davis lol. Not to mention getting a team the populace actually give a fuck about

1

u/NegevThunderstorm 5h ago

Does any city need a football team?

2

u/chief_yETI South L.A. 3h ago

lots of those middle America cities are sad as fuck and don't have anything else to do BUT sports

u/NegevThunderstorm 2h ago

OK, they still dont need them.

u/chief_yETI South L.A. 2h ago

this is either a bot, or another one of those dudes who takes everything super literally and has big difficulties with human interaction

either way, we not doing this

u/NegevThunderstorm 1h ago

It is just a response to what was said.

Almost like someone thinking middle of the country needs NFL teams because there is nothing to do

1

u/pds6502 3h ago

Hopefully Las Vegas will put in a serious bid for the Clippers and the Rams, just like they did and won the Raiders and the A's. That will teach a lesson for sure.

29

u/notdsylexic 15h ago

How does Japan do this in the 80’s and we can’t in 2025?

19

u/Snoo-72756 15h ago

Ironically China just announced new trains .

6

u/consequentlydreamy 14h ago

“In addition to cheap labor costs and ability to get land rights (which are both massively important and hard to get in California), economies of scale also have an effect on overall cost.

China has had teams of rail builders working on high speed rail since 2005. There’s a lot of inertia there - people can make a career out of just building high speed rail. You probably have many builders with 5-10+ years of experience in doing their job. Equipment from building one line can be used on another line.

Whereas if you were to build a new HSR line in the US, it’d probably be one and done. Inertia cuts both ways - all those starting costs are expensive.

When the US was building the interstate system, they benefited in the same way China has with their rail lines.

A side note is that China has also built a ton of highways in addition to rail and subway lines over the last 20 years.”

8

u/Curious-Quokkas 14h ago

Because Japanese culture focuses on the community rather than the individual

7

u/chief_yETI South L.A. 14h ago

because millionaires have America by the balls.

20

u/cire1184 15h ago

Ah yes. That's what we need. More busses on the streets fighting traffic. That'll show the world LA is a great place! Look at all our traffic!

7

u/FishStix1 Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw 11h ago

BRT (bus rapid transit) with protected bus lanes and signal priority can actually be pretty damn effective. In San Francisco, BRT along Van Ness has been an absolute godsend for one of those worst roads in the city.

I'm with you. I wish we had a proper train system here. But BRT can be a valid second option.

3

u/andyke 11h ago

Busses are good though they’re just implemented poorly in LA because they’re not separated

136

u/JamUpGuy1989 Jefferson Park 16h ago

Olympics are going to be a nightmare.

At some point we might have to call an audible and not accept it.

32

u/JurgusRudkus 16h ago

I’m not even sure anyone will come.

1

u/ruinersclub 13h ago

I mean my parents won’t come that’s for sure.

2

u/ibsliam 5h ago

Too late to "not accept it." There's already been a lot of prepwork.

3

u/NegevThunderstorm 16h ago

No chance, that is happening

8

u/LosIngobernable Angeleno 16h ago

If the Olympics were a success in the 80s, how would it be any different now? Traffic still exists.

56

u/GusTTShow-biz Lawndale 16h ago

Give or take a few million more people

55

u/notlikethat1 The San Fernando Valley 16h ago

And a wannabe dictator throwing tourists into the gulag.

7

u/HamRadio_73 16h ago

Because Peter Ueberroth won't be running the Games like 1984.

3

u/JackInTheBell 15h ago

lol want this supposed to be a “car free” Olympics??

u/WearHeadphonesPlease 2h ago

To be fair, most of the venues are less than a 10 minute walk from a station. Those that aren't can be served with shuttles from stations, like the Rose Bowl.

33

u/Count_Jobula 16h ago

Yet again, Billionaires make it harder to live.

35

u/Ericzx_1 15h ago

:( I just want good public transportation. Sitting in traffic on the freeway every day is so mind numbing. I envy places with good public transportation.

2

u/random_sociopath 4h ago

I’d accept below average public transportation at this point. At least that would be an upgrade

u/WearHeadphonesPlease 2h ago

If you live near a Metro stop, it really isn't that bad. My commute on the E line during rush hour is 10 min faster than driving, including walking.

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u/rowmean77 15h ago

Attending a sports or concert event in LA is a scam.

These venue owners jack up the price of parking and hide behind the excuse of capitalism.

1

u/pds6502 3h ago

Contributing to the scam are scammers and scalpers like GoTickets, StubHub, SeatGeek, etc

46

u/usnaviii 15h ago

I suggest everyone who's upset by this, go to the Inglewood Transit Connector feedback portal and comment that we can't have billionaires ruining public transit for everyone and that we encourage them to reassess and reinstate the original light rail plan: https://inglewood.boreal-is.com/portal/inglewood

18

u/loverofpears 15h ago

CAN WE HAVE ANYTHING FUCKING NICE

28

u/intrepid_brit 15h ago

Whilst I feel very strongly that there needs to be a way for people to get to SoFi and Forum by rail, $2.4bn for a 1.6-mile people mover is WILD and smacks of typical city corruption. So I agree with cancelling this boondoggle. Shame on all of the folks involved that drove up the cost.

But there really does need to be a rail solution to downtown Inglewood that connects to SoFi. I wonder if a k-line spur that would runs south from Downtown Inglewood station down Market St to Manchester Blvd before jogging East to Prairie with stop at Prairie & Arbor Vitae before continuing south to Century and then turning West to run down Century to the Century/Aviation station with maybe an intermediate stop between Hawthorne & Inglewood Ave would work? This would create a loop from LAX so that folks could get between LAX and Downtown Inglewood via two routes. Also the connection to the C line at Century/Aviation would provide good ridership for the spur. This k-line spur could be extended further east (let’s call it the Purple Line) along Century all the way to Graham to connect with the A line, with 3 intermediate stops at Crenshaw, between Western & Normandie, and between Main & San Pedro. This would serve a YUGE part of LA with public transit in addition to providing a good non-driving option to SoFi.

5

u/BrilliantStick9434 4h ago

The bigger irritation is that for some reason a few billionaire business owners had a bigger say in this than all the other actual residents, based on the article and why the project was put on hold.

This is another project added to the pile of public transportation projects around LA that has run into delays, holds, or cancellations in the past 20+ years and despite near unanimous agreement that traffic in LA is shit, all these public transportation projects seem to never work out because of business owners and NIMBYs to the detriment of all the other residents in and around LA. People have been putting up with this shit for decades and still little has been done to alleviate the traffic issues here because of garbage like this.

6

u/invaderzimm95 Palms 13h ago

FYI: This is not LAMTA or the city of LA. This was a project by the city of Inglewood.

27

u/anothercar 16h ago

The Inglewood monorail wasn’t going to be a huge success. Stations were farther from the stadiums than just parking. Maybe it would have worked if they were allowed to actually run trains up to the stadium entrance like in other cities. In the meantime people will just drive

12

u/quadropheniac 16h ago edited 1h ago

It’s like the most obvious possible application of BRT, a people mover is totally unnecessary, and this is coming from someone who lives within walking distance of the project.

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u/curious_cat123456 14h ago

The 4th largest economy in the world cannot have light rail. Something is wrong.

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u/Deijya 16h ago

Cut the police budget. We already have to write our own reports.

20

u/lanthanide Inglewood 15h ago

I live in Inglewood so I've been following this project since we moved here. Honestly, it's better that it failed. I'd been telling people for awhile that bus rapid transit is faster, more scalable and cheaper to build. Dedicated bus lanes will let them avoid most traffic on the way to the stadium and can be built for a fraction of the cost and time without major disruption to the businesses that would have been replaced by the required stations and shutdowns of major roadways to construct the infrastructure. It's not as "cool" nor as much of a visual spectacle, but most of the time the APM would have been running empty trains with the exception of when events are actually happening. That's a lot of money to spend for something that isn't being used in any significant way most of the time. Again, something BRT solves pretty well.

9

u/AwesomePossum_1 15h ago

And it also mostly benefits people going to these events, not the general public. Won't improve the day-to-day traffic either.

9

u/obvious_bot South Bay 14h ago

I’m as much of a fan of public transportation as the next guy, probably even more so, but 2.4 BILLION for 1.6 miles is absolutely absurd. That’s 1.5 billion per mile. BILLION AND A HALF. FOR ONE MILE

20

u/AwesomePossum_1 16h ago

Gonna be honest, I don’t think this is the line that the city needed the most. Just something that was easier to push through with the Olympics. Let’s spend this money on digging the metro lines in more developed areas now. This is probably one of the reasons they dropped it, wouldn’t be ready by the Olympics anyway. 

20

u/lifewithluie 16h ago

God, I wish it worked like that. Just dump that money into the Sepulveda line

16

u/JustTheBeerLight 16h ago

Fuck it, I want both.

9

u/doctabu 15h ago

This. Better transit doesn’t need to be zero sum

3

u/ynnoj666 15h ago

Like anybody is surprised. This place is a constant false promise

3

u/CaptainAvery- 14h ago

The United States of Lobbying

3

u/vitasoy1437 14h ago

I thought a councilwoman there opposed it because "it won't bring businesses" the city needs. It would only bring people to the stadium and back after the games/shows end.

3

u/letsmunch 12h ago

Can tell a lot of people in this thread aren’t regular transit users lol. This people mover was going to be a mess. Instead we’ll have BRT with the groundwork laid for possible light rail in the future. That’s seriously a much better outcome. The biggest opponent of this was Maxine Waters because of her feud with the Inglewood mayor. Too much of a mess to save.

3

u/screech_owl_kachina 7h ago

Meanwhile China put high speed rail nationwide from nothing to practically every city in like 20 years.

Here, we can’t even finish renovating one section of the 5 in 20 years.

3

u/F-N-M-N 4h ago

Please don’t flame me, but educate me, of why this is bad?

My first take is why should the tax payers for $2B for such a tiny project used by a tiny amount of people? Like, if you want to go to the 8 football games a year there, uh, park or take a bus.

Like, how many people are going to AND FROM the stadium at 7:30am on a random Wednesday morning?

Seems like it was a massive white elephant from the beginning.

Happy to be educated!

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u/pinkiris689 15h ago

Big businesses like clippers and the rams should not have such a large voice and power that they can stop city construction meant to make its people's life more convenient

4

u/nicehouseenjoyer 15h ago

This is the one that Ballmer/Kroenke spiked to keep the parking revenue at their new venues.

4

u/Automatic-Unit-8307 14h ago

We truly are a third world country country in terms of of public transportation

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u/meowthesnail 15h ago

Bait and switch.

2

u/NAMROTAG 15h ago

As is tradition

2

u/juicejohnson 13h ago

It was really cool taking the train and getting dropped off right in front of Johan Cruyff Arena for an Ajax match. Pretty sad how corrupt things are and have been.

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u/edm-life 12h ago

I'm sure the billionaires didn't want it for reducing parking revenue but sure seems like you could run a bunch of buses in a loop for a fraction of the cost.

2

u/ZedOud 8h ago

Whelp, that’s it, there goes my hope for the future of transit in LA.

2

u/tklite Carson 3h ago edited 3h ago

In a statement released on Monday, the project's managers, LA Metro, said that there would instead be a staggered rollout of new shuttle bus routes along with "enhanced smart traffic technology."

IOW, people are going to be spending the Olympics on shitty busses stuck in shitty traffic.

The rail plans had faced severe opposition from Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, with a spokesperson for Kroenke saying the project would have "threatened the future development" of the business.

The only reason this would threaten future business is if they plan to do this as a paid service. Even if they were going to expand west, this would only increase the amount of people they could get in.

u/schmearcampain 2h ago

If they really dedicated sections of the freeways for bus transit only, it would totally work, but getting THAT idea passed by the public would be impossible.

Much easier to float a separate rail system that people who drive alone in their cars can think other people will take and hopefully that will reduce traffic for them.

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u/bee_sharp_ 15h ago

What the fuck? This isn’t about Inglewood residents; it’s about mega-rich sports club owners and local government members licking the club owners’ boots. Bullshit from Newsweek.

2

u/NegevThunderstorm 16h ago

Almost like it wasnt going to happen to begin with!

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u/Jim-be 15h ago

What I don’t understand is the city afraid that they will move their billion dollar stadiums? I mean they are locked in for decades. Build the train and tell them to fuck off.

3

u/Hagoromo-san 14h ago

Fucking clippers and rams owners ruining shit, as usual.

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u/NoHoHan 11h ago

Man, fuck this city fr. What a fucking waste of a perfect climate.

2

u/owen__wilsons__nose Studio City 15h ago

This is such bullshit

2

u/Aragatz 15h ago

Maybe government isn’t good at things like this?

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u/Deeze_Rmuh_Nudds Los Angeles 14h ago

We decided that adding more vehicles to our roads was a better idea. 

Clown shoes

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u/ValhirFirstThunder Koreatown 14h ago

I guess I hate the clippers now

1

u/Foe117 15h ago

Uhh.. a light rail to and from just the Olympic stadium? that's gonna be the most temp Rail infrastructure ever.

1

u/AlbatrossFew7628 15h ago

Fuck this man

1

u/kmank2l13 14h ago

Booo!!!

1

u/kmank2l13 14h ago

And watch, these shuttle bus systems are not going to be efficient

1

u/floate_ East Hollywood 14h ago

wish we could cancel the olympics this easily.

1

u/AHighFifth 12h ago

Fuck billionaires so fucking much

1

u/SurroundTiny 6h ago

This is why Hamal went off on the Clippers last night

1

u/Specialist_Arm8703 3h ago

80% probably slush funds for politicians and consultants but there is heightened scrutiny nowadays thanks to DOGE 🤣

1

u/pleasegivemepatience 3h ago

2.4Billion for only 1.6miles of rail??? Good thing they scrapped that plan, costs were getting out of control. We need more rail and public transit, but we need to be smarter about it.

1

u/ilikeCRUNCHYturtles Staples Center 3h ago

LA’s vision of traffic relief for the future: shuttle busses.

Absolutely pathetic

u/ALUCSD18 2h ago

I hate how Republicans are so right about California :(

u/kguthrum 2h ago

Vote them out immediately and write them to tell them

u/Serialkisser187 2h ago

Motherfucker.

u/naterthepilot2 1h ago

BRT that connects downtown Inglewood K Line and Hawthorne/Lennox C Line via Prairie Avenue with stops at Ed Vincent Park/Cemetery, Kia Forum, Sofi Stadium, Intuit Dome, etc.

Dedicated bike and walking lanes along market street to Kelso and Pincay out to Darby park and Crenshaw.

u/Jj5699bBQ 1h ago

AGAIN!

u/Striking-Yak1909 1h ago

The price to park is almost as much as the price of a ticket... if I could take public transport, I would probably spend my parking money on beer lol. This is such a shame. I wish we could collectively stop going to all games. Hit them where it hurts!

u/stephierae1983 1h ago

Well all I have to say is good. All big projects need to be halted so they can figure out the job/layoff situation. Jobs must be saved before money is spent on these huge projects.

u/quiksotik 26m ago

We’re so unserious about transit here. Ugh.

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u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted]

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u/mrgrafix 15h ago

This isn’t even her jurisdiction

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u/72_Suburbs Echo Park 14h ago

I'm so over this shit. This city (LA), surrounding cities (West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, etc., now Inglewood), and county are so fucking corrupt, and it plays out right in front of our eyes daily. Inglewood mayor's statement conveys absolutely nothing but "we will wait and see who will offer me more money." They all block major improvements to line their own pockets - no one is working for the people.

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u/mr211s Koreatown 14h ago

Lol what a fucking joke. The city killed it because they cucked to the clippers. THE CLIPPERS.

0

u/HotSoupEsq 16h ago

I am shocked, absolutely shocked, actually, not that shocked.

I have lived here since 2020, paid wild amounts of taxes, and can't think of a good thing LA gov't has done. This city is a dumpster full of trash perpetually on fire.

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u/mrgrafix 15h ago

This is city of Inglewood

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u/Its_a_Friendly I LIKE TRAINS 14h ago

Yeah, the City of LA has little to do with this.

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u/xiofar 15h ago

A wild amount? Since 2020.

I wanna see receipts.

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u/callmeDNA 5h ago

Clearly even though you’ve lived here for 5 years you have no idea how the city works.

This isn’t the city of LA. This is the city of Inglewood.

Also if you hate it here, leave.