Santa Monica Names Its Light Rail Stations

When planning your routes on the future light rail as it zips from the Westside to downtown Los Angeles, what names will mark Santa Monica's three stations?

City planners want to tweak what's been proposed so far by the county transit agency.

The agency requires the names to be short, easily recognizable and provide specific information about the station’s location relative to Santa Monica's surrounding street system, the planners said in a report this week to the City Council. 

Here are the proposals and staffers' explanations behind the recommended changes:

• “Colorado/4th Street” to “Downtown Santa Monica”

This station is located in the heart of Santa Monica’s downtown and has been identified as the downtown station since the early days in planning the line.  Downtown is served by a large number of Big Blue Bus lines and is a major attractor for local, regional and international visitors.

There are, of course, many other destinations close to the downtown station. Metro staff has provided assurances that these locations can be announced over the loudspeaker upon arrival to the station and will be included in all station area maps. Staff will work closely with Metro staff in developing and reviewing the station area maps.

• “Colorado/17th Street” to “Colorado/17th Street/SMC”:

The recommended station name at this location combines the two cross-streets with the destination, Santa Monica College (SMC). When two street names are used, Metro’s convention is to first list the street name running parallel with the line. Additionally, this station was added in response to the potential to generate substantial ridership, with Santa Monica College as the primary attractor. Santa Monica College has been a strong advocate for identification in the station name to encourage students, employees and visitors to use transit. 

Metro staff and Expo staff have expressed reservation about using Santa Monica College in the name because the campus is slightly more than ½ mile from the station and the convention is generally to name a destination only if it’s immediately adjacent. Therefore, staff is recommending using “SMC” in combination with the street names and as the last name in the string of three.

• Replace “Olympic/26th Street” with “26 Street/Bergamot"

Historically this area was identified as the Bergamot district after a station on the Santa Monica “Airline”, the predecessor to the Expo line. Staff found maps dating as far back as 1943 show this name in the title block. More recently the area has become associated with Bergamot as an arts district, with signs identifying it as such on the I-10 Freeway. 

Alternatively, the second district name could reflect the more generic emphasis in the [Land Use Circulation Element] identifying this area as the Creative Arts District.  The station could be called “26th Street/Arts District”.

The Santa Monica City Council will review the recommendations then make its proposal to the Expo Construction Authority and Metro for final approval.

Work to extend Expo Light Rail from the line's current terminus to downtown Santa Monica is chugging along and remains on track for a 2015 completion date. Pending successful inspections and testing, the train will open to riders in 2016.

The $1.5 billion, 6.6 mile corridor from Culver City to Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica will include seven new stations. About 64,000 riders are estimated to ride from its starting point in downtown Los Angeles to just near Santa Monica Beach by 2030.

Readers, do you like the changes? What would you name the Santa Monica stations?