Commerce Metrolink Station Safety, Beautification and ADA Improvements Project

The Metrolink Orange Line train service travels through San Diego, Orange, & LA Counties with a final stop at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. The line travels through 14 stations across approx. 87 miles & stops at the 26th Street Station in Commerce. Improving the Commerce Metrolink Station has been a high priority project for the City with a resident population of 13,000. With 1,800 businesses operating within the 6-sq-mile City & approx. 55,000 employees commuting to the City every day, providing transit alternatives is of paramount importance for the City. The Metrolink station opened in 1993. Over the years, the Station exhibited major signs of aging & was quite underutilized due to it being nestled within an Industrial area & aesthetic neglect. The Station also lacked the proper infrastructure for pedestrians, transit riders & motorists wanting to use the station as their first/last mile. In 2013, City of Commerce residents approved a half cent sales tax measure (Measure AA) for infrastructure improvements. The City’s commitment to Green & sustainable infrastructure is documented in its “2015 Green Zone Implementation Plan” where the City has committed to infrastructure reinvestment to provide sustainability, connectivity, City identity & aesthetics. Through extensive surveys, the City realized that in order to further expand transit Ridership the station had to be improved functionally & visually. As such, the City used some FTA funds & more than $500,000 in local Measure AA funds to undertake major improvements to the Metrolink station. The project included substantial rehabilitation to 26th Street as the primary access road to the Station, as well as pavement rehabilitation of the station’s northerly parking lot including reconfiguration of the parking lot striping for more efficiency & safe operation, as well as installation of wrought iron fence for security & landscaping for beautification. Security cameras are planned to be installed at the station as well. The project included installation of additional lighting & conversion to energy-saving & brighter LED lighting for increased safety in the parking lot & along the platform. The project also provided ADA compliant access ways through installation of ADA ramps, paths/crosswalks, parking & signs. These improvements brought increased safety as well as beautification to attract the residential & business community to use the station. The once desolate & unrecognizable station is now marked by brighter lights, beautiful landscaping, wrought iron fencing, newly paved access roads & user friendly & ADA complaint parking lots. The project is consistent with the long-term goals of the region & the City to promote air quality improvement, mobility, efficiency, & sustainability through provision of access options for all modes of transportation. This is further supported by the City’s on-site free bus & shuttle service to further promote transit usage.