When the remodeled Metro Transit Center in El Monte opened three years ago, a bus was the only transit option offered.
Then, Metro connected the Transit Center, commonly known as the El Monte bus station, with the Rio Hondo Bike Path providing direct, two-wheeler access to the station. Last month, the station’s Bike Hub opened to inside storage of bicycles.
Now, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board of directors want to add commuter train service to the Transit Center, which requires relocating the El Monte Metrolink Station.
Located a mile away, north of Valley Boulevard between Santa Anita and Tyler avenues, the commuter rail station sits isolated: So close to the busier bus station, yet too far away for bike, bus or train commuters to link up.
The El Monte Metrolink station on Metrolink’s San Bernardino line takes passengers to Los Angeles; easterly, it connects to Covina, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino, serving 11,000 weekday riders.
But the station, and Metrolink’s long-distance fares, do not promote short-distance hops, one of the reasons why Metrolink is introducing $3 station-to-station fares, according to Metro.
Metro board voted unanimously last week to study how to move the train station and how much it will cost. A report will come back to the board in December.
Leaving the train station one-mile away from the newer, $60-million Transit Center on Santa Anita and Ramona avenues results in “poor connectivity between two complimentary transit services,” according to a Metro report. Re-routing the commuter train to stop at the Transit Center along with the buses would make it more convenient for San Gabriel Valley commuters, while boosting El Monte’s expansion of new apartments and condos adjacent to the bus station.
“So, looking at the possibility of moving that Metrolink station, we will have more people using rail or the bus to get around Southern California,” said El Monte Mayor Andre Quintero. “Plus, people want more options. Sometimes the train won’t leave at the same time as the bus.”
Critics say Metro moved too slowly and that the train station should have been part of the 2012 redesign. The bus station, originally planned for $45 million but ended up costing $60 million, has new bathrooms and more bus bays for Metro, Foothill Transit and Greyhound buses but no train service.
Part of the problem of bringing together multi-modal forms of transit are the multiple bureaucracies involved. In this instance, they include: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Los Angeles County Flood Control District (controlling land along the bike path), City of El Monte, Metro and the Southern California Railroad Authority (Metrolink).
“We don’t have a strong feeling either way,” said Scott Johnson, Metrolink spokesman. “If the city of El Monte would like to move its station, we would move its station as they request.”
Metrolink controls the right-of-way and operates the rail service but the city manages the train station and its parking lot, he explained.
Quintero said a new shopping center is going up across the street from the train station. Developers are interested in a second parcel east of the train station. “If the station moves, it will bring out more space there for retail development,” Quintero said.
