L.A. Union Station Master Plan

7/29/2019 L.A. Union Station Master Plan

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1Union Station Master Plan Task 1 Briefing


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2Project Overview

Project Status

>Master Plan Team Selected in May 2012

>NTP in J uly 2012

>24 Month Process

>Market Study Concurrent w/ Master Plan

>Work Organized into 3 Tasks

>4 Board Staff Briefings (1 in Task 1, 2 in Task 2, 1 in Task 3)


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3Project Overview

Timeline


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4Task 1 Subtasks

Major Task 1 Subtasks

>Data Collection and Analysis

>Stakeholder Outreach

>Synthesis and Conclusions in Technical Memoranda

>Refined Goals and Objectives

>Resulting Program Definition


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5Data Collection

Data Collection and Analysis

>17 Consultants of Various Disciplines Studied Site and Context

- Transit activities compiled

- Pedestrian flow patterns analyzed

- Bus and rail capacity reviewed

- Current High Speed Rail plans studied

- Linkages to adjacent neighborhoods and L.A. River evaluated

- Bicycle amenities assessed- Historic and cultural monuments adjacent to site mapped

- Physical mapping and survey of site


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6Data Collection

Distribution of Ridership


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7Data Collection

Distribution of Boardings and Alightings

Redurple


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8Technical Memoranda Findings

Transit Access/Circulation/Parking

Weekday Daily Boardings & Alightings

Service Existing(2012) Forecast(2040) % Growth

Metro Red/Purple Line 42,390 57,968 37%

Metro Gold Line 21,623 31,674 46%

Metrolink/Amtrak 33,138 56,006 69%Bus 18,979 19,750 4%


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9

Site Context

Data Collection


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10

Points of Interest

Data Collection


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11

Historic Resources

Data Collection


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12Data Collection

Existing Conditions The Tunnel


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13Data Collection

Existing Conditions Passenger Concourse


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14Data Collection

Existing Conditions Amtrak Queuing


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15Historic LAUS

Historic Site Organization


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16Data Collection

Station as Developed Today

First 5 L.A.

Mozaic

Apartments

MWD

Headquarters

Metro-Owned

Property


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17Data Collection

>Adopted in 1996 w/City of L.A.

>Almost 11M sf. of entitlements;7M sf. entitled to Union Station

property>Almost 6M sf. still available for

development at Union Station

>All entitlements may not be

used

>Flexible entitlements and floorarea transfer allowed

Metro-Owned

Property

Alameda District Specific Plan


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18Stakeholder Outreach

Stakeholder Outreach

>Over 50 stakeholders interviewed during 17 small groupsessions

- Metrolink- Amtrak- CHSRA

- Metro Bus Operations- Metro Rail- LADOT

- LAX Flyaway- Greyhound

>Public Planning and Operations- Metro- Morlin

- L.A. City Planning- L.A. County Planning

>Meetings with Major Transit Operators

- El Pueblo

- Chinatown- Little Tokyo- Arts District- Boyle Heights

- Bicycle, River and

Historic PreservationAdvocates- Downtown Business

Groups

- Performing and

Visual ArtsOrganizations


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Stakeholder Outreach

>Over 200 attended December 2012 Community Meeting(which also had good participation on live streaming on web)

>More than 2,000 responses received from Union Station

Transit-User Survey>Community Advisory Council convened to continue

stakeholder engagement throughout project


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Main Issues We Have Heard From Stakeholders

>Wayfinding needs to be improved

>Connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods is important

>Maintain ongoing community involvement in the process

>Improve movement through the station; make transfersbetween transit modes easier

>Space should have a civic quality rather than a commercial one

>The historic building should be repurposed so that it is used>There are opportunities to showcase performing and visual arts

groups in Union Station


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21Technical Memoranda

Technical Memoranda

>Existing and Future Transit Operations, Access, Circulation andParking

>High Speed Rail

>Existing Land Use, Regulatory Plans

>Site Context

>Historic Resources

>Development>Infrastructure and Geotechnical

>Sustainability and Building Systems

>Opportunities and Constraints


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>Conventional Rail (Metrolink and Amtrak)

- Transit boardings are forecast to grow, increasing demand formore frequent rail service

- Previous development did not accommodate expansion of railservice

- Gold Line took the place of one platform

- HSR could further impact number of platforms

- SCRIP (So. Cal. Regional Interconnector Project) may increasecapacity by 40% to 50% which will relieve immediate needs


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>Metro Rail

- Additional access required to accommodate future light railline(s)

- Location of Gold Line results in yard planning constraints- Connections between Gold Line and Red/Purple Line are

non-intuitive

- Regional Connector will relieve some pressures on Union Station


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>Bus and Shuttle Operations

- Bus operations on and adjacent to the site are disjointed

- Two bus plazas and 4 perimeter bus stops serve Union Station

- Perimeter bus stops serve 60% of bus boardings but have fewamenities

- Cesar Chavez/Vignes stop serves as many people asPatsaouras Plaza

- Private vehicles impede bus operations with passenger drop-offs on Patsaouras Plaza

- Substantial passenger confusion is caused by split bus

operations and poor wayfinding


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>Vehicular Access, Circulation and Parking

- Difficult to find access to parking garage

- The highest access is off of Vignes where the greatest interaction

with Patsaouras Plaza buses also occurs- Garage is difficult to understand poor wayfinding

- Sites 4,000 parking spaces are only 75% to 80% utilized

- Almost 8,400 parking spaces are located within a mile of UnionStation


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>Pedestrian Access and Bicycle Circulation

- Bicycle facilities and amenities are substandard

- Planned bike lanes on Cesar Chavez will create additional

bicycle/bus conflicts- Bus/pedestrian conflicts at Patsaouras Plaza

- Passenger tunnel nearing capacity at peak

- Motorized carts in tunnel add to congestion


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Massing of HSR Station per

CHSRA Potential LayoutHistoric Union Station

Gateway Headquarters

High Speed Rail

>Currently planned HSR alignment assumes elevated platformand passenger facility above the existing Union Station yard

>Detailed architectural solution not yet developed by HSR

>Re-evaluate conceptual plans provided by HSR to addressissues for transit use, historic preservation and development

>Coordination of planning is taking place with CHSRA


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Pedestrian Linkages

>Industrial uses and municipal back of house uses at the perimeter

>Existing pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods arecompromised

>Perceived disconnect from nearby cultural destinations>Perceived disconnect from downtown due to 101 Fwycrossing

>Disconnect with Little Tokyo and Arts District created by transit andfreeway


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Development

>Physical size of useable property is at odds with the scale ofentitlements

>Several of the accessible development parcels on west side of

station are already developed by others and are not owned byMetro

>Public industrial useson North and East do

not support mixed-use

development

>Overbuilding the tracks

could unify the site butwill add costs


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31Program Definition

Program

>Transport Optimization

- Transit Operations

- Passenger Experience

- Access and Circulation

>Destination

- Programmatic Uses for the Site

- Historic Station Revitalization

- Sustainable Development

>Connectivity

- Linkages to/from the Site and Surrounding Areas

- Mobility and Open Space


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Transport Optimization

>Transit Operations

- Incorporate SCRIP to increase station capacity by 40-50%

- Allow for expansion of commuter and intercity rail tracks and

platforms- Co-locate buses and shuttles

- Eliminate use of private vehicles on Patsaouras Plaza

- Separate bus and auto garage access

- Allow for and integrate HSR while mitigating historic, siteplanning and potential construction impacts on Union Station


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>Passenger Experience

- Improve pedestrian and bicycle access and amenities

- Reconfigure eastern and western entrances for visibility and

accessibility- Create new larger multi-modal concourse

- Provide intuitive wayfinding and seamless transfers


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>Access and Circulation- Maximize access by expanding pedestrian flow capacity with

wider or additional tunnels / bridges

- Provide on-site and off-site connectivity- Improve the comfort and safety of walking

- Provide visible, safe, and scalable bicycle facilities and amenities(bike share, storage, and service)

- Provide accommodations for car share and other rental facilities


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Destination

>Programmatic Uses for the Site

- Program to support transit functions creating an identifiable,vibrant, 24/7 destination

- Create demand by becoming a market driver- Potential uses may include a mix of:

o Flexible commercial, cultural, and social incubator lofts

o Integrated education and research facilities

o Event, exhibition, institutional, and professional spaces

o Markets, restaurants and retail venues

o Hotel, residential and work/create/live areas

o Exercise, sports, games, therapy/health zones

o Community focused activities


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Destination

>Historic Station Revitalization

- Reuse and repurpose historic Union Station building andcourtyards

- Preserve and restore the primary defining historic characteristics- Comply with Historic Structures Report

- Require that the new elements have a level of quality equal to orgreater than the historic station

- Develop a clear legibility of architecture, entrances and access


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Destination

>Sustainable Development

- Provide a wide range of flexible programs to generate long-termsustainable development

- Ensure a high level of access to light and air- Reduce resource impacts of construction and maintenance of

buildings

- Integrate new site-wide waste, water, energy, and logistics

networks

- Provide self supporting landscaping and surfaces


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Connectivity

>Linkages to/from the Site and Surrounding Areas

- Increase the level of access and connectivity to, through, andfrom Union Station

- Facilitate linkages over the freeway, to the Los Angeles River,and surrounding neighborhoods

- Link on-site development with community projects

- Encourage streetscape improvements around and beyond the

edges of the site


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Connectivity

>Mobility and Open Space

- Develop clear pedestrian and bike routes through the property

- Provide openness and approachability to the perimeter

- Plan for a series of open spaces that will link indoor and outdoorprograms to each other and surrounding neighborhoods


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40Key Conclusions

Key Conclusions

>Transit operations are the top priority, before all otherconsiderations

>There are more demands on site than can be accommodated

>Strategic decisions have to be made on the best use ofavailable site area


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41Next Steps

Next Steps

>Preliminary draft alternatives in mid-April

>Community Workshop on May 2, 2013

>Revised alternatives mid-summer 2013

>Alternatives presented to Board in September 2013

Documents

L.A. Union Station Master Plan