Metro Backs Plan To Relocate Commerce Metrolink Station To Pico Rivera

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a motion aimed at relocating the Commerce Metrolink station to Pico Rivera.

The motion, introduced by board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, directs Metro to provide up to $6 million in seed funding for preliminary engineering and environmental review, with the expectation that the California High-Speed Rail Authority will reimburse Metro for the investment.

Hahn's motion was co-authored by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, county Supervisor Hilda Solis, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval.

"Pico Rivera has had Metrolink trains running through its community for years, but residents haven't been able to get on board," Hahn said in a statement. "We have an opportunity to change that. Instead of moving the station to an industrial area with limited transit connections, we can put it where it will better serve riders and help strengthen downtown Pico Rivera."

For years, Metrolink trains have traveled through Pico Rivera without stopping to serve residents.

The Commerce Metrolink station averages about 33 daily boardings and must be relocated as plans for California's high-speed rail system move forward, according to Metro. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has recommended relocating the station to an industrial area of Montebello, but Hahn has advocated for Pico Rivera as an alternative.

A feasibility study found that a station in Pico Rivera could attract an estimated 350 to 430 daily boardings by 2045, compared with the existing Commerce station's average of 33 daily boardings. Relocating the station would provide Pico Rivera residents with access to rail service already passing through their community while improving connections to jobs, businesses and other destinations, according to Metro.

"The Pico Rivera City Council is united in its belief that the Pico Rivera Regional Rail Station is critical to our future," Pico Rivera City Manager Steve Carmona said during a Metro Board of Directors committee meeting last week. "Combined with our commitment to the Metro E Line extension and the Rosemead-Lakewood Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit Line, Pico Rivera is a city that embraces high quality transit and transit-oriented development."

The cities of Commerce, Montebello and Pico Rivera have expressed support for the Pico Rivera location. The proposal has also received backing from Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Whittier, and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, who recently submitted a letter of support.

The proposed station would be part of a broader effort to improve transit access throughout southeast Los Angeles County.

Planned transit connections, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and support from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments are intended to make the station more accessible to surrounding communities. Pico Rivera is also pursuing state and federal funding to advance the project.

The preliminary engineering and environmental review funded through Hahn's motion will help determine the project's costs, feasibility and next steps as efforts to secure additional funding continue.

City News Service