L.A. Metro’s Transportation Project To Add 5.5 mile Bike Trail

Earlier this week city and county leaders gathered for the groundbreaking of L.A. Metro’s Rail to Rail Active Transportation Project, which will transform an unused freight rail corridor into a 5.5-mile bicycle and pedestrian path that connects cyclists and walkers to Metro’s A (Blue) Line Slauson Station, the Silver Line rapid bus station at the 110 Freeway and Slauson Avenue, and the future Fairview Heights station on the K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line. This project will create car-free mobility options, connecting Inglewood and the communities of Hyde Park, Chesterfield Square, Harvard Park, Vermont-Slauson, South Park and Central-Alameda in South Los Angeles.

Rail to Rail comes at an important time. As South Los Angeles recovers from the impacts of the pandemic, the importance of building equitable access to public transit and the essential role of mobility in the lives of people of color has been magnified. Metro officials said that the latest data from the 2020 Census notes that this segment of South Los Angeles has some of the county’s highest percentages of people who rely on transit, biking and walking to commute, with 19% of households in the area unable to access a car.

Lack of infrastructure investments in South Los Angeles has been a barrier for countless low-income workers to accessing jobs, training and other services such as childcare. “Decades of work are made real as we invest and transform these old rail tracks into a corridor that the Slauson community can be proud of,” said Metro Board Member and LA County Board Supervisor, representing South Los Angeles, Holly Mitchell. “We are focused on strategies to ensure these investments help lift our most vulnerable communities and preserve the fabric of communities who live here today.”

The $143 million project received funding from multiple sources, including a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, state Transportation Development Act funds, funds from L.A. Metro’s 2008 Measure R sales tax and a California State Active Transportation Program grant. Amenities and benefits of the project will include landscaping, lighting, security cameras, street furniture and signage.