The Metropolitan Transit Authority voted Thursday to bring a light-rail line to the East Valley, which has long been filled with complaints about the lack of public transit in the area.
The rail line will run along Van Nuys Boulevard and will add 14 stations in Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, Pacoima and San Fernando.
The $1.3-billion construction on the line is scheduled to start in 2021, with passenger service proposed to begin in 2027.
The rail line will serve more than 62,000 residents of Pacoima and other areas of the northeast Valley who are transit-dependent, officials said. The Van Nuys corridor has the seventh-highest transit ridership in the county, and the line will carry an estimated 47,000 daily trips by 2040.
The Van Nuys line will cost less in production because it will run entirely at street level, but this also leaves a greater risk for pedestrians and vehicles on the road. Longer trains at road level could also mean blockage for multiple intersections at once, impeding traffic.
Read the full story on The Los Angeles Times.
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