STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: September 20, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Daren Grilley, Assistant Director of Public Works /City Engineer Christine Chung, Project Manager
Subject: Start of Outreach for Metro Purple (D) Line Section 2 Station Naming Attachments: None
INTRODUCTION
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announces the start of outreach for the station naming process for the Metro Purple (D) Line station.
The station is located under Wilshire Boulevard from Beverly Drive to Canon Drive, with the main entrance on the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South Reeves Drive. In addition, the second entrance on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard by Beverly Drive, also known as the “North Portal,” has been in design since May 2022 per the settlement agreement between the City and Metro executed in late 2020. Section 2 of the project is expected to begin operations in 2025.
Article XXIX of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Section 2 states, “In recognition of the City’s interest in neighborhood identity, [Metro] agrees that it will not name a rail/subway station in the City without the City Council’s Consent.” The MOA for Section 1 includes the same condition and City Council approved the Metro process- approved station name for Wilshire/La Cienega Station on July 14, 2020.
DISCUSSION
Metro staff originally established geographically based names for the Purple Line Extension Section 2 stations, Wilshire/Rodeo and Century City/Constellation, during the planning phase. Starting in October 2022, Metro Construction Relations will launch outreach to solicit input from cities, communities and other stakeholders on the preferred station names based on their Board-adopted naming criteria.
Per Metro’s Station Naming Policy, subway stations are named with maximum benefit and convenience of the transit system user in mind. Naming will provide customers with •
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Meeting Date: September 20, 2022
travel information in a simple, straightforward and unified format to assist patrons in successfully navigating the transit system and, correspondingly, the region. Station names are required to reflect the following principles: Transit system context: Names will reflect the property’s location, relative to the entire transit system and not be duplicated elsewhere. Property area: Names will provide specific information about the property’s location relative to the surrounding area. Neighborhood identity: Names will acknowledge the communities and neighborhoods serviced by the stations and stops. Simplicity: Names will be short, easily recognizable and fit for signage and mapping.
The station naming process will include the following steps: Initial station names will be identified during the project planning process, primarily based on geographic location. [Complete] When a project is approved by the Metro Board to progress into the preliminary engineering phase, a formal naming process will be initiated. [Complete] Metro staff will solicit input from cities, communities and other stakeholders on preferred station names based on the Board-adopted naming criteria. The resulting station names will be reviewed by a focus group comprised of both transit system users and non-users for general public recognizability. Metro staff will return to the appropriate Metro Board committee and the City of Beverly Hills for City Council’s Consent at the end of the outreach period. Then Metro staff will return to the full Metro Board for the adoption of the final set of official station names. The adopted official station names will then be included in any final engineering documents and other agency materials.
Community Outreach
Metro’s Construction Relations will attend events in Beverly Hills and neighboring cities to promote the station naming process. Metro introduced this promotion at the in-person September 7, 2022, Monthly Community Meeting. Also, Metro will launch the campaign at the Beverly Hills Fall Art Show on October 15-16, 2022, and some of the commissioned artists for the Wilshire/La Cienega and Wilshire/Rodeo stations will join this event. City staff is coordinating to accommodate Metro to join the following events if there is space for an additional booth. Next Night Block Party (October 22nd, 2022) Holiday Lighting (November 17th, 2022) Metro will also promote the station naming via social media, monthly community meetings, webinars, e-blasts and local newspapers. The outreach campaign to receive station naming input will last until the 2
nd Quarter of 2023. Then, Metro will perform follow-up outreach for the top naming choices for another two to three months to receive final public input on the top five station name choices. Based on the outreach performed by Metro staff, Metro will survey the most popular station names. Metro will then request City Council’s consent of the top name choice for the station located under Wilshire Boulevard from Beverly Drive to Canon Drive before the Metro Board’s final adoption of the station names.
Meeting Date: September 20, 2022
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with approving this request. Metro will reimburse all staff and consultant costs associated with this process as per the MOA.
RECOMMENDATION
This item is provided for information only for the upcoming outreach by Metro on the Section 2 station naming.
Shana Epstein,
Director of Public Works
Approved By