Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of 23.3 miles (37.5 km), is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length between its southern end in San Pedro and south of Downtown Los Angeles, it runs parallel to the west of the Harbor Freeway (I-110).
 | |
| Maintained by | Bureau of Street Services, City of L.A. DPW |
|---|---|
| Length | 23 miles (37 km) |
| Nearest metro station |  :
|
| Coordinates | 33°57′36″N 118°17′30″W / 33.96000°N 118.29167°W |
| South end | Palos Verdes Drive North, Anaheim and Gaffey Streets near San Pedro |
| Major junctions |
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| North end | Griffith Park |
Route description
editVermont Avenue's southern point is just north of San Pedro at a five-point intersection with Anaheim Street, Gaffey Street and Palos Verdes Drive. After a short distance, Normandie Avenue branches off due north while Vermont turns northeast towards its intersection with Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Afterwards, it travels roughly in a straight line north for 22 miles (35 km), parallel to the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the east. North of PCH, it passes through the unincorporated area of West Carson before crossing the San Diego Freeway (I-405).
Between a point south of the intersection with Artesia Boulevard/western end of the Gardena Freeway (SR 91), and El Segundo Boulevard, Vermont marks the eastern boundary of the City of Gardena. At 164th Street in Gardena, Vermont widens from a four-lane thoroughfare to a six-lane road with a wide median. From 164th Street, an abandoned railway runs through the median to a point just north of Redondo Beach Boulevard, afterwards the median becomes tree-lined. From 88th Street to Gage Avenue, Vermont Avenue includes adjacent frontage roads. North of Gage, Vermont thins down to 4 lanes.
Vermont Avenue then passes at the western end of the University of Southern California and Exposition Park in South Los Angeles. In August 2012, the City of Los Angeles designated a portion of Vermont Avenue in Pico-Union as the "El Salvador Community Corridor."[1]
Between the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) and the Hollywood Freeway (US 101), Vermont Avenue crosses Wilshire Boulevard and passes through Koreatown. It then forms the eastern boundary of the East Hollywood district of Hollywood as it passes through Little Armenia. It intersects Sunset Boulevard, next to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and Hollywood Boulevard, to the east of the Barnsdall Art Park. At the intersection with Los Feliz Boulevard, it becomes a divided road with one lane in each direction as it heads to Griffith Park. Entering the park, it then becomes signed as Vermont Canyon Road before it passes by the Greek Theatre. The road then ends at the intersection with Observatory Road, the main route to the Griffith Observatory.
Public transit
edit
Subway and light rail
editVermont Avenue has the most Metro Rail stations of any street in the Metro subway and light rail system,[citation needed] that include:
- B Line only:
- Vermont/Sunset station at Sunset Boulevard.
- Vermont/Santa Monica station Santa Monica Boulevard.
- Vermont/Beverly station at Beverly Boulevard.
- D Line & B Line:
- Wilshire/Vermont station at Wilshire Boulevard.
- E Line:
- Expo/Vermont station at Exposition Boulevard.
- C Line:
- Vermont/Athens station at the Century Freeway (Interstate 105).
Buses
edit- Metro Local Lines 204 and 205, Torrance Transit Line 1, Gardena Transit Line 2, run along Vermont Avenue, as well as Metro Rapid line 754.
- Metro lines 204 and 754 run between Sunset Boulevard and Vermont Green Line Station
- Gardena Line 2 between Interstate 105 and the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, Torrance Transit Line 1 between Gardena Bl and Carson St, and Metro Line 205 to PCH.
Metro lines 204 and 754 use 60-foot (18 m) NABI & New Flyer buses (9500-9594) & (8700-8834)
Transit Corridor
editMetro is planning to rebuild the roadway between the Sunset B Line station and 120th Street. Initial plans call for a bus rapid transit line to operate along the corridor. In the future, Measure M funding is expected to become available for an extension of the B Line subway down Vermont Avenue at least as far as the neighborhood of Athens (just south of the 105 Freeway), possibly as a combination of both underground and elevated heavy rail.[2][3] Bus rapid transit implementation is expected as part of the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, in anticipation of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Rail funding is planned for 2067. The service was dubbed the R Line in 2018,[4] though line names are tentative until opening.
Los Angeles Railway
editUntil 1963, Vermont Avenue was served by several Los Angeles Railway Yellow Car streetcar lines: the F, R, S, U, and V. After streetcars ceased running under the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, tracks were torn up and service replaced by buses.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Shyong, Frank (September 9, 2012) "L.A. Salvadoran Community Sees Hope Along a New Corridor Los Angeles Times
- ^ Frazier, Scott. "Metro Takes a Key Step on Vermont Subway". Urbanize LA.
- ^ Chiland, Elijah. "Red Line subway could extend into South LA". Curbed LA. Vox Media.
- ^ Scauzillo, Steve (13 December 2018). "Because they're out of colors, LA Metro will rename all its train lines and rapid busways with letters in 2019". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
External links
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