Editorial: Lessons from L.A.’s long haul to build the Expo Line to the beach

More than 60 years after the last Pacific Electric red car trolley rolled into Santa Monica, passengers will once again be able to ride the train to the coast, beginning Friday with the opening of the Expo Line extension.

It’s a dramatic turnaround. The red cars fell out of favor slowly, beginning in the 1930s and 1940s, as more people chose to drive on the expanding freeway system; today, however, the Expo Line light rail system is being touted as the remedy to the region’s over-reliance on the automobile.

The newly completed 15-mile line between downtown and Santa Monica will be a boon to people who live, work and play on the Westside. The rail line will be a valuable alternative to the traffic-clogged 10 Freeway and surface streets, and a faster, more reliable public transit option than the bus. The only question is, why did something so logical take so long to build?

Public-transit advocates started laying the political groundwork for the Expo Line more than 25 years ago when they persuaded the county transportation agency to buy the old trolley right-of-way from Exposition Park to the ocean. But there were endless battles over the project in the years that followed. Residents in Cheviot Hills and Rancho Park were staunch opponents and tried to block the project with a lawsuit. Some politicians, believing Westsiders wouldn’t use public transit, didn’t champion the project or vote to fund it. The advocates in the grass-roots organization Friends 4 Expo helped keep the project going until consensus – and common sense – finally won and the project was approved and fully funded with the Measure R half-cent sales tax increase in 2008.

There is a lot to celebrate with the completion of the Expo Line. But there are also some lessons that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and others should learn from the project – especially as Metro considers another sales tax ballot measure for November that would raise $120 billion to expand public transportation.

Invest in the best. The 15-mile ride between downtown and Santa Monica will take about 46 to 48 minutes. That may be faster than rush hour on the 10, but it’s hardly speedy. One problem is that Expo Line trains run on surface streets in some stretches and have to stop at red lights, just like cars. In the future, Metro needs to design transit lines that don’t have to stop at lights -- by building above or below ground or installing more gates and systems that preempt traffic signals. It’s worth spending more money upfront for fast, reliable service.

Make it easier for drivers to become riders. Only three of the seven new Expo Line stations will offer parking spaces -- 544 spots total. (For comparison, the Red Line North Hollywood station has 660 parking spots that typically fill up by 8 a.m. on weekdays.) Yes, land is valuable and garages are expensive to build, but there have to be ways to offset the cost with paid parking or requiring new development on Metro-owned land to include some parking for riders.

Plan around the rail line. Cities should be planning denser housing, job centers, bike lanes and tree-lined sidewalks within one mile of new stations. Santa Monica built a wide esplanade to connect the Expo Line station to the beach and downtown. Public transit can and should transform the neighborhood around it.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook