L.A. Metro celebrates completion of construction for state-of-the-art Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) celebrated the recently rebuilt state-of-the-art Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station, one of the busiest in the agency’s transit system.

Among the officials attending the celebration were L.A. Metro Board Member Holly Mitchell, U.S. Rep. Nannette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44), L.A. Metro Board Second Vice Chair Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker and L.A. Metro CEO Stephanie N. Wiggins.

Other local organizations participating in the event included the Charles Drew University and Wilmington Inclusion Network (WIN), a local resource and training center, the East Side Riders Bike Club and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Transit Service Bureau. L.A. Metro also helped riders sign up for discounted Low-Income Fare Is Easy passes. L.A. Metro and its community health partners provided a pop-up vaccine clinic for residents.

Earlier this year, the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station underwent a $129-million modernization. Improvements included an extended platform for A Line (Blue) trains, a new southern at-grade pedestrian crossing, an expanded mezzanine to expedite transfers between the A and C (Green) Lines, digital signs with real-time transit information, enhanced security systems, LED lighting and renovated stairs and elevators. These improvements benefit one of the most underserved communities of Los Angeles County.

"Metro has transformed this transit hub into a safe, easy-to-navigate and comfortable facility that has become the pride of this community," said L.A. Metro Board Chair and Chair of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors Hilda L. Solis. "We will continue to invest in transit facilities as part of our State of Good Repair Program, which directly benefits communities that most need improvements — our bread-and-butter customers who depend on our transit services every day for work, medical services, education, shopping and entertainment."

The Federal Transit Administration provided L.A. Metro with a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant for the implementation of the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station Master Plan. The nationwide competitive grant program creates jobs by investing in transportation infrastructure through local governments and transit agencies like L.A. Metro.

"The state-of-the-art transit hub, for which the U.S. Department of Transportation provided a $10-million grant, steps up the experience in one of the region’s most underserved communities," said Federal Transit Administration Region IX Administrator Ray Tellis. "We are pleased to support this station renovation, which will go far toward improving safety and accessibility for all who ride Metro."

Other station improvements include a new public plaza, the Rosa Parks Customer Center, Transit Security and Transit Court, a full-service Mobility Hub, wayfinding and signage upgrades, a new pick-up and drop-off zone, nine new regional and local bus bays, a new protected bike lane, a modernized park-and-ride lot with new electric vehicle charging stations and a pedestrian promenade connecting busy Wilmington Avenue to the station. Two new site-specific artworks now honor the area’s history and offer an inviting transit experience for the Wilmington and South L.A. communities.

The Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station is currently the second busiest light-rail station on the L.A. Metro System after 7th Street/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles.

L.A. Metro says it will add Bus Line 53 (Central Av) to the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station in December 2021. More bus lines are planned to serve the station in 2022.

"We now have a beautiful, bright, and modern station with all the bells and whistles, just as our customers deserve," said Wiggins. "This state-of-the-art customer service center is definitely an asset for Willowbrook and beyond."

The station provides L.A. Metro riders with access to key destinations including the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus, the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and the Kenneth Hahn Plaza Shopping Center. The renovations were part of L.A. Metro’s New Blue Improvements Project that included a $350-million overhaul of the entire A Line (Blue).