German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Russian
ChineseUniversal City Transit-Oriented Development
NBC Universal and Thomas Properties Group announced yesterday a “long-term Vision Plan” to revitalize and sustain their 391-acre Universal City property (which houses Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park, and Universal CityWalk) through a transit-oriented developmenet project simply called the “Universal City Vision Plan”. According to Ron Meyer, president and COO of Universal Studios, the 25-year plan represents opportunity to “take a fresh look at our industry, the community, and our businesses”. For a full rundown of all Universal has planned check out the Universal City Vision website.
Universal City Red Line station.
Obviously, the most intriguing part of this plan for MetroRiders is that fact that it claims to be a transit-oriented plan. Tom Smith, senior vice president of West Coast Real Estate for NBC Universal says this of the plan:
“We stand at a unique moment in Los Angeles, and our future demands that we change old patterns of growth and create new solutions for transportation and access… Universal’s Vision Plan is an innovative transit-oriented project that will also be an economic engine for Los Angeles. It will include a comprehensive and regional transportation plan where transit is integrated into the very design of the project.”
I’ve got to say, I like the way he’s talking. It’s not often I hear such progressive thinking about mass transit in Los Angeles, especially from business interests. Universal says it’s working with the LADOT, MTA, CalTrans, and the community to create a transit-friendly environment in and around Universal City. Possible improvements include:
- Shuttle system from Universal Village and throughout Universal City to the MTA Station.
- North/South “Great Street” through Universal Village connecting Forest Lawn Drive to Coral Drive.
- Freeway and access improvements, including possible construction of a southbound entrance to the 101 Freeway from Universal City; a single-purpose urban interchange (SPUI) near Campo de Cahuenga connecting to the 101 Freeway, and other system improvements to the 101 corridor and the 134 interchange.
- Barham Corridor improvements, including a possible grade separation at Forest Lawn Drive and Barham Boulevard and possible widening of the Barham Bridge at the L.A. River.
- Enhance the pedestrian crossing at Lankershim Boulevard and Campo de Cahuenga.
- Various traffic signal system upgrades and intersection enhancements.
Universal is also planning to possibly extend production facilities to the Universal City Red Line Station, creating a new studio and office campus at the location. Furthermore, the Thomas Properties Group is proposing further development at the station (unrelated to Universal) which would include an additional office building and retail. In addition to the production, office, and retail space, Universal is also planning to create a transit-oriented residential neighborhood called Universal Village. This 124-acre neighborhood will offer residentail living in the form of apartments, stacked lofts, town homes, and condos at various price points. A “Great Street” will connect all the residentail units creating a walkable neighborhood with a “town center” which will include 100,000 square feet of dining and retail. This sort of reminds me of another studio/theme park New Urbanist development - Disney’s Celebration in Central Florida. Will this development be congruent with the Mayor’s vision of “transit villages”? Will this neighbordhood truly add to the community of Los Angeles, or will it exist as a walled-off exclusive enclave like the current Park La Brea? Only time will tell, but I hope Universal stays true to the community oriented vision it is presenting and creates a community for everyone. I would hate to see transit-oriented developments, and thus transit itself become the playground of only the very wealthy. Hell, I might actually have to eat my words and join the BRU if that happened.
One thing is for certain, Universal currently employees a large number of people in Los Angeles (10,000 full and part-time according to Universal) from across the income-scale. As a Red Line rider I know many Universal Studio Hollywood and CityWalk employees rely on the subway to get to work. I also know that on Friday and Saturday nights, I see a lot of kids hoping on the train to go catch a movie, concert, or get some dinner at the mind-blowingly popular CitWalk (I went last month with my parents and was stunned at the number of people crowding the fake streets… don’t these people realize we live in a real city!). I think if there are more jobs, and more entertainment options there, especially ones that don’t require a hike or shuttle ride up the hill, it can only be a good thing. And the prospect of a residential development, if done correctly, is also very exciting… if only because it shows that the tides are turning in Los Angeles, and that denser, transportation-oriented development is what is desired.
CityWalk is perpetually crowded. Image courtey of Nichalobeze8 via Flickr.
Universal and the Thomas Properties Group (who is responsible for the successful makeover of downtown’s City National Plaza) claim that public will have many opportunities to participate in the process of fulfilling the vision, and have a link on their website where people can sign up to show their support and interest in the plan. I’d personally like to hear how other transit advocates feel about this announcement and plan, so feel free to throw down in the comments section.
Discussion
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
I hope this means that the pedestrian tunnel under Lankershim to/from the Metro station will finally be built. Is this what is meant by “enhancement?”
the idea of transit oriented villages is great and i would love to see it replace “sustainability” as the catch phrase for 2007 (though they do go hand in hand). perhaps we can get al gore to do a movie about it!
in all seriousness, i really love the idea of these villages built up specifically for and from public transit stations. the work being done at North Hollywood station is much like this, though not on such an epic of scale (i.e. 25 year plan) and every time i get off at that station it seems like something is opening up. chandler blvd. just two weeks ago and new lofts next door! not to mention the rest of the development going on there and the revitalization of the theaters along with restaurants extending their hours. at other stations as well. why its taken so long for Universal City to take a stride like this is a mystery but at least its happening. it would be great to get off at universal city and not have to walk up or ride on a theme park shuttle, but instead have the points of destination right there. restaurants/bars/retail/housing and the like. i see a raised “great street” connecting the two and i think, maybe i will visit universal city after all.
another note, with all these transit inspired “villages” popping up, including the revitalization of downtown and hollywood, MTA will have to revise their train hours… 3am train ride anyone?
Don’t count on a 24-hour train, unless a new source of funding opens up for that purpose. Metro can find truckloads of capital funding, but it’s on its own for operations funding.
Night service is never productive enough to run, especially for a train. The only way Metro could do it now is to slash the 20-minute night service after 7 p.m. to 30 minutes and use the remaining time to run owl trains.
And the nightlife demographic would be insignificant. The people who would ride it are security guards, cooks and maids. Metro would provide the service, but the hipsters would say they avoid the trains because they find the sight of proles depressing. :
i’d settle for at least weekend night service. not even 24 hour! just late enough to save a few lives from would-be drunk drivers..
is that too much to ask??!
lolz. classic WAD:
thats great. though i think that sentiment is only the case for busses. don’t forget WAD, subway’s are inherently hip. like saying, “i’m from brooklyn (williamsburg).” it’d almost be worth seeing such proles to say, “i rode the subway to vine bar”. though i stress almost.
still, like matt said, just a weekend service later than 1am would be nice.
the cutting down on drunk driving would def be a selling point too.
Eh, after hours, there’s nothing wrong with trains every 30 minutes. Even run them every hour, and they’ll benefit the city, reduce drunk driving, drive up revenue, positively affect the environment…the list goes on and on.
There’s no reason for the metro not to be 24 hours. Welcome to the second largest city in the country. Can we now move forward please? Thanks. Cheese n rice!
If Universal really wants to do it right, they could build a moving sidewalk straight into the Red Line station. For those who haven’t been there or haven’t noticed, there is a blank space in the station wall that has been reserved for just such a purpose.
As for the night service issue, I know people who would gladly give up their cars if they could only get places on public transit at night. Even hourly “night owl” service (a la some OCTA routes) would be a most welcome improvement. But then this is LA where they roll up the sidewalks downtown at 5:30 p.m.
But then this is LA where they roll up the sidewalks downtown at 5:30 p.m.
That might have been true up to about, oh say, 5 years ago, but I was in downtown on Sunday night and surprised what activities there were available. At least in the Financial District area. I’ve been told by a friend that despite the desolate appearance, Little Tokyo has a booming nightlife.
It’s actually more desolate when the sun is out. Downtown has a lot of great restaurants, but on weekends, they are only open for dinner.
Little Tokyo is pretty great late at night, lots of the establishments stay open. Finance District around the Standard Hotel, while pretty quiet in terms of foot traffic, always has party goers going to the various establishments in that area. A few weeks ago I went to the Laemmle Grand 4 Plex downtown to see James Bond and the movie theater was full. That’s a nice little movie theater by the way, it’s nothing spectacular but tickets are $8 and it’s convenient if you live in or near downtown.