Los Angeles County’s transit agency knows how to throw a party.

Some 800 invited guests attended the grand opening of a long-awaited subway line extension on May 8, with the event emceed by actor Jerry O’Connell. The nearly 4-mile addition includes three new stations along Wilshire Boulevard connecting downtown LA and the Koreatown community to “museum row” and on to Beverly Hills. 

Dignitaries arrived at the new station at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue on a special subway train at 8:30 a.m., with LA Mayor Karen Bass at the front window as the train pulled in.  

“This train will give us new doors to some of the most iconic places in our city,” Bass said at the morning’s event on the rooftop of the Petersen Automotive Museum, adjacent to the subway station. 

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders, along with local and national elected officials, celebrated the effort that went into the project: five years of tunneling through tar sands and abandoned oil wells.

A person stands at a podium in front of a large crowd of seated people.
LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins celebrates the opening of three new train stations along a 3.92-mile extension of the D Line subway in Los Angeles.
Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
 

“Designed and built” with community input

Speakers emphasized the extension’s importance to local communities. “This east-west connection makes a meaningful difference for residents choosing to go Metro for daily commutes, getting their kids from school in the morning, getting to and from work, getting to a doctor's appointment,” Lindsey Horvath, an LA County supervisor and Metro board member, said during the ceremony.

The extension “was designed and built with the help of community input and local voices,” Metro said in a news release. The transit agency provided financial assistance to small businesses along the line to offset disruptions during construction. 

U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the extension “is going to bring people together. It's going to get us out of our cars. It's going to get us moving faster, and it really gives us a sense of community.”

Each of the three new, accessible stations features bike racks and landscaped plazas at street level.
Permission granted by Dan Zukowski

Each of the three new station plazas held community events on opening day with food, giveaways and Metro ambassadors on-site to answer questions. Metro will continue to offer pop-up coffee carts, boutique vendors, weekly farmers markets, dance classes and other community events at each station for 90 days following the opening.

Bike lockers at each station were installed to help riders get to and from their homes or destinations. “These new stations not only improve access to cultural institutions, local businesses, and everyday destinations, but also reflect our commitment to building a more equitable and accessible transportation system for all,” Metro Board Member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said in a statement.

Public art adorns the lobbies and entryways to the new stations at La Brea Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard. Four artists were selected from among 1,200 who applied. The art program includes an ongoing series of events, presentations, community engagement workshops, performances and exhibitions.

If the first day of standing-room-only trains was any indication, the extension may increase overall ridership. That’s what Metro is aiming for, but the numbers weren’t immediately available, a Metro spokesperson told Smart Cities Dive.

Several poeple on stairs and escalators leading down with artwork overhead and alongside.
Four artists created works for the three new stations, including this piece at the entrance to the La Cienega/Wilshire station.
Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
 

Two more extensions coming next year

“Being here today is not just about opening a new line, it's about where this line leads us,” LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said during the May 8 opening. “It's a leap forward for how Los Angeles moves … We connect people to jobs, to schools and to each other.”

The ceremony concluded with a ribbon-cutting and a storm of shiny ribbon falling on the heads of the dignitaries. After a lunch break, guests, media and residents gathered at the Wilshire/Fairfax station platform to ride one of the first in-service trains.

People standing and seated inside a subway car.
The opening day's first trains between Los Angels Union Station and the La Cienega/Wilshire station near Beverly Hills saw standing-room crowds.
Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
 

Two more extensions of the D Line are coming in 2027, bringing rail transit west to Century City, Westwood and the University of California, Los Angeles, campus.

“I see a Los Angeles that is investing in its future, a Los Angeles that takes it upon itself to make the investments that we need for our children and our community, a Los Angeles that is building great things,” U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Calif., said during the ceremony.