The San Fernando Valley Subsystem

I’d like to put in an additional two of my cents in reference to Steve Hyman’s excellent post on the Foothill extension over at Bottleneck Blog.

But first, I would like to present my proposal for the San Fernando Valley subsystem.

The San Fernando Valley Subsystem’s main transit corridor extends the existing Orange Line from Van Nuys to Burbank via North Hollywood, connecting the Subsystem’s trio of major transit hubs.

In addition to these three hubs, Sherman Oaks serves as a secondary hub, acting as the gateway station for traffic between the Valley and the Westside. To that end, the Sherman Oaks line is aligned to the mouth of the Sepulveda pass to accommodate any future direct link between the Valley and the Westside.

Burbank

Burbank is the eastern terminus for the Warner Center (Orange) and the San Fernando-Pacoima (Yellow) lines. It is also the gateway station for the Intervalley Line (Purple) between Sherman Oaks and Pasadena.

Of the Subsystem’s three major hub stations, Burbank is the only one directly served by Metrolink: the Ventura County Line and the Antelope Valley Line. A streetcar (Olive Green) along Olive Ave./Riverside Drive connects Burbank to Universal City and Toluca Lake. Burbank connects to Bob Hope Airport directly via Metrolink and with one transfer to a streetcar (Light Blue) at the Chandler/Hollywood Way station.

North Hollywood

As the terminus of the Red Line, North Hollywood is the Subsystem’s portal station for traffic between the Valley and the LA Basin. Almost all Basin-bound traffic will pass through North Hollywood station. Arriving Valley-bound travelers will have a number of travel options.

Destinations directly served by light rail include:

• Van Nuys, Burbank (Purple, Orange, Yellow)
• Sherman Oaks (Purple)
• Reseda, Warner Center (Orange)
• Panorama City, Pacoima, and San Fernando (Yellow)

Destinations directly served by streetcar:

• Magnolia Park, Bob Hope Airport (Light Blue)
• Toluka Lake, Olive Ave: (Olive Green)
• Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Ventura Boulevard (Pink)

Van Nuys

Van Nuys is the Subsystem’s true crossroads, the portal between inner and outer San Fernando Valley where all the light rail lines converge from all directions. Van Nuys also connects to Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, and Universal City via streetcar (Pink).

According to Wiki, Van Nuys “functions similar to a ‘county seat’ for the Valley, with its Government Center (Erwin Street Mall) containing a branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Van Nuys police station, the Van Nuys offices for Los Angeles City Hall, Van Nuys State Office Building and a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.”