The Alhambra branch of the Expo will use the same track as the Gold Line to Sierra Madre and the new Glendale line. North of Chinatown it will branch east across the river and run along North Broadway, the main commercial thoroughfare of Lincoln Heights. The Expo would directly link this neighborhood to Downtown Los Angeles and beyond, revitalizing this historic district and weaving back together the urban fabric that was ripped apart by the Golden State Freeway.
The Expo would then continue to Huntington via Mission and arch gracefully through the Foothills up to Alhambra, one of LA’s first-rung suburbs. Huntington Drive is wide enough to accommodate a light-rail, which has the potential to break up some of the route's vast expanses of concrete and transform it into an elegant transit corridor. The Expo would turn off of Huntington and onto Main, avoiding both South Pasadena and San Marina and heading straight downtown Alhambra’s main commercial thoroughfare. Buses would continue serving the Huntington Drive corridor to the north.
The Alhambra station at Main and Atlantic would provide a portal to Downtown and the Westside and act as a gateway between Downtown and the Inner San Gabriel Valley. Alhambra’s compact and walkable layout, it’s proximity to Downtown LA, and its link to the rest of the metropolis via the Expo line would make it ideal for higher density, transit-oriented development.
Inner (Western) San Gabriel Valley:
The San Gabriel River, the Santa Fe Dam Recreational area, and the predominately industrial city of Irwindale divide the San Gabriel Valley into eastern and western halves. The western half includes the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, Monterey Park, San Marino, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Arcadia, Temple City, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte, El Monte, and South El Monte. This subregion is linked by rail to Downtown Los Angeles via stations on the Gold line, the Expo line, the El Monte Busway, and the San Bernardino Metrolink. Metro provides most of the bus service for this area. Pasadena, Alhambra, and El Monte are the dominant transit centers of the Inner Valley, with the latter acting as the main link between the east and west sides of the Valley.
Outer (Eastern) San Gabriel Valley:
The Eastern San Gabriel Valley includes the cities of Azusa, Irwindale, Baldwin Park, Glendora, Covina, West Covina, La Puente, City of Industry, San Dimas, La Verne, and Walnut. Foothill Transit provides the bulk of bus service for the area, while the San Bernardino and the Riverside Metrolink trains connect the Outer Valley to Downtown LA. There are also two major transit hubs - the Plaza at West Covina and the Eastland Center - that feed buses onto the adjacent San Bernardino Freeway and into the busway at El Monte. West Covina, Baldwin Park, and (to a lesser extent) Covina are the dominant transit hubs for this subregion.
