Harbor Gateway Transit Center

History

The transit center, originally named the Artesia Transit Center, was built as the southern terminus of the Harbor Transitway, a 10.3 mi shared-use express bus corridor and high-occupancy vehicle lanes (later converted to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes) running in the median of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) north to Downtown Los Angeles.

After about 20 years of planning and construction, the Harbor Transitway was opened on June 26, 1996, at a cost of $498 million. Because of uncertainty on the opening date, buses would not start using the facility until a few weeks later on August 1, 1996. The project was built by Caltrans and the transit facilities would be operated by Los Angeles Metro after completion.

Caltrans envisioned that the transit center and transitway would offer a similar function to El Monte station located at the end of the El Monte Busway, an older but operationally similar facility east of Downtown Los Angeles, offering a large parking lot where commuters would park their cars and ride buses to downtown and serving as a hub in a hub-and-spoke system for the South Bay where riders can transfer between buses. In 1993, Metro staff recommended the creation of a "dual hub" system with a trunk route that served both the Harbor Transitway and the older El Monte Busway. Ultimately, the Metro Board of Directors decided to largely continue to running bus routes as they had before.

Ridership on the Harbor Transitway was radically lower than expected: Caltrans had projected that 65,200 passengers would travel along the Harbor Transitway each day, but after 10 years, ridership fell far below those predictions, with the route seeing just 3,000 passengers per weekday in 2004. That amount is low compared to the El Monte Busway, which had 32,000 boardings a day in November 2000.

On November 18, 2000, a 9.3 mile section of the Harbor Freeway south of State Route 91 was widened, and new bus new stations were added on the shoulder, allowing some bus routes to be extended south to San Pedro.

Metro returned to its plan for a dual-hub route in 2009, proposing a new bus rapid transit service called the "Silver Line" (now called the J Line) utilizing both the Harbor Transitway and the El Monte Busway. The new higher frequency service would be funded by converting both corridors into high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, to be branded as the Metro ExpressLanes. The Silver Line began operations on December 13, 2009, with Metro planning to refurbish the aging stations along both corridors over the coming years, including the Artesia Transit Center. As part of the change, several Metro routes would now terminate at the transit center.

Improvements to the transit center started in December 2010 with the installation of bike lockers, adding improved lighting, and the repurposing of an existing building as a Sheriff's substation. In October 2011, the Metro board voted to rename the Artesia Transit Center to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center. Landscaping was improved in October 2012, a self-cleaning public toilet was opened in February 2013, and monitors with bus departure information were activated in March 2013. Signage improvements were installed in phases starting in 2013, adding new station name signs, decals on walls, wayfinding signs, new entry pylons, and an 80-foot monument pylon visible from the Harbor Freeway. A total of four TAP card ticket vending machines were added at the transit center by early 2017 to support all-door boarding on the J Line. Pre-payment of fares and all-door boarding reduces the time buses need to remain stopped at stations.

Layout

The Harbor Gateway Transit Center consists of one large island platform with 12 bus bays and a 980 space park and ride parking lot located in the southwest corner of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) and California State Route 91 (Gardena Freeway). The transit center is connected to the Harbor Transitway by a flyover ramp. The station is located near the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles and cities of Carson, Gardena, and Torrance.

The platform can be accessed by pedestrians from West 182nd Street. The parking lot can be accessed from West 182nd Street or Vermont Avenue near Artesia Boulevard.

The station also has a Sheriff's substation, a self-cleaning public toilet, and TAP card vending machines.

The Harbor Gateway Transit Center also houses a free-standing art installation as part of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's art program that commissions artists to integrate artworks into its stations for the enjoyment of transit customers. Located on the west side of the platform, Alison Saar's Paraje is a 10 ft by 10 ft cast stainless steel sculpture depicts a willow tree on the west side and on the east side a willow spirit emerges mysteriously from the tree. The artwork was installed on January 28, 2013. The name Paraje is Spanish for a resting place between two destinations and the artwork was inspired by the nearby Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve.

Services

The Harbor Gateway Transit Center is used by the Metro J Line bus rapid transit route which runs between El Monte station in El Monte, Downtown Los Angeles and the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, with select trips continuing onto San Pedro. The J Line is part of the Metro Busway system.

The Harbor Gateway Transit Center is also served by several local bus routes:, the following connections are available:

References

References

1. "Metro Parking Lots by Line". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
2. "Secure Bike Parking on Metro". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
3. "J Line Charging Infrastructure - Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee - Metro Board Meeting January 18 2024".
4. (August 1993). "Dual Hub High Occupancy Vehicle Transitway Report". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Scheduling and Operations Planning Staff.
5. Radcliffe, Jim. (June 27, 1996). "Harbor Transitway opens, reducing congestion – Impact felt during evening commute". [[Daily Breeze]].
6. Shuit, Douglas P.. (November 20, 2000). "Harbor Transitway Has Everything but Riders". Los Angeles Times.
7. "Silver Line Enhancements". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
8. Waldie, D. J.. (October 28, 2011). "What's in a Metro Station Name?". [[KCET-TV.
9. (March 8, 2013). "Report on Harbor Gateway Transit Center Improvements, South Bay Service Council". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
10. (April 1, 2016). "Universal Fare System Contract Modification". [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
11. "All-Door Boarding". [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
12. "South L.A.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
13. (2018). "Art Program Overview". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
14. (January 28, 2013). "New Metro Silver Line art installed at Harbor Gateway Transit Center".
15. Zeller, Heidi. (January 17, 2013). "New sculpture to be installed at Artesia Transit Center".
16. (December 15, 2024). "J Line Timetable – Connections section". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
17. (June 2018). "Bus and Rail System map". [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
18. (December 15, 2024). "J Line Timetable – Connections section". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.