Wardlow station
| Company type | Light rail station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Headquarters | Long Beach, California , United States |
Area served | Los Angeles Metro Rail network |
Wardlow station is a ground-level light rail stop on the A Line within the Los Angeles Metro Rail network. It occupies the A Line’s dedicated right-of-way, following the historic path of the Pacific Electric Railway, and is situated alongside Pacific Place at Wardlow Street in the Wrigley district of Long Beach, California.
Between Wardlow and Del Amo stations lies Metro's Division 11, a facility for maintenance and storage of rail vehicles.
Transit connections
As of , passengers can access the following connections:[1]
- Long Beach Transit routes: , , , ,
Additionally, the station provides access to the Los Angeles River Bikeway.
Historical background
Wardlow station is positioned between the former Los Cerritos and Vista Del Mar stops on the Pacific Electric Railway’s Long Beach Line, which began operation in 1902. Los Cerritos station, inaugurated in 1906 to serve the Los Cerritos neighborhood, primarily accommodated middle-class suburban commuters traveling to downtown Los Angeles. This area was incorporated into Long Beach in 1924. Vista Del Mar functioned mainly as a transfer hub between the Long Beach and Balboa Line routes rather than as an endpoint. The surrounding street network was designed to direct traffic toward Los Cerritos station.
The construction of the 405 freeway in 1958 physically divided these stations,[2] with the predecessor agency to LA Metro securing ownership of the right-of-way beneath it. Following Pacific Electric’s shutdown in 1961, the area became contaminated due to illegal disposal of toxic waste from Signal Hill oil sludge, leading to evacuations during Blue Line reconstruction efforts in the 1980s.[3] Much of the embankment around the I-405/I-710 interchange contains illegally dumped hazardous soil. Because of this pollution and possibly local opposition to expanded transit services, Wardlow station was relocated southward from its original location near Los Cerritos Park to a site beyond the freeway.[4]
A pedestrian pathway not compliant with ADA standards and owned by Metro connects Los Cerritos Park with Magnolia Avenue in Wrigley Heights, roughly a twenty-minute walk from Wardlow station. However, moving the station south of the freeway in 1990 cut off pedestrian access for residents of Los Cerritos and Bixby Knolls. Pacific Place does not have sidewalks linking adjacent neighborhoods to the station, which also lacks cross-town service by Long Beach Transit. As a result, Wardlow ranks among the least frequented stops on the A Line. In 2015, UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment identified it as the poorest performing rail transit station in Los Angeles County due to inadequate access to housing, transit options, and retail amenities.[5]
Art
Installed at the station is a 1992 sculpture created by Jacqueline Dreager called Great Gathering Place, recognized as among the most abstract artworks along the A Line. Its design is influenced by a sundial that formerly stood at the adjacent Rancho Los Cerritos.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).