Should LA Metro Extend the D Line to the Sea?

追加: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]As we’re right on the cusp of Phase One  of LA Metro’s D Line extension opening, it seems like a good time to  comtemplate the line’s future.

[00:00:09]A fair bit of that contemplation will focus  on how quickly Phases 2 and 3 will be built.

[00:00:16]But Phase 3 will only go as far as the VA  Hospital in Westwood. Which is a massive improvement from how things were pre-extensions,  with the D Line only going to Wilshire/Western.

[00:00:30]However, it will still fall short of where many  transit advocates ultimately want the line to go, which is all the way out Wilshire Boulevard  until it gets to near the Pacific Ocean. Hence, the idea of such an extension often  being dubed the “D Line to the Sea.”

[00:00:50]But…should the D Line head to the sea? I  will outline some thoughts in favor and against that idea, and then I’ll give  my own opinions later in this video… One argument against such an extension is  that the D Line on Wilshire would only be about half a mile or so from the E  Line over in Santa Monica. And that, with the relatively small gap between  the Wilshire corridor and the E Line, attention should instead be on other parts  of LA County that are underserved by transit.

[00:01:21]I think there is some credence to this argument,  as between about 17th Street in Santa Monica and the ocean, Wilshire is only about half a mile  from the E Line. However, east of 17th Street, the E Line only gets further and further away from  Wilshire. By the E Line’s 26th Street/Bergamot stop, you’re 7/10 of a mile away from Wilshire.  And by the time you get to Expo/Bundy, you are 1.2 miles away from Wilshire. So, if LA Metro were to  extend the D Line to the sea, there are some parts of an extension that would be decently far from  the E Line. And other parts that are rather close.

[00:02:06]Another argument in favor of extending the  D Line to the sea is that such an extension would serve the most densely populated parts  of Santa Monica. As popular as the E Line is, it actually doesn’t serve the most densely  populated parts of the city. The most densely populated Census Tracts over by the E Line in  Santa Monica have somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000 people per square mile. In contrast,  the Wilshire corridor in Santa Monica is much more densely populated, with a couple of Census Tracts  there exceeding 20,000 people per square mile.

[00:02:44]Though, despite serving the most densely populated  parts of Santa Monica, a previous estimate was that such an extension was only expected to bring  an additional 9,000 riders west of VA Hospital, per this Urbanize LA article. Considering how  expensive it is to build suwbays nowadays, 9,000 riders for 4 additional stops seems a little  questionable. I would like a little better return on investment than that. Though, I wonder whether  that estimate considered a possible Sepulveda line and the impacts a Sepulveda line would have on  the D Line. Because, if not, then 9,000 riders for 4 additional stops may be lowballing it, as  well as this possible extension, a decent amount.

[00:03:35]But now that I’ve outlined some pros and some  cons, I must circle back to the original question: should the D Line go to the sea? And the  answer is yes, albeit not an enthusiastic one.

[00:03:50]Here’s why. I think it would be a useful  and good extension to have. It would provide heavy rail to the most densely-populated  part of Santa Monica, after all. And, it would ensure that the entirety of LA’s most  important transit corridor has a subway. And yet, in an ideal world, I also think a higher  priority than this should be focusing on closing gaps in the LA-area rapid transit  network much larger than what exists in Santa Monica. When it comes to heavy rail  specifically, a Vermont Avenue subway and extending the proposed Sepulveda Line to LAX  should probably be a higher priority than this.

[00:04:34]That said, our world isn’t ideal. In the world  around us, what often deterimes what does or doesn’t get buit is not what is most needed,  but what is politically achievable. I mean, if what got built was based on what  was needed rather than on politics, the D Line then wouldn’t have looked like this,  pre-Phase 1 extension. Anyone who knows anything about LA knows that Wilshire Boulevard  is the city’s most critical corridor, and that if not for politics, the D Line  would’ve been more built out to begin with.

[00:05:08]That said, in the spirit of my believing that  the D LIne should go to the sea ultimately, my Metro Dreamin map for the LA area will  include a D Line extension. After all, I’m not saying that this shouldn’t be  built at some point—it should be built.

[00:05:25]I just think that there are some other  things should be prioritized before this.

[00:05:29]But what do you think of extending  the D Line to the Sea? Let me know in the comments section below. Make sure  to also like this video and subscribe to my channel for more content on imagining  better mass transit in the United States.

[00:05:42]Thank you, and have a good day.