According to the website of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, a $38.5 million grant from the California Transportation Commission will allow Metro to move forward with the long-awaited modernization of the Willowbrook-Rosa Parks Station.

Rosa Parks Station - situated in the unincorporated community of Willowbrook - is the 4th busiest in the Metro Rail network, serving more than 30,000 daily passengers on the Blue and Green Lines.  However, due to its location amidst the bowels of the 105 Freeway, the station has frequently been criticized for its spartan amenities and poor pedestrian accessibility.

Metro's $40-$45 million renovation will address many of these complaints through a series of improvements which include:

  • A platform extension with a shade canopy, signal improvements and a new at-grade pedestrian crossing for the Blue Line.
  • New elevators, escalators and stairs for the elevated Green Line.
  • Improvements to lighting and pedestrian access for transit patrons
  • The construction of a new Metro Customer Service Center, a new transit security facility and a new Sheriff's substation.
  • Additional parking for bicycles and automobiles.
  • New art throughout the station.

The project also calls for a new central plaza with improved access to a nearby shopping center on Wilmington Avenue.

Ground breaking for the Rosa Parks Station renovation is expected to occur in 2017, with completion anticipated by 2018.  The project is one component of a larger $1 billion plan to improve the Willowbrook community with new public amenities such as the revamped MLK Medical Campus.