San Fernando council hears Metro study showing major safety, property impacts if light-rail enters shared right-of-way

Metro officials told the San Fernando City Council that adding light rail into the railroad shared right-of-way north of Van Nuys Boulevard could create significant safety and property impacts and that Metro is not yet recommending a preferred option.

The presentation by Metro staff said the agency is now studying two broad approaches: a four-track “full build” that would run light rail through a 2.5-mile shared right-of-way alongside Metrolink and freight, and a second alternative that would terminate light rail at Van Nuys Boulevard with an added Metrolink infill station and a “mobility hub.” Metro planners described high train frequencies in the four-track scenario and the need for grade separation at several crossings to avoid excessive traffic blockage.

Metro Principal Community Relations Officer Alondra Lopez and Senior Executive Officer David Meager described the study’s assumptions and community outreach schedule and emphasized the project is still in an alternatives-analysis phase. "Wanna stress too, we're not making recommendations at this phase," Meager told councilmembers. Metro staff said the study assumes six-minute headways on the light-rail extension; that cadence would produce an estimated 20 trains per peak period through the shared corridor in the full-build scenarios and up to 25 train events per peak period when Metrolink and freight are counted.

Why it matters: Metro officials said the narrow width of the railroad right-of-way through San Fernando makes the four-track option especially challenging. Metro showed maps and scenarios that indicated possible impacts to city property including the police station, Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park and green space along San Fernando Middle School; staff identified a change in right-of-way width from about 100 feet to roughly 80 feet just north of Jesse Wolfskill as a constraint. With gates that must close for trains in a shared railroad right-of-way, Metro said at-grade operation of light rail would cause frequent gating that could produce long delays for motorists unless crossings were grade-separated.

City reaction and next steps: Councilmembers pushed Metro to prioritize safety and to bring early design work for crossing improvements back to the Metro board. Councilmember Joel Fajardo told Metro he feared frequent closures would harm day-to-day livability: "...livability in the city and having these, areas closed off for multiple times throughout the day. It's just impractical for anyone to live that way," he said. Councilmember Victoria Garcia and others asked for clearer, more visual outreach materials and requested Metro expand door-to-door and multi-lingual notices so San Fernando residents can engage. Metro said it will pursue summer outreach events, release more materials in English and Spanish and return with refined recommendations after public input and additional technical work.

Ending: Metro staff encouraged residents to review materials and attend upcoming outreach events. Councilmembers asked staff to continue coordinating closely with Metro and to push for safety upgrades at crossings whether or not a rail extension proceeds.