Bellflower — On Jan. 22, at the Mayne Event Center in Bellflower, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, LA Metro leadership, and a coalition of local leaders, unveiled the “Southeast Gateway Line” as the new name for the light rail line that will be built from Downtown Los Angeles through Southeast LA and the Gateway Cities to Artesia.
The project has long been known as the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor—a name that has confused residents and elected leaders alike. Supervisor Hahn has said that the bad name has prevented the project from getting the attention and funding it deserves.
The “Southeast Gateway Line” won a six-month renaming contest launched by Supervisor Hahn in partnership with LA Metro. Over 1,100 people submitted name ideas and 4,500 voted for their favorites.
The Southeast Gateway Line, which will break ground this summer, will connect southeast LA County to Downtown Los Angeles from Artesia through Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, and Vernon to Union Station. Nearly half the residents in the neighborhoods that will be served by this line live below the poverty level, including one-in-five residents who are transit dependent and don’t have access to their own car.
The Southeast Gateway Line was included in both voter-approved sales tax measures Measure R and Measure M with nearly $2 billion in local sales tax going toward its construction.