A draft environmental impact report published by the City of Beverly Hills unveils new details for plans to add a second entrance to the under construction Wilshire/Rodeo subway station.

The underground station, now being built as part of the second phase of Metro's Purple Line extension, will in fact be located at Beverly Drive - one block east of namesake Rodeo Drive.  The station, as approved by the Metro Board in 2012, will place its entrance at the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Reeves Drive.

Planning for a second entrance at Wilshire/Rodeo Station began in 2018, when the City of Beverly Hills approached Metro regarding the possibility of adding another portal to serve the Golden Triangle neighborhood.  The second entrance, located on the north side of Wilshire, would allow pedestrians easier access to the busy shopping and commercial district.

Three locations for the entrance are being considered as part of the environmental study:

  • the northwest corner of Wilshire and Beverly;
  • the northwest corner of Wilshire and Canon Drive; and
  • the construction staging area between Canon and Crescent Drives.

Each of the options would present a glass-enclosed space at street level, similar to the new stations on Metro's Crenshaw/LAX Line.  Each would include two elevators, a stairway, an escalator, and in the case of the staging yard alternative - public restrooms.  The staging yard site could also accommodate a second escalator, should the City acquire an adjoining property to the west.

Estimated construction timelines vary across the alternatives, with starting dates between 2022 and 2024, and anticipated completion dates ranging from 2024 to 2026.  The station itself is scheduled to open in 2025.

The roughly nine-mile subway extension is split into three segments, with full completion to the Westwood Veterans Administration Campus anticipated in 2026.  Wilshire/Rodeo will be one of two stops in Beverly Hills city limits, the other of which is scheduled to open in 2023 at Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevard as part of the project's first phase.

While litigation between Metro and the Beverly Hills Unified School District has plagued the subway extension for more than a decade, the transit agency has forged a more cooperative relationship with the City of Beverly Hills.  Earlier this year, the City permitted an extended closure of Wilshire Boulevard to speed construction of the project, citing reduced traffic congestion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.