Some news today about parking on the Gold Line extension to Azusa:

•An extra rail car will be added to four Gold Line trains during weekday peak hours in the morning and evening to help with crowds. We know the trains have sometimes been very crowded during the height of the rush hour and hopefully this will take the edge off. Metro staff will be monitoring ridership so that the longer trains can be deployed when the most needed.

•Metro will soon be putting parking attendants at APU/Citrus College, Azusa Downtown and Irwindale stations between 5:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on weekdays. The attendants will be helping patrons find spots at each station or direct them to another

station where there is parking available. And to answer your next question: yes, the attendants will be talking to one another to monitor space availability at the garages.

The attendants will also have another key role: prevent people who aren’t using Metro from parking in Metro spaces in the garages. In addition, attendants will be posting signs when stations fill and will have direction handouts to help patrons find the other garages.

•Also, Metro staff were at each of the stations on Tuesday and Wednesday counting how many cars were parked. As you can see from the chart below, the main challenge is at the two most eastern stations, Azusa Downtown and APU/Citrus College. Irwindale seems to be the better option.

Irwindale Station is located just south of the 210 freeway on Irwindale Avenue. It’s about 2.3 miles from Azusa Downtown Station if you take Foothill Boulevard to Irwindale Avenue. Or stay on the 210 freeway, exit Irwindale Avenue and turn south.

Interestingly — and not surprisingly — the parking at the six new stations seems to have taken some of the pressure of the Sierra Madre Villa Station garage that until Saturday was the previous final Gold Line Station.

Here are some tips for parking at the new stations or reaching them by other means:

Get there early. Arrive as early as you can to get your parking spot. While there are about 1,500 parking spaces available at six different stations, some stations, especially those in Azusa, are filling up early every morning.

Try another station. See the chart above.

Share the Ride. Carpool with a buddy or workmate to the station and ride the train together.

Kiss and Ride. Have someone drop you off at the station. Each station has a convenient passenger drop-off area.

Walk to the station. If you live close to the station, try walking instead. Each station features pedestrian-friendly improvements like enhanced crosswalks, sidewalks, pedestrian street lights, benches and ramps.

Ride a bike. Each station has up to 20 bike racks and 24 bike lockers for bicycle commuters.

Take a bus. There are numerous Metro, Foothill Transit and city-operated bus and shuttle lines that will bring you to new Gold Line stations from surrounding communities. Below is a complete list of connecting bus lines as well as other key station information:

Arcadia: Metro Line 79, Metro Line 487, Foothill Transit 187 and Arcadia Transit, which will operate a free (until June) shuttle bus running between the Gold Line, Santa Anita Park, Methodist Hospital, Westfield Mall and the Los Angeles County Arboretum (see below for map and timetable).

Monrovia: Metro Line 264, Metro Line 270, Foothill Transit 494. The city is also adding a shuttle between the station and Old Town Monrovia that will run on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tonight is the first night of service. It’s $1 or free with a TAP card. Catch the bus at the turnaround on Primrose Avenue, next to the parking garage. The schedule is at the bottom of the post.

Duarte/City of Hope: Metro Line 264, Metro Line 270, Foothill Transit 272, Duarte Transit Green and Blue lines (see below for map and timetable).

Irwindale: Foothill Transit 185.

Azusa Downtown: Foothill Transit 185, 187, 280, 494 and 496.

APU/Citrus College: Foothill Transit 187, 281, 284, 488.

Here’s the information on the bus systems in Arcadia and Duarte, both of which serve the new Gold Line station:

Related

Photos: Gold Line Foothill Extension’s opening day

Readers react to Gold Line’s first weekday commutes

Everything you need to know to be a regular Gold Line rider

Photo essay on the cities of the Foothill Extension

Watch the Gold Line Extension from the operator’s cab of a test train

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