And the Gold Line Runs … for a While
‘The Best-Laid Schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang Aft Agley’ From ‘Tae a Moose’ by Rabbie Burns
By Susan Motander
As the great Scots poet Robert Burns noted, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” (rough translation from the Scots by this writer). Such was the case with the Gold Line opening. After all the dignitaries had an opportunity to congratulate each other on bringing the extension of the Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa on time and within budget, and after the ribbon had been cut, and after thousand lined up throughout the afternoon and evening last Saturday, the line was shut down from Arcadia to Pasadena for almost 24 hours.
In the early morning hours of Sunday a big rig lost control going westbound on the 210 Freeway, jumped the center divider, and damaged the light right line. Fortunately no trains were involved and the driver of the truck was able to walk away. According to the Pasadena Fire Department, the truck was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived at the scene.
The car pool and left lane were closed on the westbound 210 Freeway until late afternoon on Sunday, but the Gold Line was forced to bus passengers from the Arcadia Station into Pasadena all day Sunday and into Monday. Fortunately, repairs were made to the line and it was able to open for commuter service on Monday as planned.
Thousands had lined up just hours before to ride the train from the new stations into Pasadena and some all the way into downtown Los Angeles. Everyone rode for free on Saturday from noon until midnight. According to Metro, more than 30,000 riders crowded onto the trains to make the initial runs.
In each of the cities, parties were held at the stations to celebrate the coming of the Gold Line with Azusa holding its party only at the downtown station. And the parties were a multi-cultural experience. There were dragon dancers and tacos in Duarte, Sriracha ice cream in Irwindale, and model trains in Arcadia. Azusa was more traditional with apple pie (after all they do have everything from A to Z in the USA). In Monrovia, Samuelson Fetter laid out the plans for refurbishing the old Santa Fe Depot and building a new apartment complex, while Paul Kalemkiarian showed the plans for his artisanal center near the station.
There was live music at each party with spontaneous dancing breaking out every station party. And there were children everywhere, many of them enjoying their first train rides. Lines were long for boarding the trains and at times riders were packed in like sardines into the cars. But despite the delays, for the most part, people remained friendly and calmly waited in line, sometimes for as much as an hour and a half.
