Public Transportation: Gateway Center coordinates Los Angeles transportation

A city like Los Angeles, which for years has had a reputation for horrendous traffic, must do all it can to improve the efficiency of its transportation systems.

City officials hope that part of the answer lies in the aesthetically pleasing Gateway Center, a 3.5 million-square-foot intermodal transit hub and commercial development located downtown, designed as part of the larger Alameda District Plan.

The center serves as both a business address and a transportation clearinghouse of sorts for motorists, bus passengers, pedestrians and riders of Amtrak and local commuter trains. It incorporates a linear plaza with generous doses of vegetation, as well as cafes and kiosks to offer commuters a change of pace. A unique waterfall twists around the exterior of an elevator shaft at the East Portal railroad station.

Phase I includes a 26-story office building that houses the headquarters of the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD), a 3,000-car parking garage, the Metrorail East Portal access, and Metro Plaza, a three-acre, landscaped open space reminiscent of a California arroyo environment.

At the East Portal, commuters can transfer from Amtrak, MetroLink Commuter Rail and the Metrorail Red and Blue lines to SCRTD buses on Metro Plaza.

The principal architect is Stanton Eckstut of New York-based Ehrenkrantz & Eckstut Architects, which designed Battery Park City on New York’s waterfront. The developer is San Francisco-based Catellus Development Corp.

Gateway Center, which will cost about $300 million, upon completion, is being paid for with federal funds and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bond revenues.