[caligrad]

^^^ Yeah, metro is following old rail ROWs but the problem with doing it that way is that its a hit or miss which might be lowering potential ridership totals by missing all the key points of interest. Cheaper rail is never good rail. Like the green line extension. Its current route seems to be overly excited about the south bay galleria, a mall that has been struggling for a while now. Yeah its being partially torn down and turned into a mixed use project with excessive parking but, building transit on "Maybes" has never worked and the green line is the poster child of this and at aero space industry it will built to support.

Hawthorne Blvd. is probably one of the busiest streets in the south bay if not LA in general. Its northern end, it becomes La Brea. The Hawthorne portion is mostly straight, really wide, has all kinds of jobs and businesses along its route, not to mention the Del Amo mall and a straight shot to PCH which could eventually get its own rail line.

The northern end of Hawthorne gets a name change to La Brea, another dense corridor, full of businesses and land marks. A Hawthorne line could have its northern terminus be Hollywood blvd or the front door of the Chinese theater. Not to mention, it passes within less than half a mile of the forum, future football stadium and potentially a new NBA stadium in Inglewood. Its a no brainer line that would see high ridership but metro would rather zig zag endlessly and say "well at least we tried".