On Thursday, Los Angeles Metro turned the volume down on the classical music playing at Westlake/MacArthur Park Station.
For weeks, Adrián Berenguer's ‘Immaterial,’ a dark, four-minute classical string composition, had been blasting throughout the station at near concert-level volumes.
Metro began playing classical music at the station in late February after it was deemed a “hot spot for homelessness following the deaths of more than 20 people (mostly of overdoses) on city buses and trains in the first two months of this year. Surveys also show that many commuters feel less safe riding Metro.
The music is part of a larger strategy to reduce crime and overdoses at the station, including closing off one of the entrances, hiring transit ambassadors, installing brighter lighting and cameras, and partnering with health providers. Officials say they're already seeing a reduction in "graffiti, vandalism, loitering, and trash/clean-up incidents" due to these efforts.
On Thursday morning, a playlist of mostly piano compositions played at a much lower volume than earlier in the week, while transit ambassadors walked the platform. The sound of incoming trains was louder than the music. And it was so faint in parts of the station that you could barely hear it.