Culver City is a city located in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 38,816. The community is virtually surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. Although the city is mostly unremarkable, its streets should be very familiar to most Americans. Due to its proximity to the movie studios, the city's streets have been featured in countless films and TV shows. Since the early 1980s, plans had been in the works to begin light rail service from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City on the former Pacific Electric Railroad right-of-way along Exposition and National Boulevards, but lawsuits by Cheviot Hills residents over noise issues had delayed the project for a quarter-century. Groundbreaking is planned to finally begin in 2006, with the rail line completed to Culver City by 2010. Current plans call for a 9.6-mile line serving the University of Southern California and Exposition Park, and extending along the Metro-owned Exposition right-of-way from the existing Metro Rail station at 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles to Venice/Washington in downtown Culver City.