If you haven’t yet voted, please do so. The Westwood station, by most accounts, promises to be one of the most heavily used in the Metro system and I’m very curious about the issue of location.

If you want some more background on the issue, here’s a post from earlier this week that explains it in bullet points.

As we approach the noon hour, results are certainly mixed with 47.6% of voters favoring Wilshire & Westwood, 24.6% under Lot 36 and 26.4% saying the station needs to be closer to the UCLA campus. Among those who voted for “other” the suggestions ranged from between Lot 36 and Wilshire & Westwood to a couple of votes for Wilshire & Le Conte Avenue — which is one mile east of Wilshire & Westwood.

Email your comments to sourcemetro@gmail.com or one of our other channels — Metro’s Twitter account, Metro’s Facebook page or the Westside Subway Extension’s Facebook page.

From Matt, via email:

I believe the choice should be Wilshire/Westwood for this station. It will result in a slightly shorter/faster line, it is in the heart of Westwood and will provide a better anchor and support for the struggling Village. Lot 36 is too far West to directly link well with the Village along with the many high-rises on Wilshire. Let’s remember too that there are many people living and traveling to points east of Westwood Blvd. and Lot 36 is that much more inconvenient for them. For such an important station, we have to be willing to put up with the inconvenience of construction for correct long-term placement.
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Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the librarys blog.

Balloons and an office chair (The Story)

This may not be the type of transportation you’re looking for — but it’s a great story about getting right, albeit in an nontraditional manner. In May, Jonathan Trappe became the first person to cross the English Channel by sailing underneath a big cluster of helium-filled balloons. In this fantastic radio interview, Trappe explains how he became obsessed with the idea of taking flight while sitting in an office chair tied to a bunch of balloons. It’s kind of like the movie “Up,” but without all that annoying sad stuff.

Turtles and the oil (The Story)

On the same program as the above segment, this is an interview with David Godfrey, a conservationist who has frantically been trying to save sea turtles from the giant BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If you want to see how much ground (actually, water) a leatherback turtle can cover, check out this great map, built with data collected from a turtle wearing a radio transmitter.

In praise of the Eco Pass (Riding in Riverside blog)

A very smart blog entry looks at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s efforts to sell deeply discounted transit passes to employers and even clumps of residences in an effort to get more people to take public transit. Homeowner associations, apartment buildings and condo associations can even buy the discounted passes. I don’t know anything about this — but I think it’s certainly something Fred and I will be looking into. Here’s the Eco Pass website.

‘Why I Ride‘ is a series where Metro employees share their transit routines – read more about the concept here.

Name: Paula Faust
Position: TAP Adminstrator

How often do you take transit?

Five days a week. On rare occasions I do have to drive my car. Not very happy about that.

If so, what lines/routes?

I live in Lakewood and take the Blue Line to the Red Line into my job at the Gateway building.

Are you car-free? If so, why? If not, why not?

Not completely car –free. I use transit for my commute to work. However, my family (husband and three kids, son-23, two girls, 19 and 17 and I) use transit to go to fun places on the weekend, Hollywood, LA Live, Staples Center, Hollywood Bowl, Coliseum for USC Football Games, Universal City Walk. )

Do you use any other alternative transportation (bicycle, rideshare, etc)?

Not really.

What is your job at Metro?

I work with the TAP program.

Do you think being a regular Metro rider is important to your job?

Absolutely. It gives me one of the best perspectives of how, why and to whom Metro provides service to in Los Angeles County.

Why do you love transit?

I LOVE how much I am saving in gas! I also was able to reduce my car insurance because I only drive to the train station and back. The predictability of the train also sets a good tone for my workday. I don’t have to leave it up to the unpredictability of traffic whether my day is going to start out on the wrong foot.

Is there anything else you’d like to add (anecdote, advice, etc)?

I moonlight as a standup comic, so I find my daily rides very inspirational to say the least.

Welcome to the weekend – the perfect opportunity to Go Metro. Why? Because of all the Metro accessible events, like the X-Games, free concerts just off the Gold Line, a neighborhood fair in Los Feliz and a collective jam (the kind you put on toast) making session at LACMA.

Have an event you’d like us to include? Shoot us an email at thesource@metro.net. Time and space constraints limit us from listing every accessible event in this city, but this curated list represents what we think is cool and easy to get to.

To plan your trip and to check all other transit options, please consult Google Transit or the Metro Trip Planner.

Blue = Friday, Red = Saturday, Green = Sunday. View Go Metro Weekends, July 30-August 1 in a larger map

Friday, July 30

DESTINATION DISCOUNT AVAILABLE
X-Games
The world’s best action-sports athletes in competition.
Website: http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/summer/2010/
When: Friday 10:45am-8:30pm, Saturday 11am-8:45pm, Sunday 10:45am-8pm
Price: $9 and up
Where: L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Nearby Metro Rail: Blue Line Pico Station
Nearby Metro Bus Stops: Figueroa/Olympic (28, 81, 439, 728, Silver Line)

DESTINATION DISCOUNT AVAILABLE
Non Stop Bhangra at Levitt Pavilion
Punjabi folk music and dance with eclectic DJ’s spinning a mix of bhangra and hiphop.
Website: http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/summer-calendar-2010.html
When: 8pm
Price: FREE
Where: Levitt Pavillion
Nearby Metro Rail: Gold Line Memorial Park Station
Nearby Metro Bus Stops: Walnut/Raymond (264/267)

Sergio Mendes at The Hollywood Bowl
Groove to the Brazilian rhythms of Sergio Mendes playing his timeless hits and cuts from his new CD.
Website: http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/
When: Friday 8:30pm, Saturday 8:30pm
Price: $10 – $156
Where: The Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue
Nearby Metro Rail: Red Line Hollywood/Highland Station (Transfer to Bowl Shuttle), Red Line Universal City Station (Transfer to Bowl Shuttle)

Downtown Music Project
A free concert crawl in Downtown L.A. featuring shows at various venues.
Website: http://downtownmusicproject.com/
When: 6pm
Price: FREE
Where: Various Downtown L.A. locations, see website for more info
Nearby Rail: Red/Purple/Blue Line 7th Street Metro Center Station, Blue Line Pico Station, Red/Purple Line Civic Center Station, Red/Purple Line Pershing Square

Free Friday Night Jazz at LACMA
Featuring Sara Gazarek.
Website: http://www.lacma.org/programs/fridaynightjazz.aspx
Type: Music
When: 6pm
Price: FREE
Where: LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Nearby Metro Bus Stops: Wilshire/Fairfax (20, 217, 720, 780, 920)

The rest of the weekend’s events, after the jump.
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Photo by ipsofatso, via Flickr

I had to look close at this shot before I realized it’s actually four different images that were taken with a multi-lens camera. The technique is often referred to as super-sampling and this photographer did a nice job of framing a Gold Line train at its platform at Union Station.

This, by the way, is our second local image used this week in our ‘art of transit’ series. Since it’s an indisputable fact that Southern Californians are the Most Creative People on Earth, it would be great if we could feature more local work. But I’m not going to run something because it’s local. It’s gotta be really good — and both Fred and I are very, very, very picky!

If you would like to a submit a photo or photos of something transportation-related, post them to Metro’s Flickr group or email them to sourcemetro@gmail.com. The photos we’ve featured can be seen in these galleries on Flickr. Or click on the ‘art of transit’ below to view our daily posts.

Page one of the letter. Click to see larger image.

Nine members of the House of Representatives with districts in Los Angeles County have signed a letter supporting the 30/10 Initiative to build a dozen transit projects in the next 10 years instead of the next 30. The letter is to Sen. Barbara Boxer, who chairs a key Senate committee and has already said she supports the 30/10 plan.

Page two of the letter. Click to see larger image.

The signees included Jane Harman (who was on board early with 30/10), Xavier Becerra, Linda Sanchez, Laura Richardson, Howard Berman, Brad Sherman, Judy Chu, Henry Waxman and Lucille Roybal-Allard.

But there are 18 House districts in Los Angeles County. So let’s do the math on that:

9 ÷ 18 = .5 or 50% of local delegation signed the letter

Interesting! I’m not sure if that means the cup is half full or half empty, given that elements of 30/10 will need Congressional approval and local support may help.

The 30/10 Initiative proposes to use other federal loans and other financing to accelerate construction of the transit projects, all of which are set to receive funding from the Measure R sales tax increase approved by county voters in 2008.

The money would be paid back using Measure R revenues. The idea of the program is to get all this stuff built now while construction costs are down. The other idea is to create a lot of jobs while building some sorely needed mass transit.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a press release Thursday praising the nine members who signed the letter. The 30/10 plan was conceived by Villaraigosa and later adopted as the official policy of Metro by the agency’s Board of Directors.

The list of L.A. County’s Congressional delegation is posted after the jump, along with their contact information in case you feel like expressing your views on 30/10 to any of them. You can also cross-reference the list to the letter and figure out who didn’t sign! A map of the 30/10 projects is also after the jump. 
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A rendering of the Farmdale station. Source: Expo Line Construction Authority.

A new Expo Line station for Farmdale Avenue that is adjacent to Dorsey High School was unanimously approved by the California Public Utilties Commission on Thursday, paving the way for completion of the first phase of the project between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City.

A new map of the Expo Line showing the location of the Farmdale station. Click above to see a larger image.

It is expected that the line will first partially open as soon as next year, before finally reaching Culver City.

The PUC approval puts to rest a long-running dispute over how the Expo Line navigates the Dorsey High area. Original plans did not call for a stop at Farmdale. But the Los Angeles Unified School District and some members of the community protested that a street-running line next to the school could pose a danger to students. Several alternatives were looked at — such as a pedestrian bridge over the tracks and a bridge for the train over the street — and ultimately rejected in favor of adding a station.

The station configuration, shown above, ensures that all trains will have to stop before crossing Farmdale. In a related move, the Board of Directors of Metro last week approved spending the $18 million needed to build the new station.

Here’s a link to the proposed decision on Farmdale that was issued by an administrative law judge in June. The vote today was to accept that proposed decision.

The press release from the Expo Line Construction Authority — the agency building the line — is after the jump. Metro will the operate the line once it’s completed.
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Following six nights of Sunset Bridge demolition work that began Friday, July 23, the contractor for the northbound I-405 Sepulveda Pass carpool lane project will continue the demolition of the bridge for one additional night to remove center columns.

The work is anticipated to start tonight, July 29, for one night only between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Two nights of abutment demolition work will follow a month later.

There will be no full freeway closures for this added work but traffic lane reduction in the area of the I-405 and Sunset Boulevard will be implemented both north and south along the I-405 Freeway.

Ramp closures on the Sunset Bridge will be coordinated with Caltrans with ramp closures starting as early at 7 p.m. tonight. Pedestrians will be rerouted to an area outside the construction zone and traffic control officers will be on site to direct traffic.

Emergency access will be maintained on the bridge at all times. Detour maps are available at www.metro.net/405.

Demolition and subsequent reconstruction of the bridge – one of three bridges planned for replacement in the area – is the first major construction milestone for the 10-mile, $1 billion I-405 improvements project.  The replacement of the bridge is required to build a new northbound high-occupancy vehicle lane between the I-10 and U.S. 101 freeways.   Bridge columns will be repositioned to accommodate the additional freeway lane created by the project.  
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Eight passengers and a train operator were killed last summer when a Washington Metro train ran into a stopped train that was ahead of it on the tracks. The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings this week, saying that the crash was caused by “a failure of the track circuit modules that caused the automatic train control (ATC) system to lose detection of one train, allowing a second train to strike it from the rear.” Here’s the press release.

The NTSB’s synopsis of safety recommendations specifically stated this:

To Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transportation Authority, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Chicago Transit Authority:

Work with Alstom Signaling Inc. to establish periodic inspection and maintenance procedures to examine all GRS audio frequency track circuit modules to identify and remove from service any modules that exhibit pulse-type parasitic oscillation.

Here is Metro CEO Art Leahy’s response to the findings from his daily email to Metro staff:

Following up on yesterday’s release of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on last summer’s fatal train collision in Washington, D.C. that was caused when the automatic signal system failed to detect a stopped train, the Associated Press (AP) has published an article. It summarizes the 40 conclusions and 34 recommendations in the NTSB report; MTA staff is analyzing those items in depth.

Today, our staff produced a comparison of MTA’s approach to the approach taken by Washington, D.C. before the accident. The NTSB is urging other properties that use similar train detection systems, including Los Angeles, to replace them, and in the meantime “to establish periodic inspection and maintenance procedures to examine all (similar) audio frequency track circuit modules to identify and remove from service any modules that exhibit pulse-type parasitic oscillation.” The reporter was told that only segment 1 for the subway (downtown LA) has a similar system and Metro already is in the process of replacing it at a cost of $1.3 million. This should be accomplished within the next 12 months. We’ve been in touch with NTSB and they approve our efforts.
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