Category Archives: Inside Metro

Voice your opinion on Metro bus service at service council meetings

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Want to have a say in Metro’s bus service? One of the best ways to do thatis to attend and participate in Metro monthly Service Council meetings.

Nearly10 years ago, the Metro Board created five regional service councils. Theywere formed to bring service planning closer to the people we serve and to make it more convenient for the public to be involved with service planning decisions for Metro bus service in their area. The five regions served by Metro service councils are:

•Gateway cities (Southeast L.A. County)

•San Fernando Valley

•San Gabriel Valley

•South Bay

•Westside/Central

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Starting in August, we’ll post a story here on The Source every month highlighting some of the more interesting agenda items planned for each Council’s agenda. Each council meets on a monthly basis to receive various reports on Metro service issues, and to hear public input on service within each service council’s area.

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Metro Rail ridership surges in June

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The ridership numbers for Metro buses and trains for June 2012 have been released. The gist of it: bus ridership is flat (but with increases on the Silver Line and Orange Line), rail ridership is way up and overall the system didn’t reach the number of boardings in June 2010 or June 2011.

On the rail side, the new Expo Line helps explain some of the increases with weekday boardings increasing to an average of 16,569 in June even though the Farmdale and Culver City stations did not open until June 20. There was about an average of 11,000 weekday boardings in May.

There were also significant gains on Metro’s other four rail lines. Here are the charts and here is the web page with all the stats.

Rail Systemwide Ridership Estimates

June 2012 June 2011 June 2010
Average Weekday Boardings 362,904 321,626 326,663
Average Saturday Boardings 209,858 196,284 197,972
Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings 163,934 155,082 169,990
Total Calendar Month Boardings 9,326,015 8,481,237 8,658,429

Bus – Systemwide

June 2012 June 2011 June 2010
1,123,977 1,156,643 1,156,866
Average Saturday Boardings 771,183 764,436 785,518
Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings 572,376 557,394 583,356
Total Calendar Month Boardings 29,748,939 30,733,462 30,926,539

Systemwide Ridership Estimates

June 2012 June 2011 June 2010
Average Weekday Boardings 1,486,882 1,478,269 1,483,528
Average Saturday Boardings 981,041 960,719 983,490
Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings 736,309 712,476 753,346
Total Calendar Month Boardings 39,074,954 39,214,699 39,584,968

 

 

Roscoe Station artwork installed!

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20 foot-long art panel installed at Roscoe Station. There are three art panels at this station.

The Orange Line Extension opened last month. Here are a few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses and 20-foot-long art panels designed by Sam Erenberg for Roscoe Station that we didn’t get posted before the opening. More information about the artwork is available here.

See images from the installations at Sherman Way, Canoga, Nordhoff and Chatsworth Stations.

Art panel being installed

Art panel being installed

Thousands of tiny pieces of hand-cut mosaics are installed at one of the new platforms at Roscoe Station

Detail of twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork being installed at Roscoe Station

Metro committee to consider contract for Union Station Master Plan

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Union Station’s main hall. Photo via Metro Transportation Library and Archive flickr photostream.

Here’s a quick update on an issue that we know a lot of Source readers are interested in: The Metro Board of Directors Planning & Programming Committee will consider authorizing a contract with L.A.–based design firm Gruen Associates to carry out the Union Station Master Plan. The meeting — details here — will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m at Metro headquarters.

The item will also be considered by the full Metro Board of Directors, which will make the final determination on awarding the contract.

As many readers know, Metro purchased Union Station last year from a private logistics firm and then invited a number of design firms to convince Metro that they were up to the task of developing a comprehensive vision for Union Station.

In short, the goal is to plan for Union Station’s maturation into a world class transit center. The plan will include consideration of how to improve transit connections at the region’s main transit hub; how to improve bike and pedestrian connections to the station; and how to develop the considerable station-area property that Metro now owns.

More information on the agenda item and background on the master planning process are below:

June 20, 2012 Planning and Programming Committee Meeting Agenda Item 5

Art for the Expo Line: Unknowable Origins by Tom LaDuke

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Art panel installed in its new home on the station platform

Tom LaDuke’s artwork for Culver City Station expresses a dreamlike vision of Culver City and honors those who had an influence on its development. Panels above the seating areas center on icons from the city seal—a bear, a flower, a motion picture industry camera and the sun, while gateway arches present panoramic views of the city as seen from surrounding hillside viewpoints.

Abstracted face shapes of historic, political and entertainment industry notables that have influenced the city appear in each of the art panels. These include entertainers like Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball, and the city founder, Harry Culver. Their placement is determined by the notes of a musical score, composed by the artist while riding the train.

(Here’s a link to more information about LaDuke’s work for Culver City Station.)

Two of the seating module art panels at the fabricator’s shop. The panel on the left shows a motion picture industry camera, and the panel on the right depicts the sun.

Art panels being loaded onto a crate, ready to be transported to Culver City Station.

Art panel hanging from a crane during installation.

Other Art for the Expo Line stories on the Source:

All in a Day by Michael Massenburg
Engraved in Memory by Daniel Gonzalez
LA Metro Lotería by Jose Lozano
Urban Dualities by Samuel Rodriguez
The Intimacy of Place by Christofer Dierdorff
Ephemeral Views by Ronald Llanos
On Saturdays by Robbert Flick
Neighborhood Reconstructed by Jessica Polzin McCoy
Willie Middlebrook’s Designs for Expo/Crenshaw Station

How to find information about Metro

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Metro fields questions everyday about the agency. Many questions are routine and concern the operation of Metro’s bus and rail lines.

Others, however, aim to get a deeper understanding of how the agency works. In many cases, journalists, citizens, community groups and private businesses use the state Public Records Act seeking information about contracts, ridership data, employee salaries and correspondence dealing with policy decisions.

Like many other government agencies, Metro has in recent years put a lot of information online — more than many people may know about and perhaps not as much as others would like. Not all the information is easy to find and that’s something Metro is trying to improve upon.

In the meantime, here’s a guide to finding some of that information (Journalists should always check with Metro’s media relations department to ensure the information is the most current.):

•Basic facts: The online “Facts At A Glance” provides a good overview about the size of the Metro fleet, ridership, budget and the like. http://www.metro.net/news/facts-glance/

•Salaries: The California State Controller actually has a website with salary information on hundreds of public entities throughout the State.  Here is where you can find Metro’s salary information: http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/CompensationDetail.aspx?entity=SpecialDistrict&id=15551907000&year=2010&GetCsu=False. Metro’s website also includes a page showing the salaries of the agency’s top executives. http://www.metro.net/about/board/executive-compensation/

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Art for the Expo Line: All in a Day by Michael Massenburg

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Los Angeles poet Nikki Blak is pictured in one of the artwork designs for Farmdale Station

Michael Massenburg’s artwork for Farmdale Station draws on the rich history of Dorsey High School and the surrounding community to illustrate the many people who have contributed to the area’s growth and cultural life. Massenburg uses mixed media techniques, applying paint in several layers and colors to create a dynamic, textured visual field.

(Here’s a link to more information about Massenburg’s work for Farmdale Station.)

Colored glass is separated into tiny mosaic pieces using a specialized hammer, then matched to the original artwork design.

More photos are after the jump!

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Ramp Jam Live Chat June 15. Send in advance questions

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Wondering how you will survive the Wilshire ramps closure set to begin June 22 and last about a year? In advance of the planned 90-day closure for reconstruction of the first two Wilshire ramps at the I-405, Board of Supervisors Chairman and Metro Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky will hold an interactive Live Chat from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, June 15.

You can join the chat live at metro.net and/or you can send in advance questions to livechat@metro.net.

Here’s your chance to ask Zev and members of the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project team questions about the closures that are expected to create additional Westside congestion as all eight Wilshire ramps are consecutively demolished and rebuilt over the next year or more.

Here are a couple of charts that show how many cars are using the 405 in both directions at Wilshire — the exact reason Metro is trying to prepare everyone for traffic in the area.

New artist opportunities along the Expo Line

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Metro Expo Line, Phase 2

Metro Expo Line: Phase 2 – Seven New Rail Stations

Artists are invited to submit qualifications for exciting art opportunities at seven future Metro Rail stations in Los Angeles County. One artist will be selected for each station. These are ideal opportunities for both emerging and established artists with a background in two-dimensional media and an interest in public art. Prior public art experience is not a requirement.

For more information, Download the Call to Artists.

Deadline:  Monday, July 2, 2012

Metro Expo Line: Phase 2 – Iconic Sculpture Opportunity

Artists are invited to submit qualifications for a major art opportunity at the forthcoming Metro Rail terminus station in Santa Monica. This is a prime opportunity for artists with significant experience in public art to create a sculptural artwork in a highly prominent station location.

For more information, Download the Call to Artists.

Deadline:  Monday, July 9, 2012

ZevWeb features odyssey of Metro's rail team

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Supervisor Yaroslavsky's website features Metro's first all-female team of operators to compete in the APTA International Rail Rodeo. Image is a screen shot from Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's website: zev.lacounty.gov

Supervisor Yaroslavsky's website features Metro's first all-female team of operators to compete in the APTA International Rail Rodeo. Image is a screen shot from Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's website: zev.lacounty.gov

As seen in the latest edition of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s Weekly Web Flash: They were the first operators to board the new Expo Line for the testing runs. On opening day, Operator Carolyn Kelly was behind the controls in the cab of the inaugural train that broke through the banner at the Expo Park/USC Station. Operator Sheila Celestain was holding the banner, train right. A few days later, the top performers scored first and second at Metro’s Rail Rodeo, a local competition that showcases rail operating skills and also determines the team who will represent Metro at the International Rail Rodeo put on by the American Public Transportation Association. This weekend, the operator team, along with top-scoring maintenance technicians Charley Houck, Blue Line Fleet Services, and Jose Padilla and Alan Addie, both of Green Line Fleet Services, are in Dallas for the Internationals, taking on rail teams from across the nation and Canada. Go Metro!

Operator Carolyn Kelly is at the controls of the inaugural train at the opening of the Expo Line. Operator Sheila Celestain, at left, is holding the banner. Barely visible, holding banner at right, is the third original Expo Line operator, Narvolean Jackson.

Operator Carolyn Kelly is at the controls of the inaugural train at the opening of the Expo Line. Operator Sheila Celestain, at left, is holding the banner. Barely visible, holding banner at right, is the third original Expo Line operator, Narvolean Jackson.