Category Archives: Events

Go Metro to fifth CicLAvia featuring a new route and five new hubs

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New CicLAvia route for October 7 event

On Sunday, October 7, Los Angeles will celebrate its fifth CicLAvia, transforming 9.1 miles of normally congested streets into a car-free, linear park for strolling, biking, playing, and experiencing the city from a new perspective. The route for the October 7 CicLAvia offers a veritable grand tour of Los Angeles’ most celebrated attractions, connecting the world-class museums of Exposition Park with the architectural landmarks surrounding the newly completed Grand Park in the city’s civic center, where CicLAvia will converge with the inaugural celebration of the park’s performance lawn.

The route can be reached by four Metro Rail lines: the Red/Purple Line subway, the Blue Line, Expo Line and Gold Line in addition to Metrolink, which stops at Union Station near the CicLAvia route and connects to the MetroRail system. With many street closures in downtown L.A., Metro provides a good alternative to driving and parking. Here’s the Metro Rail map:

The upcoming CicLAvia comes a week after “Carmageddon II” September 29-30, during which 10 miles of I-405 were closed. Organizers anticipate that more than 100,000 Angelenos will happily leave their cars behind again in order to participate in CicLAvia.

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Golden Pylon Awards: Traffic reporters get some love from Southland transit agencies

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Winners of the 2012 Golden Pylon Awards: from left, carpooling team of Nora Wells and Sioux-z Jessup report traffic on several radio stations, Total Traffic L.A. powerhouse Nick Pagliochini, Metro's reigning 'Miss Traffic' Sofia Mach, KABC Air Watch Kalyna Astrinos, CHP Officer Juan Galvin, and KFWB veteran Rhonda Kramer.

Winners of the 2012 Golden Pylon Awards: from left, carpooling team of Nora Wells and Sioux-z Jessup report traffic on several radio stations, Total Traffic L.A. powerhouse Nick Pagliochini, Metro’s reigning ‘Miss Traffic’ Sofia Mach, KABC Air Watch Kalyna Astrinos, CHP Officer Juan Galvin, and KFWB veteran Rhonda Kramer.  (Click on images to enlarge view)

16th Annual Golden Pylon Awards spotlight true-grit traffic reporters whose on-air traffic talk keeps rush-hour commuters in the know about alternatives to solo driving. Awards are prelude to Rideshare Week Oct. 1 – 5 when commuters are invited to share the ride.

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Social media storms Hollywood

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These days practically everyone uses social media, but are you using it to its full potential? Find out the latest trends and how to make the most of social media at Social Media Week Los Angeles (SMWLA), taking place September 24 – 28 in Hollywood.

Check out the schedule of events to see which panels might tickle your fancy. Nearly all the events are free to attend, but if you want unlimited access to all events – including the opening reception and invite-only closing party – get the Premium Pass. Metro riders get a 15% discount when buying the pass.

For transit enthusiasts, Monday, September 24 might be the best day to attend. Metro’s own Lan-Chi Lam will be speaking at A City of Angels panel at 10:30 a.m. on how Metro has adopted social media. Former Source blogger and future urban planning mogul Carter Rubin will be at Nobody Walks in L.A. at 2:30 p.m. to discuss how social media helps connect people to local communities and city services (like public transportation).

SMWLA takes place in Hollywood at both the Egyptian Theatre, located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., and io/LA, located at 7083 Hollywood Blvd. The easiest way to get to both places is by taking the Red Line to Hollywood/Highland Station. Metro Bus 217 is another way to go; stop at Hollywood/La Brea for io/LA or Hollywood/Las Palmas for the Egyptian. Use Trip Planner to find the best route.

 

About 8,000 people rode Expo Line to USC game on Saturday

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Fans en route to the USC game on Saturday on the Expo Line. Photo by Marc Littman/Metro.

The ridership numbers from Metro are in and here’s the skinny: an estimated 8,000 people rode the Expo Line on Saturday to and from USC’s home opener against the University of Hawaii at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In addition, Metro estimates that 4,000 to 6,000 of those fans reached or traveled from the Expo Line via other Metro buses or trains. In total, there were about 22,000 boardings on Metro on Saturday related to the game.

USC is listing the attendance at the game at 93,607, which means that about 8.5 percent of those who went to the game were delivered there by the Expo Line.

The next USC home game is Saturday, Sept. 22, against Cal. The game time has yet to be announced.

Your playbook for taking Metro to USC football

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Tomorrow is a big — no make that huge — day for the Expo Line. The University of Southern California is opening its football season at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum as the number one ranked team in the country and the game against Hawaii is the first chance for Expo to take people to the game and avoid the usual traffic quagmire. (News release and video here).

Below you will find a very good guide put together showing how to take Metro trains and/or buses to reach the Coliseum from different parts of Los Angeles County (pdf here).

There is free or paid parking at a number of Metro Rail stations. Here's the link to parking info for each line. In addition, there are numerous public and private parking lots and garages near Metro Rail in Culver City (Expo Line), Hollywood (Red Line), Old Town Pasadena (Gold Line), Long Beach (Blue Line) and downtown Los Angeles (Red, Purple, Blue and Expo lines). There is also public parking at Union Station for $6 a day.

For those concerned that transit could put a crimp in their ability to tailgate, here's an idea: grab some food to go, arrive early and stake out a picnic spot in Exposition Park or on USC's campus. There's no eating or drinking on Metro trains or buses — it's the best way to keep them clean — but you can bring food in a bag.

Finally, give yourself a few extra minutes and load enough money to cover the cost of your fare on your way to the game; it will make leaving the game easier. It's obviously a big game for the Trojans for a whole lot of reasons and a huge crowd is expected. There will be significantly more trains running than usual, but there could still be lines, particularly after the game when everyone tries to head home at once. Metro will do its best to get everyone home safely and quickly.

Go Metro Guide to USC Football

 

If you didn't Go Metro to Jack White at Mariachi Plaza this afternoon, here are a few pics

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[UPDATED Aug 13, 4:00pm] Two videos added after the jump. Enjoy!

Much to everyone’s surprise, Jack White played an impromptu 20-minute show at Mariachi Plaza — above the Gold Line station — on this sweltering Friday afternoon. Here are some pics, courtesy of Mark Clifford:

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Go Metro to the Grand Park opening and get the chance to win a huge prize package

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A view of Grand Park in the late afternoon. Photos by Anna Chen/Metro

The first two blocks of downtown’s brand-new Grand Park - from Grand Avenue to Hill Street – will open to the public with a two-day celebration on July 28 and 29. Grand Park is just steps from Civic Center Station on the Red and Purple Lines and plenty of buses also have stops around the park, which means it’s easy to get there with Metro – and if you go Metro to the opening events, you’ll get the chance to win the Grand Avenue Prize Package!

Just show your Metro pass at the info booth on either Saturday, July 28 or Sunday, July 29 to enter for your chance to win. The Grand Avenue Prize Package includes:

July 28 also happens to be National Dance Day. Head to the park and get your dance on with Lauren Gottlieb, a “So You Think You Can Dance” All-Star, and Gina Grant from Zumba. The two ladies will lead the public in the official National Dance Day dance routines.

The National Dance Day Celebration lasts from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Afterward, enjoy free community dance classes and performances, a special performance by IRIS from Cirque du Soleil, other fun activities and food trucks for the rest of the day.

Festivities continue Sunday, July 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with Music in the Park. The inaugural musical event will feature regional musical performers presented by Grand Performances in partnership with The Music Center.

When the third block of Grand Park (from Hill St. to Broadway) opens later this summer, visitors exiting Civic Center Station will come out right in the middle of the park.

Wolfpack Hustle: 2012 Midnight Drag Race

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From state-champions to local big shots, there are tons of super fast cyclists that claim to be fastest of the fast. However, there’s only one way to settle who’s fit to be throned with the title as the fastest cyclist amongst the chatter of the cycling community, and that readers is through this year’s upcoming Wolfpack Hustle’s Midnight Drag Race.

Wolfpack Hustle, the very same local bike group that raced one of JetBlue’s planes to come out victorious during last year’s Carmageddon, and held one of the biggest underground races in the West Coast of the United States by crashing the L.A. Marathon Course last March, is back in action to thrill the cycling community once more this year.

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Rock the 1st of July at East L.A. Civic Center

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Sadly, we won’t be getting a government mandated three-day weekend this Fourth of July (if you’re taking three days off work anyway, good for you!), but that doesn’t mean the weekend is a total bust. There’s the Orange Line Extension opening events to look forward to on Saturday, and ArtsFest 2012 kicks off on Sunday with Rock the 1st of July.

Rock the 1st of July takes place at the East L.A. Civic Center, just steps from the Metro Gold Line station of the same name. The event includes a bike clinic, artwalk, food and refreshments, a veterans tribute and concerts. The day starts at 12 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. with a fireworks show.

Then, every Friday from July 6 to August 24, you can hit up the East L.A. Civic Center for a J.A.M. Session. Each Friday night J.A.M. Session features dancing and mucis from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A movie will be shown afterward, with additional movie showings on June 29 and August 31.

Other parks participating in ArtsFest 2012 include:

  • Rimgrove Park, July 10 and Aug 7 at 747 N. Rimgrove Drive, Valinda 91744
  • Valleydale Park, July 6, July 27 and Aug 24 at 5525 N. Lark Ellen Avenue, Azusa 91702
  • San Angelo Park, July 13 and July 27 at 245 San Angelo Avenue, La Puente 91746
  • Pellissier Village, Aug 11, location to be announced

 Use Trip Planner to plan the best route for you. The Metro Gold Line connects with the Red and Purple Lines at Union Station.

Celebrate the opening of the Orange Line extension on June 30!

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Metro will celebrate the opening of the Orange Line Extension with fun-filled family events at two stations on Saturday, June 30. Festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include food trucks, live music and much more.

Canoga Station

Chatsworth Station

  • ribbon cutting at 11 a.m.
  • community booths
  • food trucks – Fry Girl, The Lobos Truck, Just for the Halibut
  • petting zoo and pony rides for children provided by The Farm, first 20 children get a free pony ride
  • Iron Horse motorcycle and rider dress up competition at 12 p.m., first prize is a trophy and $100
  • live performances presented by Cowboy Palace – Country Gone Awry and Coldwater Canyon – and Metro Express
  • raffle to win bikes hosted by Cycle World
  • free bike valet provided by Cycle World
  • blood drive hosted by the Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Providence Blood Donor Center

Rides on the Orange Line Extension from Canoga Station to Chatsworth Station will be free both Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular fares will apply on all other Metro Rail, Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines and the rest of the Orange Line. Buses will only run on the extension from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. this weekend,the regular schedule starts on Monday, July 2.