Category Archives: Transportation News

Art of Transit: Rosa Parks edition

Posted by
Photo: Library of Congress.

Rosa Parks being arrested for refusing to surrender her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955. Photo: Library of Congress.

Today is the 100th birthday of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, who in December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, reused to abide by the local bus company’s rules and surrender her seat to a white passenger.

Parks died in 2005 but her stand that day triggered the Montgomery bus boycott and, the next year, a Supreme Court ruling that upheld that segregation and discrimination on Montgomery buses violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The bus in which Rosa Parks made her famous stand is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. Below is the now famous photo of President Obama’s visit to the bus last spring. I especially like what he told the media about his few minutes aboard the bus:

“I just sat in there for a moment and pondered the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history but is also part of that long line of folks who sometimes are nameless, oftentimes didn’t make the history books, but who constantly insisted on their dignity, their share of the American dream,” the president said.

Photo: White House.

Photo: White House.


Alameda Corridor East: Construction begins on four-lane roadway underpass at busy El Monte intersection

Posted by

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos by Luis Inzunza

Federal, state, local and railroad officials today launched the start of constuction of a four-lane roadway underpass with a double-track railroad bridge to replace a congested railroad crossing on Baldwin Avenue in the City of El Monte.

The grade separation at Baldwin Avenue is a project of the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority (ACE), which works to mitigate the impacts of significant increases in rail traffic along this 70-mile stretch of the east Alameda Corridor. The ACE project consists of multiple construction projects including safety and mobility upgrades and grade separations, where the road goes over or under the railroad.

The railroad crossing is on Baldwin Avenue between Valley Boulevard and Lower Azuza Road. Baldwin Avenue is used daily by 28,000 vehicles, including significant truck traffic, and blocked by an average of 20 Union Pacific freight trains a day.

“The project will eliminate train delays, deadly crossing collisions and locomotive horn blasts, help improve the region’s air quality and create 1,370 jobs during the two years of construction,” noted ACE Chairman and San Gabriel Councilman David Gutierrez in his remarks.

Metro is a funding partner with the ACE program. Metro’s contribution to the Baldwin Avenue grade separation is $14.2 million.

Measure R funding of $400 million and $271 million from Proposition C is committed to the overall ACE program. With the Measure R funds, Metro’s total contribution of $671.4 million covers more than one-third of the overall estimated $1.6-billion Alameda Corridor East program.

Transportation headlines, Friday, Feb. 1

Posted by

Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.

Beijing air pollution. Photo by moemoe223/Flickr

Beijing air pollution. Photo by moemoe223/Flickr

Five trends to watch in China’s urban transportion saga (The City Fix)

China watching has become almost a competitive sport, which probably makes sense since our economies are so intertwined. Where transit issues are concerned, it’s  interesting to track (with a certain amount of jealousy) what China can get done in so little time, with fewer rules and regulations to observe. This two-part post suggests a couple of trends that just might pan out. And yes, a campaign against air pollution, involving an aggressively developing transit program, is on the list. There’s a predicted return to bikes, too — something of an irony, since until rather recently China was a nation of bicycles.

Five China trends — part 2

Biking etc.

Antonio Villaraigosa transportation cheat sheet (Streetsblog)

Will Mayor Villaraigosa get the Secretary of Transportation job? From the vantage point of L.A. news junkies, the quest looks like it could be bumpy. But you might want to check out Damian Newton’s post on Mayor V.’s transportation record. Charlie Sheen aside (and does Washington care about Charlie Sheen?), it’s pretty impressive.

Rethinking the gas tax (Transportation for America)

Suddenly the gas tax is the topic du jour in D.C. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since the per-gallon federal tax is so important to mobility. Major new proposals from all over are examining the tax. Which one will get the nod? Or will it be abandoned as old-fashioned and inept. Find out what some of the options could be and let us know which you think ought to get the green light.

Pasadena‘s first bicycle boulevard opens (Pasadena Sun)

Pasadena’s bicycle boulevard — only the second in L.A.County, according to the Sun — opened this week, stretching about three-quarters of a mile along Marengo Avenue. It’s  anchored on one end at Orange Grove Boulevard and the other end at Washington Boulevard …  a lovely ride and another opportunity for a little solitude.

Transportation headlines, Thursday, Jan. 31

Posted by

Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.

ART OF TRANSIT: Well, I've become what I once beheld, succumbing to the temptation to take photos of escalators in transit stations. This is the Red/Purple Lines Civic Center Station with the nearly completed canopy seen above. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

ART OF TRANSIT: Well, I’ve become what I once beheld, succumbing to the temptation to take photos of escalators in transit stations. This is the Red/Purple Lines’ Civic Center Station with the nearly completed canopy seen above. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

My apologies for the somewhat sporadic posting in the past few weeks — personal stuff.

FTA to streamline environmental review process (Welcome to the Fast Lane)

Outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says that for the first time in a quarter century, the Federal Transit Administration is taking steps to speed its review of transportation projects to ensure they comply with federal law. For example, projects in existing transportation corridors will no longer require the same high level of review as projects breaking new ground.

This is welcome news. I hope it works. I’ve certainly chirped in the past about the need to cut red tape and get studies done quicker — proposing to build a busway or light rail line along an existing street should not require five years of study to determine impacts are slight or beneficial. One reason studies take so long is that the FTA, by law, must constantly review them.

Exploring the course of the future Metro Expo Line (KCET) 

Eric Brightwell has a nice write-up with plenty of photos of the stations and surrounding environs of the six-mile second phase that will extend the train from Culver City to Santa Monica. Tip of the cap to Eric for including one of my fave Mexican food joints in the area, Gilbert’s El Indio, which is in Santa Monica at Pico and 26th and is a bike ride or stroll from the future 26th/Olympic Station. Carnitas plate: I salute you!

A tale of competing Century City high-rises (Curbed LA)

JP Morgan Chase has hired a lobbyist to create a group — “Save the Westside” — to prevent a 37-story high-rise office tower from being built next to the future Century City Purple Line subway station. The issue? JP Morgan Chase trying to save its bottom line; the firm is a property owner in Century City and apparently doesn’t welcome any more competition, according to the office of Councilman Paul Koretz.

A subway’s birthday: Happy 20th, Metro Red Line! (Militant Angeleno) 

Great post by the militant one on the subway’s opening in 1993 and what it was like to ride the train back in 1993 — when it was only seven minutes from end to end. He also makes an outstanding point about how dull and lifeless downtown Los Angeles was back in ’93 — and how the subway impacted one business in Westlake:

Within a few months, thousands of Downtown workers suddenly discovered that they were just 25 cents and a couple minutes away from the best pastrami in town, and injected new life into a once-floundering Westlake delicatessen, right across the street from the subway’s western terminus.

He speaks, of course, of Langers. In the spirit of a picture is worth a thousand words:

A Ruben pastrami. Photo by Michael Saechang, via Flickr creative commons.

A Ruben pastrami. Photo by Michael Saechang, via Flickr creative commons.

710 freeway coalition faces growing efforts against linking the route to 210 (Pasadena Sun)

Interesting article looking at groups for and against filling the gap in the 710 with a tunnel. Generally speaking, southern San Gabe Valley cities support the effort while those in the north oppose it. Metro is about to launch a draft environmental study for the project that is considering five alternatives: no-build, transportation systems improvements (i.e. signals and intersections), bus rapid transit, light rail and a freeway tunnel that would directly link the two ends of the 710.

 

CTA website offers ‘why things go wrong’ explanations (Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Transit Authority has a new feature on its website: a lengthy feature story trying to explain why buses and trains are sometimes delayed. But the Trib’s transportation columnist is not entirely impressed and doesn’t buy the CTA’s assertion that many service delays are entirely beyond its control.

My three cents (inflation!): Explanations are nice but never an excuse for poor service. That said, I thought the CTA page was thoughtful in trying to answer some very common questions about delays and this is something we should probably do here at Metro, where we have another equally important task: improving the speed that service alerts are communicated to riders.

Judge the CTA page for yourself. Here’s their take on bus bunching:

We know—bunching is frustrating. It frustrates us too, both as people who are charged with providing service, and people who use that same service to get around town. Bunching is the bane of bus systems around the world and there is no easy fix to it—particularly in places where there’s lots of traffic and where frequent bus service is required.

So how does it happen? Here’s a scenario:

Imagine a busy route that has buses running about every 5 minutes on a busy street, right at the morning peak, and all is right on time. Then, one bus gets delayed—let’s say a minor accident between two cars happens, and a lane is temporarily blocked while drivers exchange info, and this creates a backup that adds just two and a half minutes to the bus’s trip.

Continue reading →

Construction 101: The path to a career in construction trades

Posted by

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More than 100 community members interested in construction careers attended the “Construction 101” workshop put on by Metro, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) and other community partners at Inglewood City Hall on Saturday, Jan. 29.

The workshops put eager residents on the career path by covering the basics and putting first things first. Interested participants learn how to find out about construction projects, where to apply, where to get training, how to get union certification and how to acquire the required level of skills.

The workshops also bring together resources for pre-apprenticeship, life skills and professional development.

“It’s a college prep for the construction trade,” said Metro’s Construction Careers outreach coordinator Miriam Scott Long. “I was grateful to hear from two young men attending the workshop who told me they were tired of street life and wanted to have a career.”

The Construction Carreers Policy (CCP) is part of the transportation agency’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA)

The nationwide program aims to encourage construction employment and training opportunities on Metro construction projects to those who reside in economically disadvantaged areas.

The City of Inglewood hosted the confab and the program’s mentors. They are: Metro, LAANE, Trade Union Apprenticeship Coordinators, Black Worker’s Center, 2nd Call, WINTER (Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles), YouthBuild , Workforce Investment Board representatives, WE Build and Southeast LA Worksource Center.

The Inglewood workshop was fourth in an ongoing series on construction careers preparation. Similar workshops will be offered throughout Los Angeles County in the coming year.

@Metrolosangeles Twitter & Instagram (new!) Tuesday, Jan. 29 edition

Posted by

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday, our roundup of the latest Metro related tweets. To get our attention, add the #MetroLosAngeles tag to your tweets and subscribe to our feed if you haven’t already. For specific complaints and customer service, please use the Customer Comment Form on metro.net.

If having problems viewing this post on your browser, please see part one and part two on the Storify website.

For those who post photos of Metro on Instagram, please tag them with #metrolosangeles or #losangelesmetro — it will make them easier for me to find using the Storify software.

Dozens more illuminating tweets are posted after the jump!

Continue reading →


Transportation headlines, Tuesday, Jan. 29; Ray LaHood stepping down, Leimert Park station debated, New York looks at technology to detect people on subway tracks

Posted by

Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Photo: U.S. Department of Transportation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Photo: U.S. Department of Transportation.

Ray LaHood stepping down as U.S. Transportation Secretary (Washington Post) 

The news became official today, with Secretary LaHood saying that he will remain on the job until a successor is nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Excerpt:

LaHood’s relentless campaign against distracted driving, his safety-first mantra and his determination to visit every state in the union gave the Peoria native a higher profile than several predecessors in the role, traditionally played out in the shadow of more glamorous Cabinet jobs.

LaHood made the announcement in a statement Tuesday: “I have let President Obama know that I will not serve a second term as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the Department, and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity. I plan to stay on until my successor is confirmed to ensure a smooth transition for the Department and all the important work we still have to do.”

As the Post article states, there has certainly been rumor mill speculation about who will be the next transportation secretary. This game, of course, has been in play for the past several months but I’ve yet to see a single media story mention a source’s name or affiliation so readers can judge whether that information is reliable. With that significant caveat, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s name has surfaced in several media reports and that’s certainly interesting given his role on the Metro Board of Directors for almost eight years and his push for expanded federal funding of local transit projects.

Here’s an excerpt from Secretary LaHood’s blog:

Our achievements are significant.  We have put safety front and center with the Distracted Driving Initiative and a rule to combat pilot fatigue that was decades in the making.  We have made great progress in improving the safety of our transit systems, pipelines, and highways, and in reducing roadway fatalities to historic lows.  We have strengthened consumer protections with new regulations on buses, trucks, and airlines.

We helped jumpstart the economy and put our fellow Americans back to work with $48 billion in transportation funding from the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, and awarded over $3.1 billion in TIGER grants to 218 transportation projects across the Nation.  We have made unprecedented investments in our nation’s ports.  And we have put aviation on a sounder footing with the FAA reauthorization, and secured funding in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act to help States build and repair their roads, bridges and transit systems.

And to further secure our future, we have taken transportation into the 21st century with CAFE Standards, NextGen, and our investments in passenger and High-Speed Rail.  What’s more, we have provided the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with the funding and leadership it needs to prepare a new generation of midshipmen to meet our country’s rapidly-evolving defense and maritime transportation needs.

Continue reading →

Transportation headlines, Monday, Jan. 28

Posted by

Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.

Sparks fly at open house on 710 extension study (Pasadena Star News)

Some folks protested the study, others found the open house informative. Those who attended the meeting had the chance to visit different ‘stations’ and ask Metro and consultants questions about the ongoing study that is considering alternatives to improve traffic in the area around the 710 gap between Alhambra and Pasadena. Five alternatives are under study: the usual no build option, traffic signal and intersection improvements, bus rapid transit, light rail and a freeway tunnel. No decision has been made to build or not build anything yet — and there are no formal designs yet for any of the alternatives.

Newton: The city that could be (L.A. Times)

Editorial chief Jim Newton asks the four leading mayoral candidates — (in alphabetical order) Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Kevin James and Jan Perry — what the nation’s second-largest city would look like if they win the mayor’s job and hold it for eight years. Transportation is a frequent topic.

I especially like this kicker from Newton:

 

It may be tempting to dismiss the importance of a mayor’s physical vision for Los Angeles. But imagination matters, as L.A.’s history well attests. Rear Adm. John Walker recommended placing a port in San Pedro, and L.A. officials tethered it to the city by annexation; the port is still the region’s most important economic force. William Mulholland eyeballed an aqueduct from the Owens Valley, and it still supplies our water. Tom Bradley imagined a center of commerce on Bunker Hill, and there it is. Richard Riordan could not bear the unfinished parking lot on Grand Avenue and, together with Eli Broad and others, raised the money that paid for architect Frank Gehry’s building of genius.

Where would we be without those?

Metro and Metrolink find solution to rider transfer issue (KPCC)

This brief article looks at the paper TAP tickets that Metro and Metrolink are developing to get Metrolink riders through the turnstiles when Metro begins latching them later this year. Here’s last week’s post with a look at the ticket prototypes.

Cubic buys Nextbus (Transit Wire)

Always interesting when one Metro contractor buys another Metro contractor. In this case, it’s Cubic — the contractor that installed the TAP system — purchasing Nextbus — the contractor that supplies real-time bus arrival info for smartphones.