A Metro bus operator was shot and killed by a passenger on Sunday morning shortly after leaving a bus layover for the 105 line at Santa Monica Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood. The operator, who was 51 and a five-year veteran of Metro, was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at approximately 9:30 a.m.

His identity has not been released.

At the scene, Metro CEO Art Leahy told media that this was a highly unusual incident and that his chief concern was for the welfare of the operator’s family, as well as the Metro family of bus operators. He could not recall a fatal shooting of a bus operator at Metro or at the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Capt. Mike Parker said this morning that a suspect has been detained.

Here is a brief story published by the Los Angeles Times and here is a story by KABC News.

Kings winger Kyle Clifford fights for the puck during last night's 2-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. Photo Noah Graham/NHLi, via Getty Images and LAKings.com.

Traffic around downtown Los Angeles is probably not going to be a treat this weekend — particularly on Sunday. In the morning, the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California will shut down many streets before finishing at L.A. Live just before noon. The downtown portion of the race course will be open to public biking from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (Registration required).

The downtown circuit for the Amgen Tour of California

Then, at noon, the Los Angeles Kings try to sweep the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 4 of their playoff series and earn a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. The ‘Yotes spent the better part of their losing effort in Game 2 trying to knock Kings captain Dustin Brown out of the playoffs — they failed — and in Game 3 on Thursday night, the Phoenix offense remained impotent and unable to solve Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Here is the traffic alert from the Kings, along with parking options. And here is the list of bus detours around the area for bike race.

For those who don’t want to mess with their cars or traffic, a very good travel option into downtown L.A. this weekend is Metro Rail, with routes feeding into downtown from every direction. Please note that bikes are allowed at all times on Metro Rail and seats have been removed on many rail vehicles to provide space for cyclists.

In addition, traffic promises not to be real treat Friday or Saturday in the downtown area. The Lakers host Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Staples and a gospel event at the Convention Center is expected to draw 15,000 people or more that day. A very large fan turnout is expected for the touring Roger Waters: The Wall concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday night — here is a post about traveling to the show via the Expo Line. The Clippers host San Antonio at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and again at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

About Metro Rail:

•The new Expo Line runs from the La Cienega/Jefferson station to 7th/Metro Center at the intersection of Figueroa and 7th streets, with a stop at Pico — two short blocks from L.A. Live and Staples Center. There is free parking available at the Metro garage at La Cienega/Jefferson, as well as many paid parking options at Exposition Park. Timetable and parking info

•The Red Line subway runs from North Hollywood to Union Station. There is free parking at the North Hollywood station, Universal City station and numerous paid parking lots around stations in Hollywood — although beware of the Tour of California, which is routed through Hollywood. There is also paid parking at Union Station — it’s $6 for the day. Timetable and parking info

•The Orange Line busway runs between Warner Center and the North Hollywood Red Line station and has free parking in several lots. Timetable and parking info

•The Blue Line runs between downtown Long Beach and 7th/Metro Center at 7th and Figueroa, with a stop at Pico, two short blocks from L.A. and Staples Center. There are free parking lots along the route, as well as paid parking in downtown Long Beach. Timetable and parking info

•The Green Line runs between Redondo Beach and Norwalk and offers transfers to the Blue Line. There is also free parking at several lots at stations. Timetable and parking info

•The Gold Line runs to Union Station from both Pasadena and East Los Angeles. There are several free parking lots or garages along the route, as well as street parking and paid parking in downtown Pasadena. Timetable and parking info. Please note the Pasadena Marathon is Sunday morning and there will be street closures.

•Metrolink and Amtrak trains serve Union Station, with connections to the Red/Purple Line subway to reach downtown L.A. destinations. Metrolink has service on the Antelope Valley, San Bernardino and Orange County lines on Sundays. Metrolink schedules and Amtrak.com

A single ride on Metro Rail is $1.50; tickets are available at ticket vending machines at all rail stations. If you need to transfer, the best choice is a day pass for $5, also available at all ticket vending machines. Fares can also be stored on electronic TAP cards, which cost $2 and are available at all ticket machines.

On the go and need rail and bus arrival/departure times from your current location? Try Metro’s new app for smartphones. Android version and iPhone version

To celebrate Bike Week LA, we’re publishing a Why You Ride series with the winners of the 2012 Golden Pedal Awards, Metro’s annual competition for great stories about commuting via bicycle.

Our final Golden Pedal Award winner for this week is Michael Tormey. Michael commutes from Sherman Oaks to downtown Los Angeles on his bicycle. He first began riding to work once or twice a week when raising his kids was making it hard for him to find other time to exercise.

Now he bikes to work almost every day, enjoying the sense of community he gets from meeting people along the way. During the fall and winter, when it gets dark earlier, he even gives “blinker” lights to people he sees riding without bike lights; he estimates he’s given away more than 200 bike lights over the years.

Name: Michael Tormey
Start: Sherman Oaks
End: Downtown Los Angeles
Distance: 14+ miles
Time: 75 to 90 minutes

Photo courtesy of Michael Tormey.

Michael wrote to us:

“My commute takes me through Echo Park, Silver Lake, along Sunset Boulevard, west on Hollywood Boulevard, over Cahuenga Pass and west on Ventura Boulevard to my home. It’s a fun, diverse and colorful commute, and I see and meet all types of riders and bikes.

“On my evening commute in the fall and winter, I’ve always been amazed at the number of cyclists riding without bike lights. For the last three fall and winter seasons, I have been handing out ‘blinkers’ to riders who have no lights. I have probably handed out more than 200 blinkers to fellow riders. I know it might sound weird, but I think I do it for the karma. It just makes me feel good, and makes me feel like a part of the biking community. A big thanks to Lynne Goldsmith at Metro for providing the lights over the years.”

We asked Michael what he enjoys the most about his commute, and he told us:

“Besides the exercise fix, the real enjoyment I get is seeing communities and meeting people along the way. It’s hard to have conversations on the ride, but I really like the sense of community I get from most of my interactions.

“There is the grocer at a mom-and-pop place just before Cahuenga Pass — Oak Crest Market — that always yells out, ‘Have a nice day, sir!’ when he sees me. Sometimes he will run out and give me a rolling high-five.

“The bus drivers — I like to think that over the years a number of them know me now and give me a beep of hello. I have always found them to be a friendly lot. Treat them with respect and they give you respect back. It is a tough job after all — driving in traffic all day!

“And last is a recent experience… I was riding home on Hollywood Boulevard, and all of a sudden a car door opened. I’ve only had a few mishaps over the years, but never gotten ‘doored.’ I reacted with a quick flick of the handlebar and missed getting nailed by a whisker… and fortunately the big truck running next to me in the right lane didn’t run me over either. When I got to the next stoplight, the guy in the truck looked at me. Shaking his head, he grinned and said, ‘Man, I thought you was dead! I never saw anything like it, what a move.’ Then he reached down from the cab and gave me a fist bump. I was smiling the whole way home… and even now as I write this.”

Thanks for making us smile too with your stories, Michael! We’ve sent you a very large box of chocolate-dipped Clif Mojo bars for you to share on your bicycle rides.

More artwork installations are happening on the Orange Line Extension, which is expected to open soon! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Anne Marie Karlsen for Nordhoff Station are below. More information about the artwork is available here.

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

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

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

The second of two mosaic artworks installed at Nordhoff Station

Metro’s Board of Directors previously asked staff to prepare a report on the cumulative impact of bus service changes made by the agency between 2007 and 2011. A preliminary report by staff is now available and concludes:

Based on the data collected to date, overall there was a negligible cumulative impact on boardings as a result of the service changes since June 2007, with weekday boardings increasing 1%, Saturday decreasing 1%, and Sunday remaining neutral. Minimizing impacts is largely due to listening to and incorporating public concerns during the planning process, and ensuring there are viable alternatives for existing riders.

A more complete assessment will be presented to the Board in June. I encourage you to read the report – there are a lot of good statistics in there, showing how bus service overall has grown in the county over the past 25 years — in particular service offered by cities and other agencies in L.A. County.

Here is a pdf version for download or you can read the report below.

Service changes report

Santa Monica Festival. Photo from Santa Monica Festival Official Facebook.

Between baseball games, playoff games, concerts and bike tours, downtown L.A. is going to be pretty crowded this weekend. Try to take public transportation to avoid dealing with the mess of traffic and parking. Here is our earlier post about taking transit to downtown this weekend.

Park at Union Station and take the free Dodger Stadium Express to Dodger games. Plenty of buses, including the Metro Silver Line, run past Staples Center, and you can also get there by taking the Metro Expo and Blue Lines (hop off at Pico Station) or Red and Purple Lines (exit 7th/Metro Station and stroll south on Figueroa). There will be some road closures for the Amgen Tour of California Bike Race on Sunday, so plan ahead. Check out this earlier post for more details on how to get around and as always, use Trip Planner to find the best routes.

If you’d prefer to avoid downtown, you’ve got choices. Head to the Aquarium of the Pacific this weekend to see the new penguin habitat that opened May 17. Featuring Magellanic penguins, some of which were rescued from Brazil, the habitat has a “crawl-in” space so you can view the penguins from below water level. The aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. General admission for adults is $24.95, go Metro and save a few bucks.

This weekend is also the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival, which Queen Latifah is headlining. She’ll be performing on Saturday and the parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. The event takes place along Shoreline Drive by Marina Green Park and lasts from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. Admission is $20. (Metro Blue Line to Transit Mall Station or Metro Bus 232 to Pacific/Broadway, transfer to Passport Bus C.)

The Santa Monica Festival is this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival celebrates the local community and sustainable living with DIY workshops, live music and dance and great food. Go Metro and get a chance to win a free bike or other prizes! The event takes place at Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd. (Metro Rapid 733 to Ocean/Colorado or Metro Rapid 704 to Santa Monica/Westwood, transfer to Big Blue Bus 8 to Ocean Park/25th.)

Those going to the Roger Waters concert at the Coliseum on Saturday might want to take the Expo Line. Just get off at Expo Park/USC Station. Also convenient from that station this weekend is the Natural History Museum’s Bug Fair, open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more than you ever wanted to know about Earth’s creepy-crawlies and enjoy performing artists and bug-based food demonstrations. Admission to the museum is $12 for adults, go Metro and get a discount.

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.

If you're in the Big Bear or Antelope Valley today, check out the Amgen Tour of California. Tomorrow's stage runs from Ontario to Mt. Baldy before the Beverly Hills to downtown L.A. final stage on Sunday.

Beverly Hills threatens legal action over Westside Subway Extension (L.A. Times)

The library’s blog has the long list of coverage of Thursday’s hearing requested by Beverly Hills on the route the subway will take in Beverly Hills and Century City. This story does a good job of covering the basics of the dispute for those without advanced degrees in geology.

There is also good coverage of a few particular exchanges during the hearing at Supervisor and Metro Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky’s blog. There is also a good roundup of different views at L.A. Streetsblog.

El Sereno residents review 710 gap closure concepts (EGP News)

Coverage of the recent community meeting in El Sereno to review concepts being discussed to improve traffic in the area near the gap in the 710 between Pasadena and Alhambra. Among the options are extending the freeway or light rail. We’ll be putting the presentation online soon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Members of Congress urge Metro to fund Gold Line to Claremont with Measure R extension (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)

The letter was written by Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena). As we posted yesterday, Metro CEO Art Leahy said that the original Measure R was ambiguous about whether the Foothill Extension project was defined as going to Azusa — the segment now being built — or all the way to Claremont, as is being planned by the Foothill Extension Construction Authority. Leahy said a decision about the funding of the Claremont segment by a Measure R extension (if that even occurs) will ultimately be made by the Board of Directors.

A new choice in personal mobility? The seated scooter (Grist)

How do you steer it? With your rear end, apparently. Grist has some fun with this device from Honda, suggesting it’s for those too lazy to ride a Segway.

The hearing requested by the city of Beverly Hills on the Century City station location for the Westside Subway Extension has now concluded. As expected, the Board of Directors did not take any action on selecting a route for the subway and station location in Century City.

The basic dispute: In order to avoid active earthquake fault zones under Santa Monica Boulevard, Metro staff are recommending a subway route under part of the Beverly Hills High School campus to reach a Century City station at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars.

Beverly Hills officials oppose that route, saying it could harm students and would hinder future underground development at the school. Metro says that tunneling can be done safely and would not interfere with future development.

Most of the hearing was dedicated to presentations by Beverly Hills’ consultants, who disputed many of Metro’s studies.

Among their points: There was evidence of faults on the West Beverly Hills Lineament under the Beverly Hills High School campus but no evidence of the faults being active for at least 100,000 years; that more seismic studies are needed to determine if the Constellation station would be in an active fault zone; that the Santa Monica Fault may be inactive; and that ridership would be higher for a station under Santa Monica Boulevard in the long-term due to redevelopment and riders transferring from buses.

In addition, Beverly Hills officials also distributed schematics showing three alternative routes to reach a Constellation station. All of the routes would involve tunneling under Santa Monica Boulevard until the tunnels swing south around Century Park East. An attorney for Beverly Hills also said that if the Metro Board selects a route under the high school, litigation could result and delay the subway project.

Metro did not call any witnesses. The agency instead submitted its previously published studies on the Westside Subway Extension — all of which the agency stands behind.

The hearing concluded without time for comments from the public. Those who signed up to speak at the hearing today will be allowed to provide their comments at a special meeting that will held along with the next regular Metro Board meeting on May 24 at 9:00 a.m. That is the earliest that the Board could decide this matter, as well as the remainder of the subway alignment.

Here are Metro’s responses to Beverly Hills’ reports:

Reply to Exponent Responses

Response to Leighton Consulting Report

Response to Hazard Assessment Study by Exponent

Response to Preliminary Review of Comments of Century City Fault Investigation Report by Shannon and Wilson

Here is a video from the kick-off of Bike Week L.A. on Monday when officials and bicycling organizations delivered strong public support for an expanding infrastructure throughout Los Angeles County that promotes safety and convenience for cyclists on the road.

Bike Week L.A. events included the popular “Blessing of the Bicycles” at Good Samaritan Hospital on Tuesday, and an Expo/Mid-City Bike Ride that introduced bicycling commuters to the new six miles of parallel bike lanes along the new Expo Line between Culver City and USC on Wednesday. Unofficially, organizers estimated upwards of 4,500 bicycling commuters, cheered on by 97 pit stops throughout Los Angeles County, took to the streets today for “Bike to Work Day.”

Wrapping up Bike Week L.A. May 14-18, Safe Moves, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children on traffic safety, will hold a Bike to School Day event Friday morning at New Designs Charter School-University Park Campus in Los Angeles. The event will include a meet and greet for students arriving to school on bicycles, and a student assembly with guest speakers from Safe Moves, Metro and school officials to speak to students on traffic safety and alternative modes of transportation.

Former 2000 Olympic Team Cyclist Tony Cruz will join officials to encourage more bike riding for health and environmental benefits, as well as relieving auto congestion around school zones. The school event will be followed by six sessions of bike safety courses for students during their physical education classes.

BART's board has voted to approve a contract to replace its aging rail fleet. Photo by flickr user skew-t.

BART board approves $896-million contract for new rail fleet

The latest in the ongoing saga of BART’s efforts to replace its aging fleet of custom railcars: BART’s Board of Directors has approved a nearly $900-million contract with Canadian train (and jet) manufacturer Bombardier. The San Francisco Appeal online newspaper notes that the contract’s schedule would have the first batch of 410 new rail cars available by 2017, with an option for an additional 366 cars in 2023 – right around when the oldest rail cars in BART’s fleet would be reaching their half-century mark.

Federal Transit Administration announces $5.1 mil to enhance Reno bus rapid transit service

The FTA has awarded Reno a nice chunk of money to improve service on one of its BRT lines that connects popular destinations, like downtown and the University of Nevada, Reno campus. Fox Reno reports that the funding will support the purchase of new hybrid buses and a the construction of a new bus fueling depot. The grant comes on the heals of a nearly $7-million grant from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program for the construction of stations on the BRT line.

How Baton Rouge brought its transit system back from the brink

Transit advocates Transportation 4 America has an excellent in-depth feature on how Baton Rouge, La., residents rallied together to resuscitate the local transit system from its death bed. The key success was building a broad coalition to advocate for and pass a local property tax increase dedicated to fund the transit system. One factor highlighted by T4A was instrumental in the tax’s passage: spelling out exactly what transit benefits the tax would support. Sounds like Measure R, no? Those benefits in Baton Rouge included, among others:

• Decreased average wait times for buses from 75 minutes to 15 minutes.
• Eight new express and limited stop lines, serving the airport, universities, mall and other areas.
• GPS tracking on the entire fleet, with exact arrival times accessible on cellphones.
• New shelters, benches and signage at bus stops.

Track record: Do major urban subway networks evolve along similar patterns?

What’s happening with the world’s subway systems? Scientific American highlights a recent study by French physicist Marc Barthelemy that examined the similarities in the geometry of the world’s largest subway systems. The key finding is that as systems mature over time, they tend to grow towards a “similar typology.” SA summarizes the characteristics of that typology as follows:

First, subway networks can be divided into a core and branches, like a spider with many legs. The “core” typically sits beneath the city’s center, and its stations usually form a ring shape. The branches, which are more linear, extend outward from the core in many directions.

Second, the branches tend to be about twice as long as the width of the core. The wider the core, the longer the branches. And subway systems with more stations tend to have more branches. The number of branches corresponds roughly with the square root of the number of stations.

Last, an average of 20 percent of the stations in the core link two or more subway lines, allowing people to make transfers.

Do these features strike you as somewhat obvious or expected? Perhaps. But what intrigues me is the extent to which the traditional shape of cities — dense downtowns, flattening out into the suburbs — seems to significantly shape transportation systems, in spite of local politics, geography and other factors. Does L.A. fit this mold?

Philadelphia trains’ harvested energy a money maker

Philly’s transit agency, SEPTA, has implemented a new energy conservation system that makes better use of the electricity generated by its trains through regenerative braking. The system works similarly to how a hybrid car recharges its batteries. The Earth Techling blog reports that when trains apply the brakes, they now feed energy into an 800 kW battery that then feeds electricity back into the system. And that improves efficiency and saves money — so much so that the investment is expected to pay off in only a couple years.