Transportation headlines, Tuesday, April 30

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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.

Thanks to wifi in the criminal courts building jury room, here are some headlines while I wait…

Groundbreaking for bullet train faces new obstacles (L.A. Times)

The most significant issue here seems to be lack of a deal reached with BNSF, the freight railroad that controls some of the right-of-way to be shared with the high-speed rail project. Another issue: the scoring system used in evaluating bidders hoping to win the contract to construct the first 29 miles of track recommended a contractor whose price was lowest but also earned the lowest marks in the technical merit category.

Bill would open part of carpool lanes on 210, 134 to single-occupant cars (Daily News)

Single-occupant cars would be able to use the carpool lanes outside of peak periods under a one-year demonstration program. What'cha think, Source readers? Would you rather have this or a congestion pricing lane, the difference being the congestion pricing lane is managed to maintain speeds of 45 mph or up?

New bike lanes on Figueroa from Wilshire to Cesar Chavez (L.A. Streetsblog)

Bike lanes are being painted on a 1.1-mile stretch of Fig in downtown L.A., a stretch or road that resembles a mini-freeway. The lanes don't appear to be protected in any way from car traffic so it will be interesting to see how much (or how little) they are used and whether bike activists have anything to say about them.

 

Impromptu music performance in New York subway station

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Musician Michael Bublé performed an a capella version of “Who’s Lovin’ You” inside New York City’s 66th Street-Lincoln Center subway station last Thursday alongside the group Naturally 7. Video of the performance has been making the rounds online.

On performing inside the NYC subway station, Bublé called it: “The most authentic organic way to make music. . . You see some of the greatest musicians in the world come down here and play.”

Click here to see other art happenings inside New York’s subway system.

Metro Art rendezvous: May art tours

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Artwork by Sheila Klein at Hollywood/Highland Station. Titled Underground Girl, the artwork frames the station interior as an undulating, organic and sensual space. Metro Art Tours begin at this station on the first Thursday and first Saturday of each month.

Artwork by Sheila Klein at Hollywood/Highland Station. Titled Underground Girl, the artwork frames the station interior as an undulating, organic and sensual space. Metro Art Tours begin at this station on the first Thursday and first Saturday of each month.

Did you know that Metro has worked with more than 300 artists to enhance nearly 100 stations in the Metro system? For those adventurous types out there, Metro offers walking tours that provide insights into the artworks, the artists who created them and the processes of making them. Explore the Metro system and learn a bit about Los Angeles County’s most far reaching art gallery.

Upcoming tours:

Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. Meet at the street level entrance to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Hollywood Bl near the corner with Highland Ave.

Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m. Meet at the street level entrance to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Hollywood Bl near the corner with Highland Ave.

Sunday, May 5 at 10 a.m. Meet at the information booth inside the entrance to historic Union Station at 900 Alameda St in Downtown Los Angeles. 

For directions and details about Metro Art Tours, visit metro.net/art and click on Art Tours.

While docent programs are commonly found at museums around the world, Metro is the first transit agency to benefit from such a program.

Free tours are offered the first Thursday, Saturday and Sunday of every month and focus on the artwork along the Red Line (special request tours of other lines, including the Expo Line, can be arranged by calling 213.922.2738). The tours are round trip and last approximately two hours. Tours are led by trained Metro Art Docent Council volunteers. No reservations are required! Look for safety vest-wearing docents at the meetup spot.

Transportation headlines: Monday, April 29

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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.

Transportation’s addiction to petroleum products isn’t going away, so says the above video by the group Face the Facts USA.

Obama to nominate Charlotte mayor to transportation post (New York Times) 

The President has tapped Charlotte Mayor Anthony R. Foxx to replace Ray LaHood as the next U.S. Transportation Secretary. The nomination comes after months of media gossip and uninformed speculation that was — shocker!! — basically 100 percent wrong. Foxx, 42, does not have a particular background in transportation but as mayor for nearly four years supported an extension of the Blue Line light rail project and a plan to bring streetcars back to Charlotte.

The next mayor of Los Angeles’ to-do list (The Planning Report) 

After reading this long list of suggestions from civic leaders/activists, my first suggestion for the next mayor: find some civic leaders/activists who can better articulate/write their vision for improving the City of Angels & Parking Lots. In short, here’s my suggestion: build stuff. Lots of stuff. Homes, parks, transportation projects, bike lanes, sidewalks — all the stuff that makes you wince with envy when visiting other cities. A lot of L.A. looks old and tired and needs a boost; those who fear traffic impacts may want to consider living in a region with millions less people, cars, jobs, businesses and other places to go.

Los Angeles State Historic Park to close for a year (Downtown News)

The park at the Cornfields may close next January in order to finally be built as originally envisioned — more landscaping, a pavilion, etc. If so, passengers on the Gold Line will have a front row seat to watch construction.

Subway car configurations: a matter of taste? (Human Transit) 

Transportation planner Jarrett Walker thinks agencies are asking the wrong question when they simply ask riders which seat layout they prefer. The more significant question, he says, is this: how much capacity do riders prefer on their trains? The issue, of course, is that fewer seats means more capacity.

 

 

Digging to begin in few weeks for exploratory shaft for Purple Line Extension project

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Photo by Metro.

Photo by Metro.

Activity continues to ramp up on the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ogden Drive, where Metro will soon be digging an exploratory shaft for the Purple Line Extension project. The site is located directly opposite LACMA, as the above photo shows.

Metro took possession of the site on April 1 and is prepping the area and bringing in equipment in order to begin drilling around June 1. The shaft will be approximately 40 feet by 20 feet and 75 feet deep.  Once drilling begins, it should take about six months to reach that depth with work occurring between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday.

The exploratory shaft will be used to gather more data about geologic and soil conditions in the area. The first phase of the subway project will run for 3.9 miles from the current Wilshire/Western station to Wilshire/La Cienega.

The current schedule has tunneling beginning in 2015 with the segment opening to the public in late 2022. The project is funded by the Measure R sales tax increase approved by L.A. County voters in 2008 and is seeking matching funds from the federal government’s New Starts program that helps local transit agencies build large and pricey projects.

Related Source posts: 

President Obama’s budget calls for $130 million for two Metro projects: Purple Line Extension and Regional Connector 

Westside Subway Extension gets a new official name: Purple Line Extension

This photo explains why Metro is building the Westside/Purple Line Extension