Tag Archives: Expo Line
Reminder: why Election Day matters in Los Angeles if you care about transportation
Click above to find your polling place.
As you may have heard, there’s a runoff Tuesday in Los Angeles to elect the next mayor of the second-largest city in the nation — a city with about 3.8 million inhabitants and some well-known transportation challenges.
I ran the following post on March 4, the day before the primary election in Los Angeles. I’m running it again today as a reminder to vote in tomorrow’s mayoral election between Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel because whichever succeeds Antonio Villaraigosa will likely have a hand in many important transportation decisions, including project acceleration, the future of congestion pricing projects, the construction of five rail projects and possible changes in Metro’s fare structure in the future.
Look up your polling place here.
Metro is a county agency and is overseen by a 13 member Board of Directors who serve as the deciders on most significant issues. The Mayor of Los Angeles gets a seat on that board and gets to fill three other seats with his appointees.
A majority of the Metro Board — i.e. seven votes — is required to approve most items. Four of those seven votes are controlled by the Los Angeles mayor. That means that the mayor controls more than half the votes needed to approve items that have impacts across Los Angeles County and the region.
Here are some items that are likely to confront the Metro Board in the next four or so years, meaning they’re items likely to confront the lucky soul (if luck is the right word) who becomes the next mayor of the City of Angels and/or Parking Lots:
•There is the not-so-tiny issue of whether to accelerate the building of Measure R projects and, if so, how best to pay for it and which transit and road projects are included. The next mayor may also choose to use their bully pulpit to persuade Congress to adopt the full America Fast Forward program, which would greatly expand funding for transportation projects.
•Although Metro CEO Art Leahy has already said there will be no changes to Metro’s fares in the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1, he also said it’s an issue that will likely have to be revisited sooner rather than later in order to help Metro keep up with its expenses.
Expo Line phase 2 construction notice: work on Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica
Transportation headlines, Friday, May 17
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.
L.A. Philharmonic concerned about potential subway noise (L.A. Times)
The story reports on the ongoing process by Metro to protect the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Colburn School from any noise from Regional Connector trains that will pass under or near the buildings. Metro CEO Art Leahy told the Times that the Regional Connector is being designed to have zero net impact on acoustics at either building.
Two other points to add: Metro has hired Rick Talaske, a renowned acoustic engineering consultant, to assist with the Regional Connector project. And, the project will not go out to bid until appropriate sound levels for trains are determined. In other words, the construction firm or firms that wins the contract to build the Regional Connector will have to build the project to the sound standards mandated by Metro and agreed upon with both the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Colburn School.
Orange crush (ZevWeb)
Very good story on crowing on the Orange Line busway, particularly at peak hours. Excerpt:
While improvements are planned to handle the growth in ridership during off-peak hours, rush hour is a different story. One additional bus trip will be squeezed onto the back end of the peak traffic period but, after that, the agency is just about maxed out on how many buses it can run at a time. Among other issues, the line is constrained at intersections with north-south roadways, which are managed by the city of Los Angeles’ Department of Transportation.
“Running buses every 4 minutes during rush hour is the best we can do under the current traffic configuration,” Hillmer said. “The city is reluctant to go below the 4-minute frequency level.”
Jonathan Hui, a spokesman for the city agency, said it allows buses to pass through the intersections every two minutes, but they only get special priority—early or longer green lights—every four minutes. That preferential treatment is important to keep the line moving swiftly.
“Not everybody can get the green at the same time,” Hui said. “The Orange Line is obviously important, but so are drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.”
The two agencies are currently working on a solution to the problem. Hillmer said possibilities include sending two buses in tandem through intersections, or shortening the length of the green lights the buses get, which could enable more of them to get through.
Is future baseline the baseline of the future? (Thomas Law Group)
A good look at the legal arguments in the Neighbors for Smart Rail versus Expo Line Construction Authority case made earlier this month before the California Supreme Court. In the case, Neighbors for Smart Rail (which wants the train to go underground in the Cheviot Hills and Rancho Park area) is challenging the EIR for the second phase of the Expo Line project, saying it was improper for the Construction Authority to use future traffic conditions as the baseline for determining the train’s impacts. The Authority argued using future conditions is a better way to gauge the real impacts.
According to the blog, four Justices seemed receptive to Neighbors for Smart Rail’s arguments, another Justice seemed to favor the Construction Authority’s stance and two other Justices didn’t say anything during the hearing. A ruling is expected within 90 days. With construction of the project underway, it remains to be seen if an unfavorable ruling would impact work — or whether the Court just wants to clarify how agencies should handle the baseline issue in future EIRs.
Metro’s April ridership numbers are now available
Here are the latest ridership numbers for the Metro bus and rail system. Nothing jumps out at me as big news — it looks like most numbers in recent months are holding steady. In terms of overall ridership, Metro had nearly 40.5 million boardings in April 2013 compared to 37.9 million in April 2012.
On the rail side, there were about one million more boardings in April 2013 over April 2012. The bus side was up more than 1.5 million boardings over April 2012. April was also the first month that the Expo Line didn’t have more riders than the previous month, although that was bound to happen at some point.
Here are some nice graphs showing ridership on each line. The April ridership numbers are below and continue after the jump.
Bus Ridership Estimates
Bus – Directly Operated
| April 2013 | April 2012 | April 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 1,121,390 | 1,081,484 | 1,112,424 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 745,684 | 737,868 | 754,637 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 546,304 | 539,510 | 539,704 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 29,838,532 | 28,360,186 | 29,292,905 |
Directly operated bus ridership includes Orange and Silver Line ridership.
Bus – Contract
| April 2013 | April 2012 | April 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 46,832 | 44,356 | 45,419 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 27,529 | 26,751 | 25,867 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 20,059 | 18,505 | 18,170 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 1,220,649 | 1,130,997 | 1,155,820 |
Bus – Systemwide
| April 2013 | April 2012 | April 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 1,168,222 | 1,125,840 | 1,158,904 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 773,213 | 764,619 | 780,504 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 566,363 | 558,015 | 557,874 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 31,059,181 | 29,491,183 | 30,471,007 |
Directly operated bus ridership includes Orange and Silver Line ridership.
Orange Line
| April 2013 | April 2012 | April 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 30,231 | 25,055 | 24,074 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 18,266 | 15,355 | 14,727 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 13,844 | 11,713 | 10,868 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 793,522 | 646,140 | 622,661 |
Silver Line
| April 2013 | April 2012 | April 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 12,873 | 11,241 | 9,086 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 5,367 | 4,099 | 2,900 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 3,484 | 2,642 | 2,041 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 318,610 | 265,667 | 213,470 |
RAIL NUMBERS AND SYSTEMWIDE STATS ARE AFTER THE JUMP!
Expo Line Phase 2 construction notice: utility relocations on Bundy Drive begin Monday
Support pole installation on Expo Line completed
Photos by Metro
This past Saturday, a portion of the Expo Line was shut down so crews could replace the support pole damaged by a wrong-way driver last month. Before the pole was replaced, trains had to stay under a 5 mph speed restriction between the Expo/Blue Line junction and 23rd Street Station. Trains may now go back to operating at normal speeds.
A bus bridge was in place to help Expo riders get from 23rd Street to DTLA, and post-game bus shuttle service ran from 9-11 p.m. between Pico and 23rd Street to accommodate those who were at Staples Center for the Blues/Kings game.
If you went to the game on Saturday, did you use the post-game shuttle? And if so, how did you find it?
Attention Kings fans: no Expo Line service out of downtown L.A. on Saturday night due to repair work; bus shuttles replace trains north of 23rd Street station after 8:20 p.m.
If you have not yet heard, here is the situation tomorrow night. The Kings-Blues playoff game begins at Staples Center at 7 p.m. At that time, Expo Line trains will be running normal weekend service between Culver City and 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles.
However, at 8:30 p.m. until the close of service Saturday night, the Expo Line will only run between Culver City and the 23rd Street station. At that point, a bus shuttle will run between 23rd Street station and the Blue Line’s Grand Station. Patrons on the Expo Line heading into downtown after 8:30 p.m. should exit at 23rd Street station, take the bus to the Grand station and board a Blue Line train there.
If you take the Expo Line to the game, there will be a bus shuttle service running between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. between Pico Station — one block from Staples Center — to the 23rd Street station. You’ve been warned: If you don’t want to deal with the bus after the game, then you may want to find another way to the game other than the Expo Line.
Metro apologizes for any inconvenience but this is repair work that must be done and it was scheduled before the final NHL playoff seedings were determined, which in turn impacted the playoff schedule.
Transportation headlines, Friday, April 26
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.
Toll lane transponder fees suspended for L.A. County residents (L.A. Times) and A monthly toll road fee exits early (ZevWeb)
The Metro Board of Directors voted 7 to 4 to approve a motion by Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky to suspend the $3 account maintenance fee for ExpressLanes users who used the lanes three times or less. Metro officials say this may encourage some motorists to use the ExpressLanes on the 10 and 110 who wanted to get transponders for occasional use but didn’t want to pay the fee.
A lot of people certainly complained about the fee in the comments section of The Source and other publications. We’ll see if losing it for six months makes a difference and, if so, whether it inspires the Board to revisit the issue.
Mapping the screens at 7th/Metro Center (Steven White: The Accidental Urbanist)
Great post by Steven on the location of TV monitors at the intensely busy 7th/Metro station in downtown L.A. that serves the Blue, Expo, Red and Purple lines. The gist of it: Steven believes many of the existing monitors are in places that are difficult to see and that many of them don’t display information useful to riders — i.e. train schedules for people departing the stations.
Even better, Steven took the time to map the station and show where the monitors are versus where he thinks they should be based on the flow of people in the station. It’s obvious he spent quite a bit of time and thought assembling this post and I hope Metro takes a good hard look at it.
Your thoughts, Metro riders?
Rendering: CasdenWestLA.com
Will the Casden development be L.A.’s traffic Bermuda triangle? (LA Weekly)
A look at the proposed Casden West development at Sepulved and Pico of a 638-apartment building and retail outlets — including a grocery store and ‘national retailer’ — that will be adjacent to the Expo Line’s Sepulveda station. The site has been a concrete plant for many years.
But residents and even transit advocates say the building is too big and will add too many car trips to streets already clogged, thanks in part to the adjacent 405 freeway. Bolstering their point: the developer’s website says the project will have an underground garage with 1,795 parking spaces, including 1,155 for residents.
On the pro side, the developer and at least one L.A. planning official (among others) say this is the kind of transit-oriented development that the region needs and that new residents will likely use their cars less than existing residents of the area.
Good article. One issue not mentioned that I think is important is the current state of Pico and Sepulveda boulevards in the area. Sepulveda is not what I would describe as pedestrian oriented; Pico has been nudging in that direction for a few years — especially east of Sepulveda. The Little Tokyo West neighborhood along Sawtelle Boulevard is on the other side of the 405, about a half-mile walk from the Expo station.
My long-winded point: I think if the area was more pedestrian-oriented, it would give new residents less reason to drive; having more than 600 parking spaces for retail seemingly gives people plenty of reason to drive to the site. It certainly makes sense to put stores and residences near transit, but the question here: can you really call something with 1,795 parking spaces transit-oriented? I don’t know.
Underground cell service expands but some call for quiet (New York Times)
Those with AT&T or T-Mobile devices can now get service at 36 subway stations in Manhattan and some folks are finding they can even get a signal in the tunnels. Gov. Cuomo says one reason for the expansion of service is safety because it gives subway riders the ability to call 9-1-1 pronto in an emergency. Some customers were ambivalent, telling the Times they enjoyed the time away from their cell devices and one subway musician said that too many customers with cell phones was hurting business.
The Metro Board approved a contract earlier this year with a firm that will be wiring all underground stations for cell service. Metro staff said at the time that it would take two years to install all the equipment in the subway, the challenge being that the subway runs 20 hours a day.
CicLAvia – To The Sea another major success
Photos by Dave Sotero & Metro
While it’s anyone’s guess just how many thousands of cyclists attended today’s CicLAvia — To the Sea route, anyone who rode the 15-mile route between Downtown L.A. and Venice Beach can attest it was bike bumper to bike bumper most of the way.
This year’s gargantuan bicycle ride was the longest to date, kicked off in the early morning by L.A. City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and a slew of local officials. The mayor announced “Car-Free L.A,” a new campaign from LA Tourism that encourages tourism on bikes, public transit and walking. Check out the web site here.
Here’s some photos from the magnificent ride on another picture perfect Spring day in L.A.
