Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Is Spring Street’s green bike lane really a problem for the film industry?

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Cyclists using Spring St.'s green bike lane. Photo by Jances Certeza.

Cyclists using Spring St.’s green bike lane. Photo by Jances Certeza.

There’s been and still is a constant quarrel between the film industry, city officials, and the residents of Downtown LA over just what’s to become of Spring Street’s green bike lane.

For those unaware, in 2011 the city of Los Angeles painted green 1.5 miles of Spring Street’s bike lane to encourage more Angelenos to start cycling. The idea was openly embraced by many of the businesses along the lane, and was seen by residents and the cycling community as a forward step for the Downtown neighborhood in its goal to become a more livable space.

Those in the film industry however want it gone, arguing that the bright green lanes would be distracting for viewers in shots, and would be difficult and costly to digitally remove…

Within the public discourse many attacked such an argument, stating that it would be easy to remove the green, and that the paint should stay. One reader at Streetsblog decided to disprove such an argument and take on the task of digitally removing the green from the lanes himself. According to Streetsblog, “It took the editor all of about twenty seconds to remove the green.” Watch the video below to see how the editor easily removes the bright green from his video shot.

Metro in Overdrive: Transportation Library & Archive resources featured in new Getty exhibit

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The Metro Transportation Library & Archive is participating in a landmark joint exhibit of the Getty Museum and Getty Research Institute.

Overdrive: L.A. Constructs The Future, 1940-1990, which runs from April 9 through July 21, 2013, is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture In L.A.

The exhibit is the first major exhibition to survey Los Angeles’ complex urban landscape and diverse architectural innovations. Drawings, photographs, models, films, animations, oral histories and ephemera illustrate the complex dimensions of L.A.’s rich and often underappreciated built environment.

Library & Archive staff has been working with the Getty for the past year in preparation for this exhibit. Several historic items from the Archive have been lent to the Getty for display, along with additional items for the exhibit catalog publication as well as film footage that runs in the Overdrive exhibit.

The exhibit moves on to the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. later this year.

More information on the exhibit and Metro’s contributions to it can be found on the Research Library’s Primary Resources Blog.

New staff report on Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan spells out a big priority: ensuring Union Station helps transit users get where they’re going

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Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan update

Above is a Metro staff report on the ongoing Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan process. The gist of it: the main priority of the plan is to ensure that the station functions well for buses, trains and, of course, transit users. That’s a big deal because the station is extremely busy now and likely to get only more so in the future, particularly as transit expands in our region. There’s also the possibility that high-speed rail could arrive at Union Station one day.

Please read the report, which spells out the many issues.

Related: Survey shows what patrons want most from an improved Union Station.

Transportation headlines, Thursday, March 7: art of transit, downtown streetcar secures operating funds, new housing in Santa Monica

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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.

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ART OF TRANSIT: A Metrolink train at Union Station with Metro HQ in the background. Photo by Rayala, via Twitter.

Los Angeles City Council approves operating funds for downtown streetcar (City of L.A. website, Item 18) 

The Council voted on Wednesday to use $352.4 million of Measure R local return funds — the 15 percent of  Measure R that goes back to cities on a per capita basis — to pay for operating a downtown Los Angeles streetcar from the years 2017 to 2046. That assumes, of course, the project is built. Downtown residents last November voted to tax themselves to fund half the cost of the project with the remainder of the money being sought from a federal government grant. The cost of the project is expected to be $125 million.

Long isolated behind a freeway, Santa Monica’s Civic Center rejoins its city (New York Times) 

A good look at two big projects to help remake the Civic Center with a new public park and a large residential development that includes market-rate condos and income-restricted apartments. The developer, Related, has joined with the nonprofit Community Corporation of Santa Monica to build the apartments, which will be available by a lottery that gives preference to those who work or live in Santa Monica. The building is not a small one — but it is a very short to the future Expo Line station at 4th/Colorado and perhaps it’s a model for building other needed housing in the area.

Los Angeles intends to bid for 2024 Summer Olympics (ESPN)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a letter this week to the United States Olympic Committee saying that L.A. intends to compete to host its third summer games, having had the honors in 1932 and 1984. From a transit standpoint, the second phase of the Expo Line, the Gold Line Foothill Extension, the Regional Connector, the Crenshaw/LAX Line and the first phase of the Westside Subway Extension are scheduled to be open by then. But there’s this: some type of transit to LAX is currently on a schedule to be completed in 2028 and I imagine that’s something the USOC would consider with so many people coming to town. Here’s a recent Metro staff report on possible ways to accelerate the project.

Glendora Council approves new mixed-use development near potential future Gold Line station (San Gabriel Valley Tribune) 

The plan is for the development to have 256 new apartments and 4,000 feet of commercial real estate space at the intersection of Glendora Avenue and Route 66. That would put the station close to the planned Glendora station at Vermont Avenue on the second and thus far unfunded phase of the Gold Line Foothill Extension. The first phase is under construction and will run for 11.5 miles from eastern Pasadena to a station just north of Citrus College on the Azusa/Glendora border.

Reminder: why Election Day in Los Angeles matters if you care about transportation

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Click above to find your polling place if you live in the city of Los Angeles.

Click above to find your polling place if you live in the city of Los Angeles.

As you may have heard, there’s a primary election 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.

So even if you get all scratchy and/or break out in hives during campaign season, I’m here to kindly remind you to vote because there’s a lot at stake. Strike that. There’s tons at stake. Look up your polling place here.

Here’s why. 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.

So let’s do some math! 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 (hopefully always very positive!) across Los Angeles County.

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:

•Although there’s nothing currently on the table, there will likely be a discussion in the next four years about Metro’s fare structure — all large transit agencies have to confront the fare issue at regular intervals. If you’re one of the readers who has left countless comments on this blog calling for distance-based fares, then this might interest you.

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Notice: geotechnical tests for SR-710 Study begins Monday, Feb. 25

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Click above to see larger.

Click above to see larger.

Here’s the link to the project home page and here’s the link to the recently-released Alternatives Analysis for the project. Five alternatives are under study: the usual no-build option, traffic signal and intersection improvements, bus rapid transit (East L.A. to Pasadena), light rail (East L.A. to Pasadena) and a tunnel to link the 710 from its terminus at Valley Boulevard to the 210/134 junction in Pasadena.

Red Line 20th anniversary video, part two: Is this what city planners had in mind?

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I love the question posed in the opening of this 1989 video, suggesting that city planners could not have possibly been thinking of what Los Angeles had become: TrafficVille.

My two cents: I think this video gives city planners too much credit. I’m not sure they were thinking of anything except, perhaps, how to cram a few more strip malls into L.A. Zing!

When watching the video, also take a few moments to enjoy the music. Memo to our younger readers: there actually was some very good music created in the 1980s. This just isn’t it. This is.

If you missed it earlier, here’s Dave Sotero’s excellent analysis of the Red Line’s 20th anniversary and what the subway has done for Los Angeles — and what it will likely do in the years and decades ahead. Also, here’s another pair of videos documenting opening day on Jan. 29, 1993.

Cycling adventures in L.A. – Climbing Palos Verdes

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Enjoying the ocean view from Palos Verdes

Enjoying the ocean view from Palos Verdes

Photo by Jonathan Osorio

Every Tuesday, The Source will highlight some of the many adventures Angelenos have with their bikes. So don’t forget to take your camera with you before you start pedaling throughout Los Angeles!

For this week’s featured cycling adventure, we feature Jonathan and his fellow group of riders. With a total of 15 cyclists, the group began their journey from La Brea and Rodeo, and from there ventured south to Palos Verdes for a fun climb. During the journey south, the group faced cold and tough headwinds, forcing them to make a stop at Hermosa Pier for a regroup.

After regrouping, the journey continued for the 15 riders, and soon they found themselves climbing the beautiful hills of Palos Verdes, where at one point they stopped to take the amazing photo above onlooking the Pacific Ocean from a cliff. The journey was in total distance, a grand 66 miles, and even with strong winds and cold temperatures, Jonathan states, “the view at Palos Verdes was well worth the mission.”

Great ride Jonathan and thank you for sharing your adventure!

Want to submit your own cycling adventure in Los Angeles County? Email us the photo at sourcemetro@gmail.com, tweet us @BikeMetro or post the photo to our Flickr group (in the description please give us permission to use it on The Source) — we’re especially interested in adventures that involve using transit for part of the journey. Safe Riding!

Cycling adventures in L.A. – New Year’s Eve Group Ride

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Posing in front of the USS Iowa

Posing in front of the USS Iowa

Photo by Khoren Edward Mirzakhanian

Every Tuesday, The Source will highlight some of the many adventures Angelenos have with their bikes. So don’t forget to take your camera with you before you start pedaling throughout Los Angeles!

For this week, we share a photo by Khoren, who took part in a large group ride on New Year’s Eve with two of top Los Angeles based cycling groups: Wolfpack Hustle and Cyclones. The ride started around downtown Los Angeles and stopped at San Pedro, where the group posed in front of the USS Iowa before heading to the nearby San Pedro Fish Market to grab a well deserved lunch. Yum! What a way to start the new year!

Want to submit your own cycling adventure in Los Angeles County? Email us the photo at sourcemetro@gmail.com, tweet us @BikeMetro or post the photo to our Flickr group (in the description please give us permission to use it on The Source) — we’re especially interested in adventures that involve using transit for part of the journey. Safe Riding!

Bike sharing coming to downtown Los Angeles in April!

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A bike sharing station in Mexico City. Photo by Denis Bocquet, via Flickr creative commons.

A bike sharing station in Mexico City. Photo by Denis Bocquet, via Flickr creative commons.

Here’s the news release from Bike Nation, the private firm that will run the program:

Bike Nation Announces 2013 Rollout Plan for Downtown Los Angeles Service Area;

BETA System to Begin Implementation in April 2013

Privately-Funded L.A. program expected to reach 4,000 bikes and 400 stations;

System to be fully connective to Bike Nation installations in Anaheim, Fullerton and Long Beach

December 20, 2012 (Los Angeles, CA) – Bike Nation announced today its plans for its 2013 rollout of Los Angeles’ first major bike share program. The system will officially launch in Downtown in April 2013. Last week, the LA City Council unanimously passed a motion that directs staff to create a permit process for Bike Nation’s bike sharing stations to be placed in the public right of way. Bike Nation is currently working with the City for all necessary approval processes and permitting that will pave the way for the company to implement its privatized bike share business model. Unlike other North American bike share programs, Bike Nation is able to privately fund the bike sharing program without the requirement of any government funding or subsidies and will monetize the program through membership and usage, sponsorship and advertising.

Earlier this year, Bike Nation created a website where the general public can have input on the station locations in Downtown through its Suggest a Station website. The Southern California-based privately-funded bike share company has previously announced plans to install up to 4,000 bikes and 400 stations throughout Los Angeles.

The announcement was made during a bike giveaway to the 8 – 12 year old participants of the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club bike program by Bike Nation executives, with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Bike Nation’s Community Ambassador and L.A. Clippers forward Caron Butler on-hand.

“We are excited to put stations on the ground in Downtown Los Angeles and begin the process of rolling out our bike share program and providing a safe, low-cost, healthy transportation alternative to Los Angeles residents,” said Derek Fretheim, Bike Nation Chief Operating Officer.  “The Company has already begun its site planning in anticipation of the City Council Motion and created a sample permit package consisting of initial station locations.”

“I am happy to serve as Bike Nation Ambassador and today’s event is just one example of things to come,” said Butler. “Bicycling and youth fitness has been a passion of mine for many years now. I am excited that through this bike-sharing program people will have the opportunity to consider biking as a viable transportation option while also becoming more fit.”

Los Angeles Clippers Forward and Two-Time NBA All-Star Caron Butler was named Community Ambassador for Bike Nation in August 2012.  Butler, founder of Caron’s Bike Brigade, is a longtime supporter of cycling in order to encourage healthy living.

The initial preliminary Downtown station locations will include:

  • Union Station
  • El Pueblo/Olvera Street
  • Caltrans Building (2)
  • City Hall (2)
  • County Hall of Administration Building
  • LAPD (2)

Bike Nation recently has already installed multiple stations in Anaheim and is expect to open the system to the public in early January. The bike share company has also previously announced extensive bike share programs in Fullerton and Long Beach, which will be launching in 2013. Bike Nation user memberships are transferable to any city within its bike share systems.

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