Tag Archives: North Hollywood

First phase of Metro Red Line celebrates 20-year anniversary

Posted by

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“This day is here…”

On January 29, 1993, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley stood among a swarm of public officials and transit agency staffers on the cramped Pershing Square subway platform. Standing shoulders above everyone else, including then-California Gov. Pete Wilson, Bradley proudly inaugurated the opening of the first modern subway in Los Angeles.

“Twenty years is a long time. That’s how long we have been pushing on this dream, this vision of what we should do in Los Angeles County,” Bradley said, referring to the subway’s quixotic path to reality in ‘93. “I made a promise when I ran for mayor in 1973 that in 18 months, we’d deliver by breaking ground for rapid transit. Well, I missed by only a few months…”

Today, Metro marks the 20th anniversary of the Metro Red Line’s first phase from Union Station to MacArthur Park, a nearly 4.5-mile construction milestone that began a brand new chapter in regional rail construction and placing L.A. among other major cities across the globe with high-speed, high-capacity subways.

Continue reading →

Go Metro Weekends, Jan 4 – 6

Posted by
Learn to make these in Little Tokyo on Sunday. Photo by keatl via Flickr Creative Commons

Learn to make these in Little Tokyo on Sunday. Photo by keatl via Flickr Creative Commons

Don’t forget, tonight’s the first First Friday at the NHM! (Metro Expo Line to Expo Park/USC)

This weekend is your last chance to catch “Trolls Stole the North Pole” at Secret Rose Theatre. The fun children’s musical goes on at 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $12. (Metro Red Line to North Hollywood Station, walk one block south on Lankershim Blvd. or Metro Bus 183 to Magnolia/Lankershim)

On Sunday, visit the Japanese American National Museum for the Oshogatsu Family Festival. There will be special prize drawings, fun origami booths, rice tastings, onigiri rice ball making contests and more. The festival lasts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to attend. (Metro Gold Line to Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Metro Bus 30/40 to Judge John Aiso/1st)

Transportation headlines, Wednesday, Jan. 2

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: The 534 bus on Pacific Coast Highway at sunset last Friday. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Art of Transit: A southbound 534 bus on Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica at sunset last Friday. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Lankershim Boulevard rises to prominence in the Valley (L.A. Times) 

Another excellent dispatch in Christopher Hawthorne’s series on the past, present and future of significan streets in Southern California. In this, Hawthorne notes that the stretch of Lankershim that runs above the Red Line subway has become the most vital north-south connection in the San Fernando Valley and that the subway, in turn, has been the primary driver in reviving North Hollywood’s pedestrian-oriented Arts District.

Hawthorne also turns his attention to two projects involving Metro: a pedestrian tunnel under Lankershim to connect the Red Line’s NoHo station to the Orange Line terminus and a pedestrian bridge over the street at Universal City to connect the station entrance to Universal City proper. Hawthorne doesn’t like either project. Excerpt:

Putting pedestrians and drivers into separate silos of space, as the bridge-and-tunnel plan would do, isn’t just a remnant of modernist urban-planning theories that have been widely discredited. It would send drivers a clear message that they’re in control of the boulevard, free to drive even faster than they do now.

Simple and far cheaper solutions at both locations — widen the crosswalks, give people more time to get from one side to the other and ticket drivers who fail to yield — would have the benefit of smoothing the pedestrian flow and making the intersections safer at the same time.

Yet that approach has won little support from Metro, for one basic reason: What’s driving the proposals to remove pedestrians from the boulevard is not just a concern for their safety. It’s also a fear of traffic congestion along Lankershim, a worry that all those people on foot are proving an impediment to the free movement of cars.

I haven’t heard much from readers about the bridge at Universal City.  I have, however, sensed there is considerable reader support for the Red Line-Orange Line tunnel because many people would rather avoid crossing a busy street. I do think there is a very real ongoing conflict in Los Angeles about how much officials are willing to disrupt car traffic for transit, bike and pedestrian projects.

Tunnel beneath the Sepulveda Pass? It could happen quicker with private money (Daily News) 

At last month’s Board of Directors meeting, a motion was passed to consider public-private financing for the Sepulveda Pass transit project. The project is still undefined but among the alternatives considered to date are a bus rapid transit project or possibly a tunnel that could carry both toll lanes and a rail line. In the story, a Metro official says that private financing could speed up the project by years — under Measure R it’s scheduled to be complete by 2039 — and that tolls may be low because of the volume of cars that would use the tunnel.

My two cents: obviously the project has to pencil out before any private firm throws their money into it — they’ll need to know that tolls and/or fares will cover the cost of construction and then some. It will also take a long time to build a tunnel — the Sepulveda Pass project still needs to be defined, environmentally cleared, designed, financed and then built. It’s great that Metro is trying to beat the 2039 Measure R date, but I think we have to still be realistic and realize that such a project is likely not opening in the near term.

How far from the airport should the LAX people mover start? (Curbed LA)

The post is simply a recap of Yonah Freemark’s excellent article at Transport Politic about LAX’s recent offer of land to Metro for a rail station near the airport (he favors a people mover with a station adjacent to the Crenshaw/LAX Line’s Aviation/Century station. The comments along with the post are interesting and give you a flavor of what a variety of people want from this project.

We need a new Measure J…are L.A. County’s supes up for it? (CityWatch) 

Ken Alpern poses the hypothetical question to each of the five supervisors (he didn’t literally ask them) and points out that a re-fashioned Measure J could be consistent with each of their stated goals. Specifics are short, but Alpern seems to be thinking along the lines of a measure that would have funding for new transit projects and fully fund others already on the Measure R list. I suspect a lot of water still must pass under the bridge before another measure to extend Measure R goes to voters.

 

Go Metro Weekends, Aug 10 – 12

Posted by

Celebrate Tanabata in Little Tokyo! Photo by waltarrrrr via Flickr Creative Commons

It’s going to be another scorching weekend! If all you want to do is sit and chill under the blast of AC, go check out DocuWeeks, which starts this Friday at Laemmle NoHo 7. You’ll get to stay cool and come away feeling more worldly and educated. Screenings start at noon and continue throughout the day, check DocuWeek’s website for a full listing of titles and schedule. Ticket prices range from $8 to $11. The theatrical documentary showcase will screen 28 outstanding films from all over the world over the next three weeks. (Metro Red Line to North Hollywood Station, Metro Bus 152 to Lankershim/Chandler)

Celebrate the joyous reunion of two star-crossed lovers at Tanabata Festival this Friday in Little Tokyo. Head to the Japanese National American Museum plaza for fun, food and cultural performances. The opening ceremony is at 5 p.m. on Friday, and events continue on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. (Metro Gold Line to Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Metro Bus 40 to Judge John Aiso/1st)

Catch Alice in Wonderland on the big screen this Saturday at Expo Park once the sun – and the heat – has gone down. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., performances by Glen Iris and The Rebel Light begin at 6:30 p.m. and the movie starts at 8:30 p.m. And of course, there will be food trucks hanging around to keep you fed. General admission is $10, but if you go Metro you’ll get $3 off! (Metro Expo Line to Expo Park/USC Station, Metro Bus 102 to Exposition/University)

Metro to Receive $20 Million in Federal Grants from U.S. Department of Transportation

Posted by

Metro pulled in a couple of nice federal grants on Thursday — including money to help build the pedestrian tunnel under Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood between the Red Line station and Orange Line platform. The Daily News also published a good story with more details. Work is expected to begin on the tunnel in the fall.

Here’s the udate from Metro’s government relations staff:

Members of the Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation have been notified that we will be receiving two separate federal transportation grants from the United States Department of Transportation. The first grant, in the amount of $10 million, was provided through the Bus & Bus Facilities Program/State of Good Repair (SGR) Initiative. These funds will help procure Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) 40-foot buses that are needed to replace buses among our fleet that have exceeded, or are about to exceed, the end of their useful service life. The second grant, in the amount $10 million, was provided through the Bus & Bus Facilities Program/Livability Initiative for the Metro Orange Line Bus Enhancement – Pedestrian Connector to North Hollywood Red Line Station. Metro will use these funds to help construct a pedestrian passage (under Lankershim Boulevard) between the platforms of the existing Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station on the west of Lankershim Boulevard, to the mezzanine level of the existing North Hollywood Red Line subway station at the east of Lankershim Boulevard.

Transportation headlines, Monday, July 16

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.

Nice video on eating along the Expo Line from Willy Blackmore, the L.A. editor for Tasting Table.

Subway line meets an obstruction: Beverly Hills High School (New York Times)

The dispute between Metro, the city of Beverly Hills and the BHUSD gets front-page treatment in the print edition of the NYT although the story is simply a ‘he-said, she-said’ account. The reporter doesn’t make any attempt to verify what sources say. If you are interested in reading about the subway or the many associated reports, please spend some time at metro.net/westside.

In related subway internet news, here’s a Huffington Post opinion piece in which a junior-to-be at Beverly Hills High argues for dropping the lawsuits against Metro. And in this piece in the Beverly Hills Patch, a Beverly Hills elected official requires only 2,368 words to argue that he’s civil.

San Fernando Valley commuters flock to Expo Line (Daily News)

Reporter Dakota Smith rides the Expo Line and finds more than a few Valley commuters who are using the Red Line subway from NoHo or Universal City to connect with the Expo Line to travel west or south to jobs and other attractions. Metro doesn’t have any hard numbers to show how many Expo riders have trips originating in the Valley, but there is anecdotal evidence that a lot of people are transferring from the Red Line to the Expo Line at 7th/Metro Center.

Jim Newton: Villaraigosa’s tarnished transit triumph (L.A. Times)

Newton credits Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for pushing his America Fast Forward idea to Congress but faults the mayor because it falls short of the goals he set it — i.e. a Measure R extension is still needed to accelerate all of the Measure R transit projects. I understand his point that the AFF ultimately approved doesn’t quite match some of the rhetoric (which came from all quarters). But the big picture remains this: Here we are in July 2012 with a chance to accelerate the Measure R projects, none of which had any funding whatsoever before Measure R was approved in 2008.

Metro to run all trains and Orange Line busway until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights!!!

Posted by

In the nearly three years that I’ve been running this blog, I’m pretty sure the most requested service change from readers has been for more late night rail service, particularly on the weekends.

Metro CEO Art Leahy has decided to do just that. The specifics:

•All Metro Rail lines will run until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. That includes the Red/Purple Line subway, the Blue Line, Expo Line, Green Line and Gold Line.

•Trains will run every 20 minutes between midnight and 2 a.m.

•The Orange Line will run until 2:40 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in order to meet the last trains at the North Hollywood Red Line station. The Orange Line will also run every 20 minutes between midnight and 2:40 a.m.

•The plan at this moment is to begin late-night service on the weekend of July 27-28 but Metro is also working to determine if late night service is needed on the Silver Line, as well as working with Metrolink on the possibility of extending their service to connect with Metro’s.

Metro will provide more details on scheduling later in the month and there will be a considerable p.r. push to let everyone know about the new service. Suffice it to say, this is good news for workers and those going out on weekend nights, whether it’s to restaurants, bars or the many events in the region.

Here’s a statement on the new service from Los Angeles Councilman and Metro Board Member Jose Huizar:

“I’m very pleased that Metro is extending late-night, weekend train service hours to 2 a.m.
In 2008, my office launched a similar, public/private partnership extending Red Line service hours during the winter holidays. Following the popularity of that program, I’ve heard from many people for the need to permanently extend Metro train service hours. In Downtown Los Angeles, Metro’s extended Friday, Saturday evening hours will allow more customers to enjoy the many exciting late-night venues we offer, as well encourage more people to use public transportation.”

New timetable for Orange Line

Posted by

The following is the new timetable for the Orange Line that goes into effect on Monday. The four-mile extension between Canoga station and the Chatsworth Metrolink station opens on Saturday and is running a special schedule this weekend (more on that later in the week).

Here’s a link to the pdf for those who have problems viewing Scribd on their browsers.

I think most riders will be pleased with the new timetable. There remains direct service between North Hollywood and Warner Center, in addition to new service between NoHo and Chatsworth. In addition, during peak hours on weekdays there will be direct service between Chatsworth and Warner Center. In the evenings, buses will travel from NoHo to Warner Center to Chatsworth (and vice versa).

New Orange Line timetable

The art of transit

Posted by

photo by Andrea Cline, via Twitter

Nice and colorful iPhone photo of the North Hollywood Red Line station.

To submit a photo for the Art of Transit, post it to Metro’s Flickr group, email it to sourcemetro@gmail.com or Tweet it to @metrolosangeles with an #artoftransit hashtag. Many of the photos we’ve featured can be seen in these galleries on Flickr.

Transportation headlines, Monday, April 2

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.

All the details on the proposed Orange Line-Red Line link in NoHo (Curbed LA)

Check out the schematic of the proposed tunnel under Lankershim Boulevard that would connect the subway’s mezzanine level and the Orange Line street level platforms in North Hollywood. Metro is applying for a federal grant to pay for most of the cost; if it comes through, the project could be done by 2014.

California set to release $68.4-billion high-speed rail plan to appease critics (San Francisco Chronicle)

Nice possible scoop. The Chronicle reported over the weekend that the latest business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority will drop the price of the project from $98 billion to about $68 billion. How? Excerpt:

While the updated strategy still calls for construction to start in the Central Valley, it abandons plans to build only a 130-mile stretch from Chowchilla (Madera County) to Bakersfield. Instead, it extends the initial line north to Merced and south across the Tehachapi Mountains to Palmdale and the San Fernando Valley, probably Burbank, and calls for it to carry high-speed trains along the 300-mile stretch. It relies heavily on what officials have called a “blended approach” that uses existing commuter rail lines – including Caltrain – in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

That shift, authority board members said Saturday, is largely responsible for the cost savings because it eliminates the need to build separate tracks for high-speed rail through dense metropolitan areas.

We’ll see today if the Chronicle got it right. The Authority is holding a news conference this morning to explain the new business plan. I’ll post the news release and any other materials provided later today.

A good overview of the positive train control system that Metrolink is installing. The system uses GPS and digital communications to track trains to ensure they are on the proper track and abiding by signals. Metrolink officials say it could have prevented — or at least lessened the severity — of the crash in Chatsworth between a Metrolink train and freight train in 2008 that killed 25. Here’s a video that Metrolink made about PTC: