Tag Archives: Phase 2

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

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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.

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Transportation headlines, Friday, May 17

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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.

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.

Upcoming Expo Line Phase 2 meetings to update public on construction of project

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Here’s the notice from the Expo Line Construction Authority, the agency building the Measure R-funded light rail line between Culver City and downtown Santa Monica:

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Join us for an update on Expo Phase 2!
The Exposition Construction Authority invites you to a construction update community meeting for Phase 2 of the Expo Line project. Stakeholders will receive information on upcoming construction activities and timelines.
The format will include a short presentation followed by an Open House session to facilitate dialogue and community input.Los Angeles Construction Update
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
6:30 p.m.
Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services
Gymnasium
3200 Motor Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Parking available on campus

Santa Monica Construction Update
Monday, April 29, 2013
6:30 p.m.
Crossroads School
Community Room
1715 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Parking available on campus and surrounding streets

Planned Agenda for Community Meetings
6:30 – 7:00 p.m.: Formal Presentation
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Open House Session

ADA Language Accommodation: If you require an interpreter, including sign language services, or other accommodations at these community meetings, please contact Expo at least five business days prior to the meeting date at 213-243-5534.

For more information about the Expo Line project, visit BuildExpo.org or
call 213-922-EXPO (3976).
Find us on  www.Facebook.com/ExpoLine and follow us on  @ExpoLine

Forward this email to a friend.
To view the meeting flier, please click here.

Transportation headlines, Monday, April 15

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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.

ART OF TRANSIT: Here's a nice one for a drizzly morning, taken last week near the Expo Line's new bridge over Cloverfield Boulevard in Santa Monica. Photo by Expo Line Fan, via submission. Click above to visit his photostream of Expo Phase 2 construction photos.

ART OF TRANSIT: Here’s a nice one to distract you from a drizzly morning, taken last week near the Expo Line’s new bridge over Cloverfield Boulevard in Santa Monica. Photo by Expo Line Fan, via submission. Click above to visit Expo Line Fan’s Flickr page of Expo Phase 2 construction photos.

A one-man sanitation engineer for the busway (L.A. Times)

Nice Steve Lopez column about a 64-year-old man whose daily 5:30 a.m. walks have turned into a mission to pick up trash along the western portion of the Orange Line. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of trash, nor is there an easy explanation for why some public trashcans along the busway are overflowing.

Traffic experts don’t like Garcetti’s traffic idea (LA Weekly)

In last week’s mayoral debate, Councilman Eric Garcetti tossed an idea out there as an example of outside-the-box thinking: what if the city raised $1 million in private funds and offered it as a reward to someone who could solve Los Angeles’ notorious traffic?

The Weekly picked up the phone and gave some well-known traffic academics around the area a jingle, asking them what they thought of Garcetti’s idea. Very little, it turns out. The academics say that there are plenty of good ideas out there — one-way streets, more congestion pricing, higher gas taxes, limits on who can drive on particular days, parking and development reforms — but the problem is that politicians don’t want to implement them because all reforms end up ticking someone off.

A missionary’s quest to remake the Motor City (N.Y. Times)

Check out the lede of this story, journalism fans:

The best way to experience all that is strange and a little otherworldly about downtown Detroit is to walk the streets around 5 p.m. on a weekday. At that hour, you’ll notice not just the peculiarity of what is around you — notably, the gorgeous, Art Deco skyscrapers alongside empty, decrepit buildings — but also what is missing. There is no traffic here. As the workday ends, cars trickle out of underground parking lots and speed off to nearby highways, but in a volume that doesn’t cause delays.

It is just one small sign of how far Detroit’s fortunes have fallen: the birthplace of the mass-produced automobile, the city that gave us the infuriating, bumper-to-bumper commute, is now so sparsely populated that it doesn’t have a rush hour.

The article is about Dan Gilbert, the founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, and his attempt to revive downtown Detroit, which like the rest of the city is in the doldrums these days due to a precipitous drop in population, employment and local government’s ability to pay for anything. My three cents: every time I read one of these Detroit stories, I just want to  watch “RoboCop” again. The original, btw, was made in 1987 and maybe it wasn’t just a dumb, fun action flick after all! :)

What if you could decide how your tax dollars were spent? (N.Y. Times)

As the story notes, Americans fail to see their taxes as money well-spent. Excerpt:

Why the hatred? One reason is that it’s not easy for people to see how taxes provide benefits. One survey that asked Americans whether they had used any government social programs found many saying they hadn’t — when in fact, a majority had taken advantage of tax deductions for mortgage interest or child care. Fifty-three percent had taken out student loans, and 40 percent had benefited from Medicare. Clearly, the government has a marketing problem.

And the solution: The co-authors propose allowing taxpayers to choose how some of their taxes should be spent — i.e. on anit-poverty programs, the military or even transportation!

The idea is that many people actually gain satisfaction from giving – they just want to know how their gift is being used. And how is your tax money being used now? Check out this nifty tool from the White House website.

One man’s journey from Los Angeles to Real Madrid’s good luck charm (Sports Illustrated)

Nice story about how a Metro used his vacation time to haul equipment for the Real Madrid soccer club and befriending team manager Jose Mourinho.

Transportation headlines, Wednesday, April 10

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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.

ART OF TRANSIT: A Metro local bus on Broadway passes the entrances to Grand Park in downtown L.A. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

ART OF TRANSIT: A Metro local bus on Broadway passes the entrances to Grand Park in downtown L.A. Click above to see larger; looks better larger! Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Traffic zips in toll lanes but slows in free lanes (L.A. Times)

The Times kicks the tires of the ExpressLanes project and looks at the preliminary data released last month for the project on the 110 freeway. The gist of it: speeds are up in the ExpressLanes, down in the general lanes and some motorists are happy and others are very not happy. Transportation experts continue to back the project, saying it’s the best way to potentially add capacity to the freeway and it will take time for the public to get used to the lanes.

LADOT lays the ground for functional car share with Hertz; goodbye Zipcar? (L.A. Streetsblog)

The city of L.A. is considering switching its car-share vendor to Hertz from the current Zipcar. The issue is there are very few Zipcars in L.A. — just 40 (yikes!), mostly around UCLA and USC — and Hertz is seemingly offering the city a better deal by paying for exclusive parking spots and revenue sharing. My three cents: too bad it has to be one car share firm over another; it would be great if consumers had a choice.

Semi-related: As we posted recently, there are now four Zipcars available for rental at Los Angeles Union Station. More info here.

Mayoral candidates miss the train (LAObserved) 

Bill Boyarsky attends a community meeting over a proposed apartment complex at the future Expo Line’s Sepulveda station. Residents are worried about traffic and meanwhile, Boyarsky writes, neither of the candidates to be the next mayor of Los Angeles — Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel — are saying much about transit and what it will do to the city in the future. Excerpt:

What was missing here and in other city policy discussions was an examination of what these train lines would do for—and to—the city. In the Valley, there is talk of converting the popular Orange Line express bus to light rail, better able to handle the growing patronage. A Crenshaw rail line will be built and light rail is changing East L.A. The subway extension will remake the neighborhoods in the Wilshire corridor.

It’s definitely something for Greuel and Garcetti to discuss. But the subject deals too much with Los Angeles’ future to attract attention in a campaign where both candidates are worried about a short-term gain of votes in an election less than two months away.

A Los Angeles primer: the subway (KCET)

Fun and well-written post by Colin Marshall looks at the phenomenon that many Angelenos have never set foot or tushie upon the subway here — a subway system that Colin thinks is quite pleasant albeit somewhat limited. Excerpt:

Yet on the whole, those I introduce to our subway emerge impressed. Say what you will about their limited reach; the Red and Purple Lines surely must rank among the cleanest, most comfortable, least urine-smelling systems in America. You may lose twenty minutes waiting on platforms, but you’ll have taken a subway — in Los Angeles! Some transit observers regard this town as a child who, having broken a leg on the playground, started school only after a considerable delay: perhaps he hasn’t caught up with his peers yet, but you should’ve seen how far behind he was a year ago. This sense of Los Angeles in the remedial class intersects with the notion, correct or not, that transportation just works differently here: differently when we didn’t have a subway, and a different kind of subway now that we have one.

Read the whole thing. Colin makes some very cogent points about the region and its attitudes toward transportation and, more specifically, the changing attitudes of some younger residents toward the concept of automobile ownership.

It’s Tulsa versus Milwaukee in Parking Madness title game! (D.C. Streetsblog)

The funny-but-sad tournament is trying to determine which American city did the best job of turning its downtown area into a giant parking lot, i.e. a parking crater, to serve whatever buildings were allowed to remain. Check out the photos of Tulsa, which appears to have leveled a big chunk of its downtown since the 1970s to accommodate more cars. Geesh. If you’re just turning in, L.A. surprisingly got bounced in the tourney’s first round by Dallas. Speaking of L.A.-Dallas….that was a sour third period last night, Kings.