Part of the fun and excitement of joining The Source is that now the whole staff has more time to take on a more diverse range transit-related topics. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing two new recurring features for The Source.
The first will be a weekly roundup of transit agency news and blog posts from across North America — and sometimes beyond. My goal with this series is to keep readers of The Source abreast of how other cities are attempting to keep their residents mobile and how they tackle the challenges of doing so.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for, in particular, transit agency best practices in a wide range of areas: from fare media and transit information sharing, to network planning and community outreach. I’m currently compiling a list of blogs that I will be keeping tabs on, such as the Buzzer Blog at Vancouver’s TransLink and the US Department of Transportation’s Welcome to the Fastlane blog. If you know any good ones that The Source should be keeping an eye on, feel free to leave a comment and a link.
In the second feature, which I’m tentatively calling “Trailhead Hunter,” I will be writing a series of reviews of hiking and walking trails that can be reached by Metro. The L.A. area is somewhat notorious when it comes to the glaring lack of parks within walking distance of where people live. But we do have some of largest expanses of urban wilderness in the country in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, among others.
I’m hoping that these stories will serve as a helpful guide for transit riders throughout Southern California who want to enjoy these incredible natural resources in our backyards. I think Metro can be a great tool to help reconnect Angelenos with fresh air, beautiful wildlife, and incredible views. Where our city’s founders may have dropped the ball in planning parks in the heart of the city (a la New York’s Central Park), Metro can step in and be the connective tissue between people and parks.
To start things off, I’ll be taking a look at a few Metro-accessible parks that I’ve frequented since I was a little kid: Temescal Canyon, Will Rogers State Park and Will Rogers State Beach. Also on my to do list are Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area and Griffith Park. And of course, if you have any favorite walking or hiking spots that you want to see explored on The Source, just drop us a note in the comments section or email us at sourcemetro@gmail.com.
Keep your eyes peeled for these features to come online in the next week.
Categories: Metro Lifestyle
The 534 stops right at the trailhead for Corral Canyon Park in Malibu. Escondido Falls is also not terribly far from the 534 stop at Paradise Cove.
This is a great source of transit news and commentary for Seattle and the Pacific NW: http://seattletransitblog.com/
Ditto on the Trailhead Hunter series — I was just out on Echo Mountain last weekend thinking about how I’d like to know more about good hikes and outdoorsy activities in the area. And if I can take public transit, it’s a bonus!
Be wary about including Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area in your features. The 439 (the only route that serves the park, and even then only on weekends) may be discontinued this winter.
I’m excited about the Trailhead Hunter project, it sounds great! As an foreigner from the Midwest, I’d love to see as many parks visited as possible, so that I can follow in your footsteps!