Transportation headlines, Thursday, June 27

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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 Transportation Headlines online newspaper, which you can also access via email subscription (visit the newspaper site) or RSS feed.

Casden agrees to downsize West L.A. development (L.A. Times)

The number of residential units at the Expo Line-adjacent (Expo Phase 2, that is) at Pico and Sepulveda drops from 638 to 595 and the Target store and supermarket are eliminated from the project. Neighbors are relieved because the number of car trips in and out of the development will decrease without the stores. One transportation advocate, however, says it's too bad that the transit-oriented development won't have amenities that residents of the new buildings will need. Hmm. I think there's a Vons over at Santa Monica Boulevard and Sawtelle and a supermarket at Pico and Beverwil, which is conveniently located on the other side of Century City from the new Casden development. Super easy drive!!!

L.A. bike sharing program hits a snag (L.A. Times)

Bike Nation's plans to install the rental bikes has a problem: it can't sell advertising on its bike kiosks because of city contracts with two other firms that sell outdoor advertising. So Bike Nation has to reconfigure its business model, meaning that bike sharing won't start until 2014 at the earliest in L.A. My three cents: maybe it's better, giving the city more time to install more bike lanes that will attract bike renters.

Three-foot passing bill moves to State Senate floor (LADOT Bike Blog)

Similar bills haven't made into the law before but the latest iteration — requiring motorists to give cyclists at least three feet when passing — has had a rather smooth sail.

 

Categories: Transportation Headlines

11 replies ›

  1. No one living near the Inglewood is gonna use this train to get to work at LAX. Why would anyone of us want to pay $75 a month with ABSOLUTELY NO, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA GUARANTEE THAT IT’S GONNA STAY THAT WAY for a short train ride to LAX?

    You make it $20 a month flat and fixed forever for us those who live 5 miles of LAX here, then you have something. But $75 a month with who knows how much its gonna go up to? Forget it. We’d be better off with what we’re doing today by commuting with a motorcycle! We get free parking in the central terminal area on bikes and it costs cheaper too!

    And puh-lease. Don’t try to change the channel by making up excuses like “but you get to go anywhere for $75 a month.” If I wanna go somewhere far, I’ll happily pay more for it. I ain’t gonna need to go far that often anyway.

  2. The bigger concern is the delay between opening of the Crenshaw Line in 2019 and the people mover in 2028. That is much too long of a gap. The Green Line shuttle is no worse than the BART shuttle to Oakland or the MBTA shuttle from Logan to the Boston subway. The main issues I have are its lack of frequency outside of morning and afternoon peak, since most riders are airport workers and not passengers. I had to wait over 20 minutes, with no benefit of Nextbus, one evening after I had just missed a bus. Meanwhile three C shuttles passed me by. The G needs to run at least as often as the C.

  4. I don’t see why people get so worked up about the idea of a people mover from a future Aviation/Century station.
    None of the three major airports in NYC have direct rail service, both JFK and Newark use an efficient AirTrain.
    The people mover could also have the added bonus of connecting to a centralized car rental center, which would go a long way to removing congestion in the horseshoe road between the terminals.

    • While an airport to transit “people mover” may seen like a small additional hassle, there are plenty of transit studies that show a drop off of ridership with each “connection” that one must make on a single journey. For those of us who naturally like riding transit each “connection” may seem “interesting”, but to most folks it’s an annoyance to be avoided.

  5. Why there is no rail transport into LAX is easy to explain. Remember “Watergate”, when “Deep Throat” advised the Washington Post reporters to “Follow the money.” If rail transit came to LAX, LAX could lose tens of millions of dollars in parking fees! When I was in Lapland–Finland above the Arctic Circle–a Lapp told me that LAX was a “Third-World” airport. And, when compared to Helsinki, Finland’s airport, with it light-rail connection, it is!

  6. Why is it that in LA, when we try to move forward one step, it always ends becoming two steps back?

    I don’t know what’s wrong with building a mixed use condo with a Target and supermarket on the ground floor. If “more traffic jams” are the scare, why not just eliminate parking spaces altogether at this planned building? Then the only way people who can get to this Target and supermarket will be those who live there or within walking distance of it.

  8. I really wish there was some way to just make all of these constant complainers and selfish crybabies move out of LA. They’re not part of the solution, they are part of the problem! We get nothing done because of these constant complainers with backward mindsets.

    Waah waah waah, I don’t a subway underneath my high school because it might cause rattling. Won’t someone think of the children!

    Waah waah waah, I don’t want a big mixed used transit oriented development near my home because it’s going to cause more traffic. Won’t someone think of the quality of life!

    Waah waah waah, I don’t like turnstiles because transit should be free. Won’t someone think of the people who now actually have to pay to get onboard!

    Waah waah waah, I don’t like more bicycle lanes. They are a road hazard! Won’t someone think of safety!

  10. Yummy grocer is a delivery service that started in Santa Monica and Hollywood (Barnaby, the owner, is a fantastic chap).It would make marketing sense to offer those in that development or developments with more than 250 units, free delivery. Not only may it help traffic, but that reduction in traffic could help the store itself, since if they can take 3 cars off of the road (3 deliveries), and the storefront itself, may see a few additional motorist visit them. It will help their overall sales (-variables), while contributing too the greater good. I may contact Barnaby, and tell him to locate these developments around his stores so he could distribute coupons. This CAN work.