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First look at Broad Museum’s public plaza and new restaurant (Curbed LA)

Very interesting look at the plaza and eating space that the Broad Museum is building along the Hope Street side of the museum, which is next to Disney Concert Hall on Grand Street. This is significant because Metro is building the Regional Connector underground station on the Hope side of the building in what is a bit of an awkward spot. The plaza, however, should help better tie the Connector’s station to Grand Street.

The end of LOS in California? State wants input on a new planning metric (L.A. Streetsblog)

Smart article by Melanie Curry on a wonky subject. As part of proposed reform of environmental law in California, the state has proposed getting rid of the requirement that “level of service”  — known as LOS — be analyzed on roads near new developments.

LOS is usually measured at intersections and opponents of a development almost always point to LOS as a reason that a development should be rejected or downsized. This has had a perverse effect. A really good transit-oriented development near a transit stop still will likely impact traffic at nearby intersections, even if it’s good for the city as a whole (more people living near transit, more people walking, etc.) The LOS scores don’t capture that.

Or, as Melanie puts it:

The irony of LOS is that CEQA requires mitigation when projects cause delay to automobile traffic—even if the projects create better conditions for other road users, such as transit riders, bicyclists, or pedestrians. Thus the San Francisco Bike Plan was held up for years because of a lawsuit claiming the city did not take into account the negative effects bike infrastructure would have on LOS.

Governor Jerry’s Brown is now asking the public for input on a better metric to measure traffic congestion from projects. As flawed as LOS may be, the question becomes what might work better, especially in the era of climate change?

Wilshire BRT project has a Facebook page! (Facebook) 

Photo: city of Los Angeles.

The city of Los Angeles’ Public Works Department has set up a Facebook page for construction of the Wilshire bus lane. This is first I’ve seen of it — looks like almost daily updates and photos on work on the peak hours lane, which is scheduled to open next year.