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Have fun watching the game tonight, Los Angeles Kings fans — and travel home safely! If you are planning on potentially (over) celebrating a visit from Lord Stanley Cup, please consider taking transit or a taxi!
L.A. half-cent tax proposal for street, sidewalk repair is pulled (L.A. Times)
Two Los Angeles City Councilmembers pulled their proposal to ask voters in the city to ask voters in November to raise the sales tax by a half penny to pay for $4.5 billion in repair work. Some transit advocates were concerned that voters wouldn’t approve both a city sales tax hike and then a potential countywide tax measure in 2016 to fund Metro and Caltrans transportation projects.
Group casts transit hub as L.A. River Walk destination (L.A. Register)
The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council is trying to get ahead of the curve by proposing a site for a future transit hub in the Valley that would also be river-adjacent. The idea is to create a place that could potentially be served by local and express buses and future rail lines, including one that could link the Valley and the Westside. Neat idea, says one Metro official — but the agency isn’t looking for parcels to acquire at this point.
The suburbs didn’t die — just short-circuited (High Country News)
A look at recent Census data showing that the ‘burbs are still alive and growing in some places in the western U.S. while in other cities, such as Seattle, the urban areas are growing at a faster rate than the ‘burbs. In other cases, suburbs are taking on a more urban tone with more walkable areas and transit stations linking them to the rest of the metro area.
Mona Freeman, first ‘Miss Subways’ dies at 87 (New York Times)
She was the first of many models whose images adorned posters in the New York subway system between 1941 and the mid-1970s. At the time she was chosen, Mona had never ridden the subway although she subsequently became a familiar site to millions of riders. The gig lead to movie and TV roles and a later career as a portrait painter. She passed away in Beverly Hills.
You might be able to soon watch Netflix on Amtrak (The Atlantic CityLab)
Amtrak is talking about a serious upgrade to the free wifi it offers along Northeast Corridor routes — good enough to watch streaming shows and movies on Netflix potentially. Riders have been complaining the wifi isn’t fast enough.
Categories: Transportation Headlines
Transit Rider
The subway does not fallow the major and heavily traveled transit corridor, Santa Monica Bl.(U.S. Hwy 66, State Hwy 2). When traffic reaches Highland it is somewhat relieved due to Hollywood Bl, Sunset Bl. and Fountain Ave. The problem is traffic originating in West Los Angeles and Century City going thru Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood. If we don’t need the Hollywood freeway widened so as to accommodate the heavy traffic then why was it done to the 405?
No new taxes unless the number one priority is a Light Rail Line running east and west along the Santa Monica Bl. corridor from at least Century city to Sanborn Junction.
Mike, what are you ranting about? Hollywood has a SUBWAY line running through it, serving the entire neighborhood from the east (Vermont/Sunset and Hollywood/Western) to the west (Hollywood/Highland). Hollywood doesn’t want or need another highway or a wider 101 (for more cars to stay parked in 7+ hours a day). They will provide none of the “relief” you are seeking.
Mike Dunn what you say about the San Fernando Valley having their chance getting rail to the Westside is completely untrue, false and outrageous.
The 405 project that is almost completed was always designed to be a Highway project and not rail.
I have listed the web pages on Metro currently concluding project so please somewhere in those pages, or even elsewhere, that states that rail was considered.
The Metro project page is http://www.metro.net/projects/i-405/
The list of community meetings http://www.metro.net/projects/I-405/past-meetings/
The 2008 EIR http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/resources/envdocs/docs/Final%20LA405DOC_022208.pdf
Guess what, there was and still is a project to get rail from the Valley to the Westside, it is the Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor http://www.metro.net/projects/sfv-405/
It has a Billion dollars from Measure R.
Although Mike has failed in his recollection of events and is probably referring to the Orange Line becoming a bus line, the law that was pushed through by a corrupt politician has been overturned by the State Assembly and soon by the State Senate
http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.com/2014/02/repeal-of-orange-line-rail-ban-clears.html
And here is post from yesterday regarding a San Fernando Valley business group pushing for rail http://www.postperiodical.com/valley-coalition-formed-to-advocate-for-rail/
One of the web sites indeed state rail and improvements to the Sepulvada corridor were considered. In addition a new bus line as a alternative is being created.
My gripe is over a billion dollars is being spent for this project alone. There was a project previous to this one that was completed only one year before this one was started. But those of us who live in the Hollywood area both east and west see no improvements to help us with our travels. Governor Brown killed a freeway that was supposed to alleviate our travel nightmares during his first term. The Hollywood Freeway, our only freeway, was completed in the early 1950’s and has seen no improvements. Where is our six lane freeway? Where is our Orange Line? Where and when do we get relief? No new taxes unless we are number one priority.
I think portable DVD players are a thing of the past. I mean, who’d want to carry around their entire DVD collection around when they go on a trip?
It’s all about ondemand live streaming these days. You have Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Youtube, Crunchyroll, etc. etc.
You have a tablet or a smartphone and a fast WiFi connection, you access everything in your device without the need of carrying anything extra. The lighter and less thing you need to carry, the better.
The valley had their chance to get rail to the Westside with this latest never ending project. It’s now time for those in the East Hollywood, Hollywood, West Hollywood to get some relief. Governor Brown canceled the extension of the Highway Two Freeway leaving us with grid lock traffic on all major streets in the area. I for one will campaign against any Transit measure that does not include as it’s number one priority a Light Rail line from East Hollywood to Century City.
Re: Amtrak WiFi:
Personally, I’d be more interested in just being able to check my email from long-distance trains like the Starlight, Empire Builder, Zephyr, and Sunset Limited. If I want to watch a movie onboard a train (or airplane), I have a portable DVD player for that.
The suburbs these days are transforming themselves are becoming minicities of their own.
Take a look at the west side cities of Santa Monica, Culver City and the unincorporated area of Marina del Rey. People, especially the urban youngsters are beginning to live and work there in that same area rather than living and working 20 miles away.