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Marina Espinoza. Photo: Zocalo Public Square.

Today’s profile of a Metro rider by Zocalo Public Square: Futuristic scenarios in my head, Pacific Avenue to Olive Street.

Emotion erupts at second 710 freeway public hearing (Daily News) 

More people attended the public hearing Tuesday in Pasadena for the SR-710 North Study project than the first hearing in East L.A. on Saturday. As would be expected, a variety of opinions were expressed about the freeway tunnel alternative. Some said the tunnel is the only thing that would help get cars off local streets while others said expanding freeways is too costly and that expanding transit options is more important.

After the public comment period on the draft study concludes July 6, Metro will analyze and respond to comments. Information posters used at the hearings can be viewed here. You can also submit a comment online. The project proposes four alternatives in addition to the legally-required no-build option to improve transportation in the area around the gap in the 710 freeway between Alhambra/El Sereno and Pasadena. The other four: freeway tunnel, light rail, bus rapid transit and intersection and traffic signal improvements.

Mobility matrices released (Investing in Place) 

In preparation for a possible ballot measure in 2016, Metro asked cities in Los Angeles County to list the transportation projects they would most like to see funded. Although no decision has been made by the Metro Board about putting anything on the ballot, one possibility is a sales tax increase to fund new projects.

The blog post is based on this Metro staff report about the “mobility matrices” — a fancy government word for “list.” In a nutshell: local cities listed about 2,300 different projects with a cumulative cost of up to $275 billion. That’s a lot of boxes of ziti, people — and most realistic ballot measures would have a hard time paying for all that. Measure R is expected to raise about $35 billion in its 30-year lifespan from mid-2009 to mid-2039, when it expires.

Of course, that’s the point of the matrices (sorry — see I’m turning into one of them!). The idea is to cut down the list into a realistic expenditure plan, which is supposed to happen later this summer. I encourage folks to look through the reports. A lot of transit projects get high rankings and many — such as converting the Orange Line to light rail — are not in Metro’s long-range plans.

So it will be very interesting to see what ends up in the expenditure plan. Transit projects must compete with highway and other programs for funding. And, of course, it remains to be seen whether the Metro Board decides to take anything to the voters/taxpayers. Stay tuned.

A zip line over Runyon Canyon could happen (LA Weekly)

The businessmen proposing the 500-foot zip line are throwing in a free shuttle bus from Hollywood to Mulholland. My sixth sense: it will be an uphill battle to get the city of L.A. to approve this thing 🙂

Top 25 greenest cities in America (EcoWatch) 

Honolulu takes top honors; L.A. doesn’t make the cut. A number of variables were used including air quality, energy sources, transportation and housing density. Like many such lists baited to catch clicks on the Internet, this one is a bit of a head-scratcher as number two — Washington D.C. — doesn’t strike me as particularly green, although the subway there is very nice. Other head-scratchers in the top 25 include sprawling Irving (Texas), sprawling Atlanta and sprawling Fort Lauderdale.

Rude Metro ad calls us out on our gross, dirty faces (CurbedLA)

A poor review for an ad for skin laser treatment. I’m told the sequel will be better. Speaking of sequels, this made me squeal — in a good way. The Imperial Star Destroyer laying in ruins in the sands of (presumably) Tattooine…mmmmm.

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Sort of transportationy things….

 •ART OF TRANSPORT: I was away the first three days of the week, hiding in the desert (no, not from the tax man). We occasionally remind shutterbugs to not take pics while driving. I am happy to report I didn’t take this pic while driving yesterday in the Mojave Desert. I also had a spotter who was assigned a simple task: yelling out “car.” That’s a gopher snake, btw, which leads me to this long-winded reminder: respect our state’s native wildlife! Photo by Steve Hymon.

•Things to listen to on transit: Another new and very, very funny episode of the Judge John Hodgman podcast that is almost as humorous as the JJHo episode featuring my case. In this case, one friend accuses the other of being a beer snob by making fun of his beloved Busch beer. With all due respect to the plaintiff, Busch is pretty much indefensible. If you’re going to drink bad beer, I suggest Hudopohl or Old Milwaukee. (And don’t drive — take transit!).