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Art of Transit:
Will the fight over the 710 gap in L.A. be a battle to the death (of freeways) (NextCity)
Despite the headline, the article is a well-rounded look at different viewpoints on what, if anything, should be done about the gap in the 710 freeway between Alhambra/El Sereno and Pasadena. There are five alternatives in the draft environmental document released in March: a freeway tunnel, light rail, bus rapid transit, traffic signal and intersection improvements and the legally required no-build option. Here’s the the project’s home page and here is a link to make an online public comment on the report that is part of the project’s official record.
CicLAvia head is stepping down; he discusses future of events (L.A. Times)
Aaron Paley is leaving the nonprofit behind the immensely popular open street events around town the past few years. A good interview with architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne includes Paley saying that he would like to see CicLAvia become a monthly event.
As subway trips climb, MTA bus ridership stagnates (Streetsblog New York)
In 2014, New York Subway ridership was the highest it has been in 65 years. But bus ridership dropped slightly, especially so in Manhattan. Even bus lines that received upgrades had issues attracting riders. The post doesn’t delve into reasons why but what’s happen in San Francisco East (our new name for Gotham) more or less reflects what’s been happening nationally with rail performing better than buses.
Will Apple transit directions make a comeback? (thetransitwire.com)
The speculation is based on Apple job listings. The issue is that transit directions don’t appear on the native Apple Maps application on iPhones.
AppleWatch review: finally a smartwatch that makes sense (Wall Street Journal)
This review echoed much of what I’ve read: mostly positive if you can get over buying an expensive smartwatch to help you reduce use of your expensive smartphone. I’ve got too many Apple devices as is, but it will be interesting to see what kind of transit apps are developed for the watch. I can see the watch being useful in terms of telling you when the next bus or train may arrive and providing directions — if, that is, you can get a signal.
And, yes, wifi is coming to some Metro subway stations this year, so says Metro.
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Things to listen to on your podcaster while on transit: two roommates throw a weekly potluck for their friends. One of the hosts goes to bed early, leaving the other host to entertain the stragglers. Is a cohost allowed to leave her own party? Only one man can decide: Judge John Hodgman in a podcast that is almost as funny as the one featured yours truly.
Categories: Transportation Headlines
Oops. The exact quote was “. . . WRESTLE with traffic.” And for those who never saw it, it can still be found online: http://streetsblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/SuperHeroes.jpg
Hmm. Like a certain noteworthy Metro poster featuring a MetroRail rider in a Mexican wrestling hood said:
Let the other superheroes fight traffic.
“The 710 is one of the two major freeways for the roughly 50,000 daily truck trips that begin or end at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The tunnel would give trucks a more direct route to the vast trans shipment warehouses of the Inland Empire.”
Doesn’t the Metro report states that the majority of trucks that travels on the 710 usually takes other routes into the Inland Empire? Is this one of Metro’s selling point to build the tunnel? If the truckers want the 710 to reach the 210, so they can travel eastbound to the Inland Empire that is going to be hell. The 210 eastbound is a parking lot during rush hour…