How We Roll, Oct. 7: looking ahead to the Giants-Dodgers NLCS

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Games 3, 4 and 5 of the NLCS could be at the Polo Grounds if L.A./Brooklyn can nail down time travel by next week.

Bold prediction: The #1 seeded Cubs will live down to their legacy and fall to the Giants in five games. The Dodgers will squeak past the Nationals (jinx!) and we’ll have a Polo Grounds-Ebbetts Field NLCS if someone can manage to find a time machine next week and quickly/safely transport both teams and their fans back to 1957.

Fare note: Time travel on Metro requires freeway express fares if traveling beyond five years in either direction. Service alert: travel to another dimension is not currently available due to wormhole maintenance.

Related: The Dodger Stadium Express is ready to roll for Game Three — potential series clincher (double jinx!) Monday afternoon.

Bold prediction 2: Rams 16, Bills 14.

Not-So-Bold prediction 3: Buffalo coach will say something dumb after the loss.

Art of Transit:

Marina del Rey is at bottom and that's the 10 freeway about center frame. If you look real close, you can see the Expo Line slicing across Cheviot Hills on the right side of frame. Photo by Steve Hymon.

Marina del Rey is at bottom and that’s the 10 freeway about center frame. If you look real close, you can see the Expo Line slicing across Cheviot Hills on the right side of frame. Photo by Steve Hymon.

Let’s quit pretending about Uber (Human Transit) 

As noted, Uber has taken the ad down. Transportation planner Jarrett Walker notes that Uber’s motivation seems to be to move people from large transit vehicles to smaller ones, thereby increasing traffic on the road, thereby increasing pressure to expand roads and reduce other mobility options.

Jarrett has a foll0w-up post, asking himself if he over-reacted. He doesn’t think so, and neither do I. The ad is a great reminder that Uber is a company trying to turn a profit (and thus far failing) and that is their prime motivation — not changing society for the better, reducing traffic, etc.

Quasi-related: And there’s a reason that Uber is searching over hill and dale for new customers — they have start-up competitors such as Juno replicating part of their business model, but with a twist: paying more to drivers. Good article all about it in the New Yorker.

Campaign for Measure M brings in $4.5 million (LAT)

The list of political donors to the political campaign for Measure M — Metro’s sales tax ballot measure — is very not surprising. Metro can’t campaign for the ballot measure, so the campaign is being run by politicians and other advocates for the ballot measure.

More on Measure M here. The ballot measure would raise the countywide sales tax by a half cent and continue the Measure R sales tax beyond its mid-2039 expiration in order to pay for transit, highway, biking and walking projects and programs in Los Angeles County.

Related: Transit observer and writer Ethan Elkind comments on some of the parochial concerns over Measure M.

First glimpse of Orange Line adjacent project (Urbanize LA)

The mixed use building would include 384 residential units, 17,000-square-feet of commercial space and parking for 532 vehicles, so says Urbanize. This is one of many TODs being erected around town.

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As I’ve mentioned before, one of the other things that makes Nov. 8 interesting is that perhaps it’s the last time humans are on the ballot. For all I know, in four years I may be running the Daily Banana blog for my new minders…..who, to their credit, warned us….

 

Categories: Transportation Headlines

2 replies ›

  1. Nice aerial photo. I would never have guessed you could get such a clear wide angle shot from an airplane window. I’m guessing you were flying into the north runway at LAX? If you zoom in, you can actually see the Expo line right-of-way as far west as 17th St.

    With the other Olympics candidate cities, Budapest also has a rail network that pales in comparison to that of Paris, but so did Rio – and I’ve met a few people who went, and they had no trouble getting around. All that’s necessary is to get people between lodging and event venues, which every host city seems to have no trouble doing, and rail just makes it easier.

    • Hi Pat —

      Actually had just departed from the south runway. We did the usual fly toward the ocean and then did a 180 and cut across L.A. bound for Salt Lake. If the sun isn’t an issue, I’ve gotten some good pics from planes. Wish I had my big Nikon with me instead of the dumbphone! 🙂

      I am hoping one of our readers can grab some good pics of work on the Crenshaw project. Easy to get if on the right side of the plane heading into the south runway. Hint hint hint!

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source