How We Roll, Nov. 4: the art of transit

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Art of Transit: 

Post Happy Hour screwing around with the camera waiting for the Gold Line last night. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Post Happy Hour screwing around with the camera waiting for the Gold Line last night at LAUS. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Art of Transit 2:

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The California Feetwarmers perform at Union Station during the Thursday afternoon commute. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Art of Transit 3: 

A good view of the completed decking on Wilshire Boulevard for the future Wilshire/La Brea Station for the Purple Line Extension. The decking allows traffic to flow while station excavation continues underneath. Photo: Metro.

A good view of the completed decking on Wilshire Boulevard for the future Wilshire/La Brea Station for the Purple Line Extension. The decking allows traffic to flow while station excavation continues underneath. Photo: Metro.

Art of Transit 4: 

A southbound Blue Line station heading into Wardlow Station. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

A southbound Blue Line station heading into Wardlow Station. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Election stuff: 

At Curbed LA, Alissa Walker argues that Measure M should appeal to motorists, too.

In the LAT letters section, a reader argues that the Expo Line is far too slow and taxpayer money should be invested in other ways.

Over at StreetsblogLA, Joe Linton lists the ways that M would be good for those on bicycles.

At LAWeekly, an article about L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s push for M with quotes from proponents and opponents.

Measure M would raise the Los Angeles County sales tax by a half cent and would extend the Measure R half-cent sales tax beyond its 2039 expiration date to fund a number of transit, road, pedestrian and bicycle projects. To learn more about Measure M, click here. To see a timeline of projects and programs, click here and scroll down.

On the ballot (The Transport Politic)

A good roundup of the many, many transportation ballot initiatives going to voters as part of Tuesday’s election. As we’ve mentioned before, there are a bunch of big ones on the West Coast involving transit agencies in L.A. County, San Diego County, the Bay Area, Sacramento and Seattle. I’m guessing it’s going to be a long evening for transportation advocates up and down the coast.

Wilshire Boulevard, once a mecca for drivers, takes a different path (LAT)

Really nice story on the continuing evolution of Wilshire Boulevard — a street infamous for lacking streetcars but now getting a subway extension. The nut graphs:

The retail scene on Wilshire began fading decades ago as department stores closed and shopping malls became more dominate. But over the last few years, the Miracle Mile has been the center of a remarkable transformation that offers a window into what a Los Angeles of the future might look like.

Office buildings and shops are being replaced rapidly by upscale apartment complexes and mixed-use projects. What was once a center of commerce has now become more of an urban residential neighborhood, expected to grow even more once the Purple Line subway is extended under the Miracle Mile.

Some are pleased, others worry about being priced out of the neighborhood. But it’s clear that things are changing on what was a street that — to me, at least — seemed largely underdeveloped and underwhelming when I first moved here in the mid-1990s. The aforementioned Measure M includes funding to accelerate the third phase of the Purple Line Extension project from Century City to Westwood to a 2024-26 timeframe.

Los Angeles to Ontario on the airport: there it is, take it (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

The city of Los Angeles has formally handed over control of Ontario Airport to Ontario officials. What comes next? Some L.A. residents are hoping that Ontario can lure some air traffic away from LAX by making improvements to Ontario and developing some land near the airport.

Of course, that has been a tough nut to crack in the past as the airlines ultimately choose which airports they want to serve — and most of them want a heavy presence at LAX.

Transit use at or near records today (Chicago Crain Business)

The parade today for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs attracted millions to downtown Chicago. The previous CTA rail record was 918,723 — set last week on the day that Game 3 of the Series was played. The CTA rail system has 224 miles compared to Metro’s 105 miles; our average weekday ridership in September was about 356,000 for the sake of comparison.

Metra — the commuter rail agency that serves the Chicagoland ‘burbs — was also hit hard with some trains so crowded this morning they had to skip stops.

Maybe one day we’ll need to issue such a tweet:

 

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1 reply ›

  1. “Of course, that has been a tough nut to crack in the past as the airlines ultimately choose which airports they want to serve…” True, of course, BUT Los Angeles World Airports has clearly done its up most to incentivize airlines to use LAX over Ontario. Going forward, with Ontario now being run by an agency that will be actively working to grow Ontario’s business, I expect there will be a steady increase in activity. Given the option, why would anyone that lives equidistant or closely to Ontario voluntary choose to travel from LAX? Living in east LA county, I’ll take a flight from Ontario that has a reasonable layover versus the nightmare of traveling to/from LAX for a non-stop. And that doesn’t even include the “fun” once you’re actually at LAX. Flying from Ontario is, almost, pleasurable in comparison.