Nice video from Lucia Phan of our Purple Line Extension team on the work underway to build a new subway station below traffic passing overhead at Wilshire and La Brea.
Art of Transit:
Dept. of Wonder Woman vs a bus / Dept. of Gotta Love the 1970s era television:
One way to deal with missing your bus…which we heartily don’t recommend trying at home.
Foothill Gold Line Montclair extension to begin early construction later this year (Streetsblog LA)
The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is putting a small utility relocation contract out to bid — and that work is scheduled begin before the end of 2017.
Major work on the project to extend the Gold Line to Claremont is expected to begin in the 2018-19 fiscal year and be done by 2025; the bulk of the funding will come from Measure M, the transportation sales tax approved by L.A. County voters in November.
And what about Montclair? That will depend on whether San Bernardino County officials choose to be masters of their domain by kicking in the funds needed for that section of the line.
Opening of Greenway Trail along L.A. River in Studio City celebrated (Daily News)
The now four-mile walking path is on the north side of the river while a bike path will be on the south side. Nice to see the city embracing the river, even if the river is entombed in concrete. 🙂
Want to support the Paris agreement? Stop driving so much, L.A. (Curbed LA)
If everyone cut back a little, that could add up to a lot of savings, so says Curbed. We preached much the same thing recently; here are some charts that compare greenhouse gases burped forth from transit vs driving.
I liked this quote in Curbed:
“You can’t be for fighting climate change and against building density in urban centers,” says Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. “Building a sustainable future includes creating smart growth that is centered around housing, mass transit, and walkability. That’s why Long Beach is committed to increasing density by building additional residential units and promoting growth along our transit corridors.”
He’s right. Garcia, btw, also happens to serve on the Metro Board of Directors, so can actually do something about which he preaches. DTLA and DTLB, the two most populous cities in L.A. County, certainly have space remaining for development. Some apartments priced under $2K month please!
Lots of interestingness in the Curbed LA comments section, too — including some shovel banging on the viability/non-viability of taking transit in LaLaLand.
California Senate moves forward with bill that would overhaul Los Angeles County MTA (LAT)
Reading this while on a bad date? End the proceedings early by raising discussion of SB 268, which would slightly expand the Metro Board and occupy it with even more local pols. The bill’s author — Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) — had a bill that died last year that was along the same lines. This one would:
The measure would expand the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board from 12 to 15 members. It would also reduce the number of county supervisors on the board from five to two, remove the appointment of two public members and increase Los Angeles City Council member appointments by the mayor from two to five.
As the LAT notes, the bill has its share of opponents, including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, both the city and counties of L.A. County and the L.A. Chamber of Commerce. The Metro Board has voted to oppose it. Stay tuned.
If you’re date has successfully fled, take a Measure M-inspired bottoms-up approach to that glass in front of you and remember: transit is a great way to avoid mixing celebrating and driving. ??
Categories: Transportation Headlines