Security testing, Wilshire/La Brea Station, LAX people mover: How We Roll, Aug. 16

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Art of Transit 1: 

Photo by Luis Inzunza/Metro.

Metro tested a passenger security system called the Evolv Edge this morning in the Red Line’s west entrance at Union Station — passengers could pass through on a voluntary basis. The agency is looking at next generation systems for possible use in the future to screen for potential threats. At this time, no purchase of any such equipment is in the works.

Several media outlets are expected to run stories or posts. Some reaction from the Twitter-o-sphere:

https://twitter.com/gblakeman/status/897860608820891648

Again, I emphasize this is just a test. I certainly don’t expect everyone to like it, but at least it’s being done in public, which is the best way to generate good conversations about public policy.

Art of Transit 2: 

Guess where, people? The photo was taken Tuesday looking east in the station box for the Purple Line Extension’s Wilshire/La Brea Station. Click above to see more pics. If you’re a bulldozer enthusiast, this is your lucky day. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Art of Transit 3: 

New video rendering by Los Angeles World Airports of the automated people mover they are building — which LAWA says will be complete by 2023 (construction hasn’t begun yet). The people mover will connect to a new Metro Rail station at Aviation/96th Street that will serve trains on the Crenshaw/LAX Line and Green Line, as well as buses from several local agencies, Metro included. (Here’s the project home page).

Station rendering:

This should be a vast improvement on the current situation: taking a shuttle bus from the Green Line’s Aviation Station to the LAX horseshoe. The big problem: the bus gets stuck in airport traffic like any other vehicle.

The Aviation/96th Station will be completed after the Crenshaw/LAX Line opens in late 2019 — and obviously will be ready to go before the people mover opens. Keep in mind, too, that a key Measure M project is to extend the Crenshaw/LAX Line north to West Hollywood and the Red Line in Hollywood. It’s a project far into the future — the late 2040s — but Metro continues to look at ways to accelerate Measure M projects.

Art of Transit 4: 

Photos by Luis Inzunza/Metro.

A transportation roundtable was held at Union Station this morning and attended by House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Metro CEO Phil Washington and other local officials.

The takeaway: much agreement that the feds have a big role to play funding-wise — especially for local areas that are willing to tax themselves. L.A. County is a fine example of that, given voters approval of four sales tax measures to help fund Metro (1980, 1990, 2008, 2016).

Crescent Heights goes taller at 11th & Olive (Urbanize LA)

The proposal is for a 70-story residential skyscraper. It’s a half-mile walk from the Pico Station currently served by the Blue Line and Expo Line.

After the Regional Connector is complete in 2021, Pico Station will host light rail trains running between East L.A. and Santa Monica and trains between Azusa and Long Beach.

Will this skyscraper get built? I mentioned on Twitter that it would be great if someone handicapped which DTLA projects would actually become reality and Josh Albrektson got a post up on the Facebook DTLA Development group posing the question. There is already a great map showing proposed developments in downtown. Thanks Josh!

My geewillickers, there’s a lot of stuff being talked about in The DTLA. Even more than I knew about. Makes me want to exodus-ize from the ‘burbs back to the big city although I doubt I could afford it.

Trump signs order rolling back environmental rules on infrastructure (NYT)

The idea is to streamline the approval process and reduce the evaluation of impacts of such annoyances as climate change and rising sea levels. A plan/bill for an infrastructure improvement plan has yet to come forth from The 1600 although something is said to be in the works.

Councilmember Martinez Opens L.A.’s First 4-Way-Stop Scramble Crossing (Streetsblog LA)

It’s a scramble crosswalk but at an intersection in the SFV with no traffic signals.

I think I like the idea. But I wonder if motorists will respect it. Thoughts?

Dept. of Dodger Stadium Express:

With the Dodgers drawing huge crowds every night, consider taking the free bus from Union Station or Harbor Gateway to the game. More here.

Your preferred World Series opponent and why?

And finally, a little music for your Wednesday…

 

 

 

 

Categories: Transportation Headlines

11 replies ›

  1. The automated people mover is a fantastic and much-needed improvement to LAX’s usefulness. It will give us a surefire way to know how much time it will take us to catch a plane, without worrying about congestion inside the Sepulveda tunnel or around the horseshoe.

    But how will transit passengers get to LAX during the interim years between the time that the Crenshaw / LAX line opens in 2019 and the completion of the 96th Street / Century station sometime between 2021 and 2023 ?

    Will the transit operations now located at the LAX / Aviation station operate out of the much closer Aviation / Century station, or will they remain at the existing Green Line station at Aviation and Imperial Highway?

    As you note, it currently is incredibly time-consuming to take the shuttle from the LAX / Aviation station to LAX, and I imagine this situation will only worsen once construction commences on the automated people mover.

    In like fashion, how will southbound passengers on the Crenshaw / LAX line get inside LAX during this interim 3-4 year construction period ?

    And how will southbound passengers on the Crenshaw / LAX line get inside LAX during this interim period?

    • Hi Bob;

      Good question. I don’t believe any final decisions have been made yet on LAX shuttle operations between Crenshaw/LAX opening and the completion of the people mover. There is obviously the possibility of running a shuttle from the new Aviation/Century Station to the terminals. I don’t think those decisions will be made for a time, but as soon as I know anything I’ll let everyone else know.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  3. Who wants to waste their time gettin screen??!???On a schedule especially when tha train bout to leave

  4. The best thing about that people mover video, IMHO, was the building at the end covered in solar panels. I’ve been seeing this more and more in LA.

    Will the 96th St station actually open before the people mover is ready? I doubt that it would get much passenger traffic before the adjacent housing tract finally gets redeveloped.

    • Hi Pat;

      Under the Measure M spending plan, the new station would be done in the 2021-23 timeframe. As the project gets deeper into the design phase, we should have a better idea whne it will be completed. I agree: the people mover will be key to ridership at the station.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  5. On the 4-way stop scramble: I like the idea too, but half the time I feel like drivers are barely patient enough for me to cross one direction of traffic, let alone all of them. Curious to see this in action.

  6. “This should be a vast improvement on the current situation: taking a shuttle bus from the Green Line’s Aviation Station to the LAX horseshoe. The big problem: the bus gets stuck in airport traffic like any other vehicle”

    Imagine if we had any sense at all. Instead of spending billions of dollars, we could just put buses on the upper level horseshoe and put private automobiles on the bottom level.

    Instead of charging taxis and Ubers $4 dollars to use the loop, we would charge all vehicles $4 to use the loop. Congestion would drop as more people choose to take the transit, carpool or limit trips. Revenue could be used to expand the lower loop to increase capacity.

    • Hi Richard;

      That’s a very good point: the airport is the kind of place that congestion pricing could work. That said, congestion pricing is never an easy sell and even if the status quo at LAX isn’t very good traffic-wise, I’m not sure if folks would go for it or not.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

    • Actually, the taxes you pay on an airline go towards LAX road maintenance/ improvement and the construction of the people mover.

      A congestion tax/fee would be illegally double taxing the user.