Boring Co. and Metro, shoulder to shoulder on Expo to LAFC; HWR, April 30

by ,

Dept. of Westside Tunneling 

Art of Transit

Big opening win/night for LAFC on Sunday. If you’re headed to a game this season, a friendly reminder that the Expo Line’s Expo Park/USC Station is a short and pleasant stroll from Banc of California Stadium.

Kudos to the team for building a fan base so quickly. Post game footage courtesy of our Joe Lemon:

Things to read whilst transiting: “Does the ending of Infinity War spoil itself?,” by NYT film critic A.O. Scott. Great question given the ending is only the ending until the sequel burps forth next spring.

FWIW, I enjoyed “Infinity War,” but thought it was 10 minutes too long, the Tony Stark-Pepper Potts scene was excruciating and Vision and the Scarlet Witch are a really boring couple. On the plus side, Thanos is a meaty villain, the Guardians of the Galaxy remain on top of their game and the ending had some oomph.

There’s now enough money to build the Gold Line through to Montclair (SGV Tribune)

CTC staff recommended $1.792 billion in grants for Metro last week — a big score. The Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority is saying the $290 million secured for the Gold Line should be enough to fill a funding gap and get the train to Claremont and Montclair.

Back to the future in the Valley (San Fernando Valley Business Journal)

The head of the Valley Industry & Commerce Assn. (VICA), Stuart Waldman, writes that he’s eager to see Metro build the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor project as light rail.

Metro Staff are looking at bus rapid transit and light rail as alternatives for the 9.2-mile project to run between the Van Nuys Orange Line Station and the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station on Van Nuys Boulevard and San Fernando Road.

Excerpt:

During the campaign to pass Measure M, our message to Valley voters was simple: Construct. Convert. Connect. That is, construct the proposed East San Fernando Valley and Sepulveda Pass projects as rail transit systems and convert the Orange Line bus rapid transit to light rail in order to better connect the Valley. Voters heard our message loud and clear…

This isn’t just about connecting Sylmar to Van Nuys, but about connecting Valley residents to opportunities to live, work and play in and out of the Valley.

Metro staff will soon release their recommendation for the project and it will subsequently go to the Metro Board of Directors for a vote. Of course, it will be Very Interesting to see how/where these three projects connect — we’ll learn more as planning continues.

As for the other projects mentioned above, planning work continues for the Orange Line Improvements Project, which is looking at possible grade separations and crossing gates for the busway. The Sepulveda Transit Corridor is in the midst of a feasibility study looking at different rail routes. The project currently has an online survey.

Los Angeles tests the power of ‘Play Streets’ (NYT)

Nonprofits along with the city of L.A. are temporarily closing some streets to provide kids some room to play. This story focuses on a closure on Fickett Street in Boyle Ideas.

Neat idea. Comments are good with a split — some love the idea, others mourn the fact it’s temporary.

I live in Pasadena and I’ve noticed in my neighborhood over the years that parents almost always supervise kids playing in front yards. And my street is not particularly busy although busier than The Time Before Nav Apps. That’s a shame as I was brought up in the age of free-range children, albeit in a city where traffic was not such a concern.

Were you free range? Or kept on a tight leash? Comment please, especially if you want to tell someone else how to raise their kids! 🙂

Stuck in traffic? These folks found a solution by joining a vanpool (Seattle Times)

Know anyone whose job has moved across town — say from DTLA to El Segundo? Seattle, like Metro, has a popular vanpool program. All the info here about how to organize a vanpool and its benefits. Among the benefits: avoid wear/tear on your car, letting someone else drive, using HOV lanes and there may be a tax break.

LAX and Metro, partners for jobs (LAObserved)

The airport and Metro are spending billions in the coming years for upgrades and system expansion, former LAT city editor Bill Boyarsky writes. That, he thinks, is a good thing and helpful to creating and sustaining the region’s blue collar workers.

 

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2 replies ›

  1. Steve H
    I said to my friends at the end of the movie, that we could only hope that Pepper disintegrated and will never be seen/heard again.

    Do we know if the tiny Montclair section is all funded by state grants and nothing from SANBAG? Would assume they have to kick in $ for operating expenses.