Kobe, SB 50, Market Street; Metro News Now, Jan. 29

Dept. of Kobe

Photo by Sean Davies/Metro.

Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

There will obviously be a big crowd for the Lakers home game against Portland on Friday night at Staples Center. The A Line (Blue) and E Line (Expo) share Pico Station, which is a very short walk from Staples Center and L.A. Live.

In the news…

•The state bill, SB 50, that would require cities to allow more housing (including in single family neighborhoods) built near frequent transit stops could be voted on in the State Senate today. The bill was shelved last year and has received a lot of public discussion and media attention, given the state’s housing issues.

•Two miles of Market Street in downtown San Francisco was officially closed to private vehicle traffic beginning today. Only buses, streetcars and bikes are allowed going forward. Here’s a good article in CityWatch and a post from our friends at SF Muni.

From the Better Market Street website:

Another city with something similar is Denver with its 16th Street Transit Mall in downtown. I remember visiting there in 1993 and being amazed at seeing a street closed to cars but with buses coming by every couple of minutes. I’m sure Source readers can mention other examples.

•A guide to the Purple Line Extension at Curbed LA. The project is extending the subway for nine miles to the Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood.

•Meant to post this one last week: New York MTA chief Andy Byford resigned last week due to an ongoing dispute with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the scope of his job. Here’s the NYT article that notes Byford made inroads fixing service issues with the New York subway and that put plans in place that will help his successor.

 

4 replies

  1. Saw KOBE RIP on the A and E lines yesterday. Would love to see Metro rename Pico station after Kobe permanently. Similarly, renaming the Crenshaw/Slauson station would be a great way to honor Nipsey.

  2. I find it interesting that in the first video there were four City vehicles parked along the curb and a U.S. Mail truck allowed to go down Market. I guess government vehicles are exempt. Wouldn’t want the bureaucrats to be inconvenienced. When I travel to S.F. I prefer to drive and Market St. is a nightmare getting on and off of it as it is. Now they are banning traffic. The city is hard enough to get around without closing the only street that seems to have a sensible direction of travel.