[BrighamYen]

http://www.latimes.com/media/graphic/2008-09/42371099.gif


http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-record15-2008sep15,0,3966464.story?track=ntothtml
From the Los Angeles Times

Metrolink's grim record of fatalities
Only N.J.'s far-busier commuter rail has had more deaths since '99.
By Steve Hymon
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 15, 2008

Metrolink has amassed the most fatalities among commuter railroads of similar size in the United States over the last decade, a statistic boosted in part by three deadly train collisions in the past five years, according to federal reports.

Cars and pedestrians at the 464 street-level crossings on Metrolink's right of way are a key factor in the fatalities, but the agency also stands out from some counterparts in how much it shares tracks with freight trains.

The cause of Friday's accident is yet to be determined, but investigators are focusing on a series of signals that should have warned the train's engineer to wait for a freight train to move off a shared track west of Chatsworth.

From 1999 through June 30 of this year, 47 people died in incidents involving Metrolink trains, according to Federal Railroad Administration records. That number does not include the 25 people killed in Friday's collision, the woman who died after her car was struck by a Metrolink train in Corona the same afternoon and a suicide by a pedestrian earlier this month. Those bring the total to at least 74 deaths.

The only commuter rail agency with more deaths than Metrolink is New Jersey Transit, whose trains travel six times as many miles as Metrolink trains on an annual basis and carry five times as many passengers. New Jersey Transit amassed at least 79 deaths through June 30. Since then, the railway has had at least one additional fatality, according to media reports.

Conversely, several larger commuter lines had fewer fatalities in the same time span. For example, the Chicago-area Metra trains, which last year traveled four times as many miles and carried seven times the number of passengers, had been involved in 59 fatalities from January 1999 through June, according to the data. Metra also suffered one fatality in a crash since then.

Other larger commuter rail agencies that have seen fewer fatalities than Metrolink include New York's Long Island Rail Road, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority that serves the Boston area and SEPTA, whose trains operate in the Philadelphia area.

"The figure I think is unfortunately misleading," said Keith Millhouse, the vice chairman of the Metrolink board of directors. "I don't think you can necessarily say or draw conclusions that these numbers necessarily reflect Metrolink's safety record."

He said the 11 deaths in the Glendale crash in 2005 were the "act of a convicted murderer" who parked his SUV on the track. And he pointed out that many of the other deaths were the result of people and cars trespassing on or crossing the tracks.

Federal records show that 20 people, most of them in vehicles, have been killed in accidents at street crossings with Metrolink trains since 1999. That is higher than other similar commuter rail agencies, except Metra, which had 22 such deaths. Metrolink is believed to have more grade crossings than similar railroads, particularly older established lines on the East Coast, where bridges and under-crossings are more common.

Metrolink also had a streak of multiple-fatality crashes in the last five years. In 2003, a freight train that failed to stop at a signal slammed into a Metrolink train in Placentia, killing three passengers. In 2005, 11 people died when a Metrolink train struck an SUV that had been deliberately parked on the tracks in Glendale, causing a collision with a second Metrolink train and a sidelined freight locomotive. The driver of the SUV was convicted of 11 counts of murder in June.

Warren Flatau, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman, said that it's difficult to compare commuter railroads because of their different sizes, operating environments and the nature of crashes.

He noted that the 2003 and 2005 accidents were not the fault of Metrolink. Although Flatau said that his agency was "not in the business of boosterism," he praised Metrolink for being the first commuter rail agency to purchase train cars with technology to help them better absorb crashes. He also said Metrolink should be credited for trying to cordon off tracks from surrounding streets and neighborhoods.

Metrolink shares the majority of its 388 miles of track across six counties with freight trains. The rail service was stitched together by sharing agreements or by purchasing freight lines, often on the condition that freight haulers could keep using them. Service began in 1992.

Ross Capon, executive director of the National Assn. of Railroad Passengers, called Metrolink's two previous crashes "plain bad luck."

"When you create a commuter railroad service and you have lots of grade crossings and you have a lot of high speeds, and it's a fairly new service, it's not like Chicago where these trains have been running since the beginning of time," he said. "I think that part of it is the populace getting accustomed to fast and frequent trains in places where they didn't used to exist."

Capon said that Friday's accident should spur railroads to implement automated systems, known as positive train control, that can correct for human errors and stop trains before it's too late.

"They always want to make it anybody's fault beside their own," said Ed Pfiester, a Los Angeles-based attorney who specializes in railroad litigation and was involved in lawsuits stemming from the 2003 crash and is representing passengers in the 2005 crash.

"I just don't think they are managing it like they should in light of the kind of territory they run," he added. "They need better surveillance and security on grade crossings."

In 2006, a Metrolink train slammed into a car driven by Maureen Osborn, 76, killing her instantly near the intersection of Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Road in Glendale. Metrolink officials said Osborn was trying to beat the train.

The accident happened exactly three years after another at the same crossing, when a train hit a truck stopped on the tracks -- killing the driver and a train passenger.

Osborn's son Jim has long argued that his mother wasn't trying to race the train but was confused by the combination of traffic signals and railroad crossing lights in the area.

He believes Metrolink often shifts blame to motorists, ignoring more fundamental problems.

"Because my mom made a mistake, she's dead," said Osborn, an engineer who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Metrolink doesn't fix problems. They leave them alone and let them grow into big problems."

steve.hymon@latimes.com

[northbay]

Light rail hits collides with bus near downtown LA

By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer

Friday, September 19, 2008

(09-19) 08:39 PDT Los Angeles, CA (AP) --

A light rail train slammed into a bus near downtown during Friday morning's commute, injuring 14 people, fire and train officials said.

The Metro Blue Line train was headed to Long Beach carrying passengers while the bus was out of service. Fourteen people from the train, including the operator, were injured, said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Luis Inzunza.

"We had an out-of-service bus turn in front of the train," said Marc Littman, another spokesman for the MTA, which operates the train and the bus involved. "We don't know who had the right of way."

The impact knocked the front car of the electric train off the track. The other cars remained on the track. Littman said they were still investigating the incident.

More than an hour after the accident, the smell of compressed natural gas leaking from the bus was still strong.

Chris Romero, 31, who lives in a small apartment near the tracks, said the screeching metal woke him up and he came running over. This crash coupled with the recent Metrolink crash, has made him wary of taking the train.

"With everything that's going on, it's scary to go on the Metro," he said in Spanish through an interpreter, adding that he would not take the train "right now."

The crash comes one week after a Metrolink commuter train smashed into a freight train in the San Fernando Valley, about 30 miles northwest of downtown, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130.

MTA's popular light rail system includes the Gold Line to suburban Pasadena, the Red Line subway to Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, the Blue Line to Long Beach and the east-west Green Line across communities in the southern portion of the county.

The Blue Line started service in 1990 and is the oldest part of the light rail system.

Staff writers Noaki Schwartz and Jeff Wilson contributed to this report.

from the sf chron: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/19/national/a071121D96.DTL

whats with la and transit accidents recently!?

[Vangelist]

Yay another accident. Goddamnit


All this is just going to help Damon Goodmon's case at Dorsey High folks

[StethJeff]

Yay another accident. Goddamnit


All this is just going to help Damon Goodmon's case at Dorsey High folks

no kidding man, there goes the expo line . . . :(

[Westsidelife]

Eh, eventually it will come to a point where the Blue Line will have no other choice but to be grade-separated.

[StethJeff]

Anyone think these disasters can actually help rail development in LA? By placing more attention on improving safety, will it not also force people to consider improving rail transit in general?

[Westsidelife]

PUC Bans Cellphone Use in Trains and Measure R: Ramping Up, Sept. 19 (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/ramping-up-se-1.html)

By Steve Hymon
September 19, 2008

Measure R: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature reached a budget deal Thursday that could clear the way for the governor to start signing bills. There are a whole mess of them that affect transportation and driving. But the one that this blog has been watching is AB 2321, which would allow a half-cent sales tax increase proposal, called Measure R, to go to voters in Los Angeles County on Nov. 4. The money would go to mass transit and road improvements.

...

[Wright Concept]

Anyone think these disasters can actually help rail development in LA? By placing more attention on improving safety, will it not also force people to consider improving rail transit in general?

I think so. :cheers:

Also grade separating that portion of Washington can be speared ahead once the Regional Connector is in place because now there is the idea that it is for more than just the Blue Line which improves the likelyhood of funding of replacing the at-grade Washington Blvd Blue Line with a corridor between Convention Center/LA Live - South Park - Fashion District - Electronics District (Which can be the new residential neighborhood and developed around a future station).

[JDRCRASH]

Anyone think these disasters can actually help rail development in LA? By placing more attention on improving safety, will it not also force people to consider improving rail transit in general?

Yes; it will divert concern toward rail development in general.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if because of this one accident, a few individuals may stop riding the rail transit.

[Wright Concept]

There are auto accidents and plane crashes all the time and people still travel in large numbers.

[Westsidelife]

It's Official: Measure R Going to Voters in L.A. County (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/breaking-news-g.html)

By Steve Hymon
September 25, 2008

BREAKING NEWS: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed AB 2321, the bill allowing the Measure R election to go forward on Nov. 4. That's the half-cent sales tax increase to pay for more mass transit and road improvements.

Proponents of the measure say the sales tax would raise $30 billion to $40 billion over the 30-year lifespan of the tax. To pass, the measure requires approval of two-thirds of voters. The current sales tax rate in L.A. County is 8.25%, already one of the highest in California.

Los Angeles County voters have approved two prior half-penny increases for mass transit -- one in 1980, the other in 1990. But those hikes came only after voters had rejected other mass transit taxes or bonds in the 1960s and '70s, thereby delaying the construction of more mass transit in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Among the big-ticket items that Measure R would fund are a subway extension, the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica, an extension of the Gold Line deeper into the San Gabriel Valley and a variety of road improvements. Fifteen percent of the revenues would be returned to cities in the county to spend on their own transit projects.

It remains to be seen how much of a political battle will develop around the sales tax. Three of five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors -- Mike Antonovich, Don Knabe and Gloria Molina -- have come out against the tax because they believe the money will not be evenly distributed around the county. And some officials in the San Gabriel Valley are upset because they believe money designated for the Gold Line and other projects will not have enough protections and that it will later be diverted to other projects, such as the subway.

The sales tax is being pushed by, among others, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who will be overseeing the campaign and directing the fund-raising. Villaraigosa ran for mayor in 2005 on a platform of completing the subway to the sea. Measure R would set aside $4 billion for the project, enough proponents say to get the subway as far as Westwood.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) sponsored the state bill and helped it survive the Legislature, where it almost died on several occasions as politicians fought over what projects would be included in the bill. I just got off the phone with Feuer and he predicted success for the campaign for one simple reason: "There are very few elections," he said, "where voters have such personal daily contact with the issue."

[JDRCRASH]

Yes!!! Thank You Arnold!!!

[Wright Concept]

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/3/9/25/f_image001m_db4671b.png

Thursday, October 16th, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Central Library
630 W. 5th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Tuesday, October 21st, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Japanese American National Museum
369 E. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

For additional information, call 213.922.7277 or visit metro.net/regional connector.

[JDRCRASH]

It's clear that with alot of projects coming online within the next 10 years near Universal City, its vital that we extend the Red Line to allow those projects to go forward without resident intervention. But because of high costs, extending the subway underground seems like an unecessary investment.

But here's an idea: Why not let the Red Line transfer to an Elevated Train and continue to Bob Hope Airport; like this?

http://simcity.ea.com/images/about/inside_scoop/rh_transportation015.jpg

[dragonsky]

Streetcar may get some funding in L.A.

Looks like the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency is going to vote Thursday to set aside $5 million for a downtown streetcar project in Los Angeles.

Don't get too excited. The project is expected to cost $90 million and will require significant funding from a private sector that hasn't exactly shoveled tons of money in the past into downtown infrastructure projects. Maybe things will change.

--Steve Hymon

The press release from Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents part of downtown L.A., is after the jump.

Press release from Huizar's office:

Councilmember Jose' Huizar Supports $5 Million in Dedicated CRA Funding for Streetcar Effort

Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative gaining steam behind engine of proposed Downtown Streetcar

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 30, 2008) - Calling Councilmember Jose' Huizar's streetcar plan, the 「major catalytic project」 for its City Center Redevelopment Project, the Community Redevelopment Agency Board will vote Thursday on providing $5 million this year to the streetcar effort.

Additional sums could be considered in upcoming years, bringing the total to $10 million.

Part of Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative, resurrecting Downtown's streetcar was once considered a long-range goal but has quickly become one of the effort's driving forces, gaining widespread political, private and public support.

「This vote represents an opportunity for the public sector to demonstrate its commitment to bringing a modern streetcar system to Downtown Los Angeles as soon as possible,」 Huizar said. 「When we first kicked off Bringing Back Broadway, the streetcar seemed like it would be the cherry on top of the sundae - something we would do much further down the road. But we now realize the powerful effect a streetcar system will have on economic development and revitalization of our entire downtown area. It's clear we need to do this right away.

「We intend to ride a streetcar downtown by 2014. I applaud the CRA/LA for bringing this important proposal before the Board.」

Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway effort will revitalize the historic Broadway corridor, featuring 12 historic theatres and some of the city's most famous architecture, entertainment and retail history.

The proposed 3.4-mile Streetcar route would carry workers, residents and tourists alike down Broadway, connecting via other streets to Downtown destinations such as LA Live, the Music Center and Grand Avenue.

The CRA funding to be considered Thursday would provide the downtown streetcar effort with seed money for engineering and construction, leveraged with an anticipated benefit assessment district to be proposed and managed by Los Angeles Streetcar, Inc., a non-profit in formation.

Born out of discussion within the Bringing Back Broadway initiative and led by downtown business leader Jim Atkins, LASI will raise private funds to pay for 30-50% of the estimated $90-million streetcar project.

The non-profit streetcar concept and the private funding estimations are based on successful public-private/non-profit partnerships in Portland and Seattle, cities that pioneered modern streetcar systems in the western U.S.

The concept of a downtown streetcar emerged more than a decade ago but has gained tremendous momentum since the introduction of Councilmember Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative, with hundreds attending the largest-ever national streetcar conference earlier in the year and a CRA-funded workshop in August.

Next steps for the streetcar effort include creating the benefit assessment district, determining preferred alignment routes and conducting alternatives analysis with environmental review.

If approved, the initial CRA $5-million streetcar funding will come from about $19 million in tax increment funds within the City Center Project Area, with additional amounts, up to another $5-million, to be identified from the Bunker Hill Project Area in the coming years.

The tax increment funds to be used had been impounded by the courts pending settlement of Los Angeles County legal challenges about the implementation of the Central Industrial Redevelopment and the City Central Redevelopment projects in 2002. Both projects included portions of the former Central Business District. The rulings were predominately favorable to the City and freed up the tax increment funds for use by the CRA/LA.

The CRA/LA board meeting is set for 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 2, at 354 S. Spring St., in the 6th Floor Board Room.

Jessica Wethington McLean, Executive Director for Councilmember Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative, is expected to testify in support of the recommendation for streetcar funding.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/looks-like-the.html

[dragonsky]

Los Angeles streetcar lands $5 million in funding

NEWS ALERT: The Community Redevelopment Agency Board voted today to fund $5 million for the effort to build a streetcar line in downtown Los Angeles. Don't get too excited: The total cost is expected to be $90 million, so this is essentially seed money to help attract other public and private funds. Eric Richardson over at Blogdowntown breaks down the action from today's meeting and has this nice tidbit: Apparently some commissioners didn't know they would be voting on streetcar money today.

--Steve Hymon

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/10/los-angeles-str.html

[dragonsky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOkdMaPSbv4
The ad for Measure R

[dragonsky]

If Measure R fails, little gets built for 30 years, Villaraigosa says

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appeared today at the Mobility 21 conference in downtown Los Angeles. This is an annual luncheon for transit officials across the region, as well as those who work in the transportation business -- that is, contractors hoping to get a piece of the pie one day.

Villaraigosa gave a short 11-minute speech that was notable for two things: He never actually said the phrase "Measure R," although he talked about it quite a lot, and he never uttered the word "subway." Measure R is a half-cent sales tax increase proposal in Los Angeles that would provide more than $4 billion for a subway extension to the Westside.

Afterward, talking with three reporters, Villaraigosa offered a few interesting kernels. He said that the campaign for Measure R conducted a poll two weeks ago -- just after Congress approved the Wall Street bailout -- and that 73% of voters said they supported Measure R. Villaraigosa added that the 73% was reached after voters were given the arguments for Measure R. That's called a push.

The reason for the poll: "Because there was a lot of concern whether people would still be supporting this measure" after the bailout, the mayor said. "People believe the price of gasoline is up and down and know at some point it's going to go back up and they are looking at public transportation more and more."

I asked him why he didn't mention the subway -- after all, I get plenty of e-mail from readers who support the subway.

"That's the project that people most want in West Los Angeles," Villaraigosa said. "But this is a comprehensive effort to address L.A. County's traffic congestion. The subway is one project, the San Gabriel-Pasadena Gold Line is another project, the Exposition line from Culver City to Santa Monica is another project. The highway improvements that would be made, the rail safety improvements -- there are a lot of reasons that people will support this."

Then I asked Villaraigosa what's the Plan B for transportation funding if Measure R doesn't pass. After all, a lot of elected officials, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley, are opposed to Measure R because they don't think the Valley will get its fair share of tax revenues.

"If you don't pass Measure R, there will be no money for traffic improvements for the next 30 years," Villaraigosa said. "In the next 30 years, I don't expect the kind of federal investments we need in this region and ... local municipalities have always generated most of the [money for] infrastructure investments."

So then I talked to Metro Chief Executive Roger Snoble and asked the same question -- what gets built if Measure R doesn't pass?

"In looking at our 10-year forecast, we have a $2-billion deficit," Snoble said. "The reserves just aren't there."

On the transit side, he said that without Measure R, he believes that Metro can finish the first phase of the Expo Line and possibly the busway along Canoga Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. And that's about it. There likely wouldn't be money for the second phase of the Expo Line, nor the Gold Line extension, Crenshaw Line or the subway.

And he didn't sound optimistic that the federal government would come to the rescue because the amount of money the federal government budgeted to help transit projects was about $1.6 billion in 2008 and $1.8 billion this current fiscal year. By contrast, there is about $9.6 billion in transit projects in the pipeline around the country.

Later, I spoke with David Yale, Metro's officer for regional programming and asked him the same question -- what can Metro build if Mesaure R fails. "It becomes a case of having to choose between our children," he said (by that he meant children as a metaphor for transit project). "It's going to be very difficult for the [Metro] board to do."

Yale concurred with his boss Snoble and added that four freeway projects may also be jeopardized. The big problem at the moment, he said, is that existing local sales tax revenues are in decline because of the lousy economy.

Of course, Metro and Villaraigosa have an election to win, and there's no reason for them to say that all is sunny if Measure R fails to win two-thirds approval of L.A. County voters on Nov. 4.

-- Steve Hymon

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/10/mayor-villaraig.html

[JDRCRASH]

Wow, thirty years......we really need to make sure Measure R is approved by voting YES on it........seriously.....

[BrighamYen]

^ Yes! Tell all your friends and family members who are voting!

Yes on Measure R!!!

[JDRCRASH]

I will make sure of that! I've also already started telling some of my friends in College to vote YES! Even though the school we are attending is Citrus College (in San Gabriel Valley), and is essentially next to the Gold Line route, thats no reason to vote NO! BTW, Westsidelife and I have inserted Hyperlinks connecting directly to the info on Measure R on Metro's website. Maybe you should, too!

Although i'm a little dissapointed that the writers at the SGV Tribune Opinion section have decided to say NO on the Measure.

[JDRCRASH]

From LAtimes,

Expo Line project hits a curve in the tracks

By Steve Hymon

October 23, 2008
When will trains ever roll into the Westside?

The Expo Line light rail from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City is scheduled to be done by 2010, but the $862-million project may have hit a big bump in the road Wednesday.

The problem: Two street crossings for the train that needed state approval were denied by a California Public Utilities Commission judge.

Judge Kenneth Koss ruled that the Expo Line should build pedestrian bridges over the crossings, both of which are next to schools in South Los Angeles -- Dorsey High and Foshay Learning Center.

It is potentially a huge setback for the Expo Line Construction Authority. If Koss' ruling stands, completing the needed environmental studies and building the two bridges -- with elevators -- could cost $18 million and delay the opening of the line one to three years, said Richard Thorpe, the chief executive of the authority.

He said the authority doesn't have the money: "If the proposed decision stands, we'll have to go back to the Metro board and request additional funds."

The authority had asked the PUC to let the Expo Line's tracks cross Farmdale Avenue at street level with crosswalks for pedestrians, many of whom would come from Dorsey. Nope, Koss ruled. It's safer to build a bridge over the tracks and also make Farmdale dead-end on either side of the line to prevent any conflicts between trains and people or vehicles.

At Foshay, the construction authority wanted to build the line atop an existing pedestrian tunnel under the tracks. Koss said that the tunnel would not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and "would not provide an adequate level of general public access or safety."

Build another bridge, he wrote.

The rub is that Koss doesn't have final say. That goes to PUC commissioners, who will probably hear the case in November and who can accept Koss' ruling, tear it up or revise it to their liking.

Community activists from both South and West L.A. had fought the construction authority. The Los Angeles Unified School District had also joined the battle, saying the crossings near both schools would pose a danger to students.

Damien Goodmon, chairman of United Community Assns., said his group was not entirely pleased with the decision to close Farmdale to traffic. "What they do at this intersection is going to impact this community for the next 100 years," said Goodmon, also the coordinator for the Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Line. Goodmon said he believes that the better solution at Farmdale would be for the train to go over or under the street -- and he insists that transportation officials can find the millions of dollars to make that happen.

What ultimately happens with these crossings could affect how street crossings are treated if the second phase of the Expo Line ever reaches West Los Angeles -- the reason West L.A. activists are involved in this fight.

steve.hymon@latimes.com

[BrighamYen]

I will make sure of that! I've also already started telling some of my friends in College to vote YES! Even though the school we are attending is Citrus College (in San Gabriel Valley), and is essentially next to the Gold Line route, thats no reason to vote NO! BTW, Westsidelife and I have inserted Hyperlinks connecting directly to the info on Measure R on Metro's website. Maybe you should, too!

Although i'm a little dissapointed that the writers at the SGV Tribune Opinion section have decided to say NO on the Measure.


I've gone a step further! :)

I am actively rallying all over LA. This photo (below) is from a rally in Westwood/UCLA last Friday.

I've also rallied at Dockweiler Beach by LAX and spoke to at least a dozen people from Heal The Bay.

Today, I rallied in Old Town Pasadena and must have spoke to at least 25 people with a few hundred more that actually saw my sign.


http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8044/102008brighamkw7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
From Streetsblog LA story (http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/10/20/bruins-for-traffic-relief-raise-measure-rs-profile/#more-1276)

[Wright Concept]

Excellent!!!!

[JDRCRASH]

YES!!! Thats exactly what we need!!!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

if everyone talked to just a few people to vote yes, then we have something. i have gotten a few yes votes,from coworkers to family!

Also, i like what the MTA is doing with the commercials, focusing on the other benefits of R, instead of just rail and subway. We need the whole county to vote for this and the way they explain highway benefits, rail benefits and other topics is perfect.

[BrighamYen]

I was in Westwood/UCLA again today (Friday) from 3-6:30PM and was with the Bruins for Traffic Relief group promoting Measure R.

I must have spoken to AT LEAST 50 people at the busy intersection of Wilshire/Westwood and who knows how many people saw the signs we had! :)

[friedpez]

Even though I don't live in LA County I actually managed to convince my brother-in-law, a moderate Republican, to support Measure R. I argued that he'll pay the price now (like $22 per year?) but that reduced automobile dependency will save him hundreds in the future and I guess that was the deciding factor.

[JDRCRASH]

I'm just hoping that much needed funding goes towards bridge repairs, because some are decades old and could collapse during a +7.5 shaker.

[Westsidelife]

Prop 1A's Bullet Train Would Speed L.A.'s Growth (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-prop1a1-2008nov01,0,781976.story)

Downtown's makeover has been painfully slow. A high-speed train would bring foot traffic that would spur development.

By CHRISTOPHER HAWTHORNE, Architecture Critic
November 1, 2008

This is the second of two articles on the intersection of public transit, urbanism and architecture on Tuesday's ballot.

Union Station, filled on a typical afternoon with a mixture of Amtrak passengers, Metro commuters and curious tourists, often feels more like a stage set -- a place playing at sophistication and an old-fashioned, genteel kind of urbanity -- than a transportation hub. Maybe that has something to do with how many movies and television shows have used the building, which was designed in streamlined Mission Revival style by John and Donald Parkinson and opened in 1939, as a backdrop. Maybe it's just that the station, though sometimes moderately busy, is rarely packed or fully animated by a thronging crowd the way the most memorable urban spaces are.

All that may change, however, if the state of California, after years of toying with the idea, manages to put a high-speed rail system into operation. Proposition 1A is a statewide initiative seeking to raise $10 billion as a down payment for a bullet-train route that could ultimately stretch from Sacramento to San Diego. Total costs to the state would be roughly $45 billion, with complementary funding coming from the federal government and private investors.

Union Station would serve as the terminus of the train's San Francisco to Los Angeles leg, which promises to be, from its first day, one of the busiest rail routes in the country. Advocates of the bullet train estimate that total state ridership could be as high 117 million passengers annually. Even if the actual numbers were somewhat lower, the effect on the area immediately surrounding Union Station, and on downtown as a whole, promises to be huge.

Once the bullet train started dropping passengers at the city's doorstep, the neighborhood around the station would instantly see new shops and restaurants as well as commercial and retail development. L.A. residents who might otherwise never ride the Metro would use it to reach Union Station in order to catch the train. Just as important, the city would essentially be forced to address the abysmal pedestrian connections that exist between Union Station and the rest of downtown. The station, separated by the 101 Freeway from the downtown core, now feels marooned. Walking from there to the Civic Center, a trip I've made frequently from the end of the Gold Line to the Times building, is a dramatic way to approach the downtown skyline. It is also a less-than-romantic trek across overpasses and along crumbling, forsaken sidewalks.

Electrically powered and using "steel-wheel on steel-track" technology, rather than the mag-lev system briefly considered by the state, the bullet train could reach speeds as high as 220 mph, whisking passengers from downtown San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles in less than three hours for an estimated $55 each way in today's dollars. Opponents of the bullet train, including James Moore, director of USC's transportation engineering program, have argued that travel times would be longer than that and ticket prices significantly higher. Others guess that the state's tab would be not $45 billion but roughly $80 billion.

Still, it seems increasingly obvious that if we don't fund high-speed rail now, we will have to pay an even higher price, as the state's population continues to grow, to subsidize freeway and airport construction. The question is not whether we are going to fund transportation projects over the next two decades. The question is which ones, and when -- and whether we will have the foresight to understand that the benefits of high-speed rail are about not just convenience, mobility and air quality but also the health and character of our cities.

As a neighborhood, downtown Los Angeles has long struggled with an existential crisis about what kind of role it plays, or is capable of playing, in the L.A. region. If it has never been the true center of Los Angeles, its beating heart, it is certainly first among equals when it comes to urban nodes here. And it is undeniably central in terms of transportation -- the one place in L.A. where freeways, bus lines, subways and several varieties of rail come together. In that sense, the bullet train could make downtown's transit centrality, well, bulletproof. Building downtown's identity through transit is also a more efficient, and more intelligent, strategy for urban revitalization than the ones we have typically relied on in Los Angeles.

Half a century of loading Bunker Hill and other parts of downtown with gleaming, stand-alone mega-projects -- with more to come, if the economy ever begins cooperating again -- has done little to stitch together the area's constituent parts in any meaningful way. The effect of the $2.5-billion L.A. Live development on the rest of downtown, for example, will probably be minimal, since its shops, theaters and restaurants are primarily designed to attract people from around the city arriving by car.

The bullet train could bring literally millions of new transit users into downtown every year. As I wrote Thursday about L.A. County's Measure R, transit users are also, in virtually every case, urban pedestrians. They are among the most sophisticated observers of how the city is designed and maintained. Instead of seeing shared space at a remove, the way drivers do, they understand it on a block-by-block basis.

Downtown is already feeling more vital than it has for decades as its residential population continues to grow. But its maturation has been painfully slow. The arrival of the bullet train could accelerate it significantly. The train could help downtown achieve a critical mass of foot traffic, which would in turn lure new development -- as well as boosting safety and creating a constituency for streetscape improvements.

State propositions are hardly the most efficient means of crafting transit policy. But decades of dithering in Sacramento mean that it has been left to us, the voters, to send a message with Proposition 1A that we are desperate for a comprehensive public-transportation system in this city and this state.

A yes vote doesn't mean that you endorse every bend in the bullet train's planned route or every penny of its financing strategy. It simply means that you want to give momentum to the notion that California needs high-speed rail as soon as reasonably possible, and that you think this is a project worth significant state investment. And investment is the right word, since the train could begin to turn a sizable profit for Sacramento within a few years of operation.

I like the sleepiness of Union Station, its charming, time-warp appeal. But I like the idea of a bullet train -- and what it could mean for the vitality of downtown Los Angeles -- a whole lot more.

[jamesinclair]

Where can I find pics of the construction going on with the new lines?

[BrighamYen]

Some more rallying for Yes on Measure R! ;)

http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/7854/img6622ov9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Assemblyman Mike Fuerer, me, transit guru Denny Zane, and Sup Zev


Staying out late for Yes on R!
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1561/img6623lh4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[edluva]

measure R is creeping towards 2/3rd! yays have it 65.7 so far with 23% precincts

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Update!!!

as of 11:15 from the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/po...3859.htmlstory

Measure R - 30 % reporting, 66.4 Yes! - (Need 2/3rds)
Prop 1a - 37 % reporting, 51.4 Yes!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

the hope is that the remaining votes are from LA City as well as SF City.

[Westsidelife]

Measure R is now at 67.1% with 71% reporting!

[Westsidelife]

Measure R is now at 67.23% with 77% reporting! It's looking good!

[Westsidelife]

Measure R is now at 67.3% with 83% reporting! I think this one is going to pass!

[Westsidelife]

Measure R is now at 67.35% with 97% reporting! We have it!

[edluva]

good. now we can *really* talk of substantive progress for LA, instead of cheerleading mindless building proposals which up to now, offer nothing more than increased traffic and annoying wannabe yuppies.

i'm actually more excited about this (and 1A if it passes) than obama because obama's presidency was in the bag to begin with. these two items, HSR and mass transit, are tangible, proven ways to fundamentally change our way of living for the better. they are no-brainers.

[ocman]

That's surprising. I was expecting it to fail. I assumed a majority would even be against it. I guess traffic has really gotten that bad.

[Westsidelife]

It's now official! Measure R passes with 67.41% of the votes! :banana: :banana: :banana: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[BrighamYen]

I was out at the Venice High School Polling Station (one of the busiest stations in that area) from 12PM to 8PM asking people to vote for Measure R before they entered. (mind you, it was beyond COLD as the sun went down!) Yes, I was 100 feet away from the polling station! I'M SO GLAD IT PASSED!!! I have been living, breathing, and sleeping Measure R for the past few months, that I can now breathe a sigh of relief!!! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO VOTED YES ON MEASURE R!

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2909/img6626nl3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Gordo]

Congrats to LA on measure R! I have to admit that I'm surprised.

[DaveofCali]

Wow, I wasn't putting high hopes on Measure R passing but it has passed!!! WILSHIRE SUBWAY!!!! YEAHH!!!!!!

Damn, in the past 12 hours I've never felt so much faith and optimism as I have ever had in the past 8 years!

[dweebo2220]

Thank you LABeauty and everyone else who was out there fighting the good fight. This really is an incredible day for Los Angeles. I was so concerned this was not going to pass but I really didn't want to think of what I'd do if it didn't. Move? That was up there as a possibility. So I thank everyone who did their part to help sway any naysayers. Future Angelenos thank you too!

[JDRCRASH]

This is just awesome!!!

[BrighamYen]

Thank you dweebo2220. I appreciate it.

[Westsidelife]

Measure R Projects Won't Get Rolling Soon (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-transit6-2008nov06,0,7506753.story)

New rail lines are likely several years away under plan.

By Steve Hymon
November 5, 2008

Don't expect new roads or rails to start appearing across Los Angeles County now that Measure R has passed; transportation officials say the first in a long list of projects is still several years from opening.

Early work is likely to include an extension of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica, an extension of the Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa and placement of a busway or light-rail line along Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles, planners say. A fare hike set for next summer will also be postponed until 2010, with some special fares for seniors, the disabled and students delayed until 2013.

But approval of a half-cent sales tax delivered a more immediate victory to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who came into office more than three years ago pledging to finally start the city's so-called Subway to the Sea. Now, money to begin such a subterranean route -- probably along the Wilshire corridor -- is assured by the Measure R plan.

"The commuters of L.A. were fed up with traffic and gas prices, and they responded by making a historic investment that will change the face of transportation in the region forever," Villaraigosa said.

The mayor and other elected officials are expected to hold a news conference in Westwood later this morning to talk about Measure R, which narrowly passed the two-thirds threshold needed for approval.

This assumes, of course, that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn't send the money someplace else or the subway project runs into unforeseen problems. The MTA has the power to decide what gets built and when, although the odds of a subway change are slim as long as Villaraigosa remains a member of the MTA Board with three appointees on it.

The western extension of the Purple Line, begun under former Mayor Tom Bradley, had been tied in political knots for two decades. First, as the city's subway network began to take shape, underground methane gas in 1985 triggered an explosion in the Fairfax district, leading to a bill by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) to ban the use of federal money for tunneling on the Westside.

Then, construction setbacks and cost overruns led voters to approve a 1998 ballot measure by county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to prohibit using local sales taxes for tunneling.

In the decade since, however, opposition to the subway began to melt as more jobs migrated to the Westside and traffic there grew worse.

The half-cent sales-tax increase approved Tuesday is expected to raise as much as $40 billion for projects on the list. The biggest and costliest is the Purple Line extension west from its current terminus at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue to Westwood.

Shortly after taking office, Villaraigosa commissioned a study on whether tunneling under Wilshire could be done without the risk of explosion. Experts agreed it could, and Waxman consented to lead an effort to repeal his earlier federal funding ban. Yaroslavsky, too, came out in favor of Measure R and the subway extension, saying that Measure R provides the funding source that has long been missing for the project.

The MTA board then agreed to launch its own study to determine if a subway should be built and what route it could take. Preliminary findings suggested that an extension would get at least 100,000 riders a day on a route that mostly follows Wilshire, swings south to Century City and then back north to Westwood.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), who represents part of the Westside and who played a key role in getting the sales tax on the ballot, said the subway will have a profound effect on the area. He predicted it will help ease traffic by providing an easier way for thousands to reach work and that it would also change the politics of development, with projects being planned around mass transit.

"Once we get a leg or two built, it will create a sense of what's possible in Los Angeles," Feuer said.

A successful subway extension plan would be of vital importance to Villaraigosa, who is running for reelection next year and possibly campaigning for governor in 2010. Although the mayor has been able to increase the size of the Los Angeles Police Department, several of his other initiatives have stalled.

Still, it appears doubtful that Villaraigosa will be in Los Angeles long enough to see the project completed, and maybe not even started.

The MTA's spending plan for Measure R doesn't begin providing money to the subway until sometime between 2013 and 2015.

Supporters of Measure R early today were still a bit stunned that it had passed. They expected a close race with a good chance of victory but realized many other factors were in play.

"It was unprecedented to get two-thirds of the vote in this environment -- this is the worst economic environment since the Great Depression," said Yaroslavsky early today. "This measure withstood all of that pressure to fail, and the reason is that people are sick and tired of traffic. They were willing to pay for it, and they expect us to do something about it. Our job is to deliver on the promises."

Voters on Tuesday at one Pasadena polling place said they voted for Measure R for a mix of reasons: it was no picnic paying $4 a gallon to fill the SUV this summer, they wanted better bus and train service or just thought it was time to invest a few more dollars into transportation. Others weren't sure they voted for the measure, which was overshadowed by the high-profile presidential race.

Nicole Sandoval, 30, said Measure R was a no-brainer for her. She lives in Pasadena and commutes to school and work in Santa Monica, a drive that's tolerable as long as she's on the road at 6 a.m. But she grew up in San Francisco, where there's "tons of cars but you can rely on mass transit," she said, adding she would like to one day take a train from Pasadena to Santa Monica.

If Measure R does what's promised, such a connection -- Gold Line to Expo Line -- could happen.

[Westsidelife]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/images/2008/11/05/photo5.jpg

Pols Take Their Victory Lap for Measure R (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/11/pols-take-their.html)

By Steve Hymon
November 5, 2008

Not the most flattering photo, I know, but that was the scene this morning at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue above the current terminus of the Purple Line subway. "Current" is the key word there. During the news conference about Measure R's passage, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Roger Snoble said it may now be possible to extend the line to Fairfax Avenue within six or seven years and the line could get to Westwood in 20 years.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa heard that, and super-super-quickly stepped to the mike and promised to be "aggressive" about securing federal dollars to speed that up. (Villaraigosa is flanked in the above photo by County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, behind him to the left, and Assemblyman Mike Feuer,far right, both of whom played key roles in getting Measure R on the ballot.)

All this means that someone has a lot of work to do. Nonetheless, and as you might expect, the mood among the local pols at the news conference ranged between ebullience and unspeakable amounts of joy. Remember the spring of 2007 when Villaraigosa and Yaroslavsky were having a, shall we say, spirited discussion over MTA fare increases? Well, the two men lavished praise upon one another Wednesday morning, with the mayor suggesting that he and Yaroslavsky were now "joined at the hip."

With just two hours' sleep on election night, followed by a long drive to the Westside from the San Gabe Valley, the Road Sage couldn't even begin to tackle the merging of two such political organisms.

On a more serious note: Whether you voted for Measure R or not, the MTA expects to receive up to $40 billion in sales tax revenue over the 30 year life of the sales tax. That's about $40 billion more than the MTA otherwise would have had for new projects, the reason for the celebratory mood. Villaraigosa oversaw the campaign for Measure R, which captured 67.4% of the vote.

To put that achievement in perspective, the last half-cent sales tax increase for transportation in 1990 in L.A. County barely passed with 50.4% of the vote, back when the threshold was a simple majority. Villaraigosa told me later that he had a Plan B if Measure R failed -- going back to voters at a future date -- but that the high turnout for the presidential election basically made the 2008 election an all-or-nothing proposition because it was the best way to secure the needed two-thirds approval.

"That's why we had to win," he said.

A few other highlights from the news conference:

-- Snoble indicated that the Expo Line and Gold Line extensions are likely to be the first two rail projects to break ground with Measure R dollars. The Gold Line, he said, could begin as early as 2010. I know there are readers out there who don't believe that and I'm not saying you should. But that's what public officials are saying on the record. So, hit the print button.

-- Snoble also said that he thinks that new tunneling technology should make it easier to tunnel under Wilshire Boulevard without causing as many street disruptions as there were during construction of the existing subway. He indicated that some property will have to be acquired near Wilshire and Western to get tunneling machines into the ground.

I'm working on a story for tomorrow's editions of The Times looking at the votes on both Measure R and Prop 1A, indicating voters in California were in the mood on Tuesday to invest big-time in mass transit.

[dragonsky]

Approval of transit funds paves the way for new challenges
Measure R approval
Voters say yes to Proposition 1A and Measure R, but tough decisions remain.
By Rich Connell, Steve Hymon and Eric Bailey
November 6, 2008

For decades, California officials complained that efforts to get traffic moving were stymied by a lack of money.

But with apparent voter approval Tuesday of massive new financing schemes for both the state and Los Angeles County, transportation planners suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly have tens of billions coming for an array of rail, bus and traffic improvement projects. The gusher of tax dollars offers a rare chance to fix crucial parts of a transportation network choking on too many cars and commuters, experts say.

Simultaneous approval of a high-speed rail line to link California's two major cities and a package of subway, light rail, highway and busway expansions in the state's most populous county marks "a huge step forward," said Dario Frommer, a member of the California Transportation Commission.

In Los Angeles, where voters agreed to increase sales taxes to pay for up to $40 billion in projects, "we have a huge opportunity to transform [the county] in a way that's never been done before," said Richard Katz, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member and transit advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Without being overly dramatic, this is as significant on the local level as Barack Obama's election on the national level."

But now comes the more sobering, slogging challenge: delivering on the ambitious -- even grandiose -- expectations raised by the Proposition 1A and Measure R campaigns.

"We are not out of the woods yet in terms of stabilizing and securing all the funding necessary for these projects," said Frommer, former majority leader of the state Assembly.

One growing concern: State and federal lawmakers could pull back existing and anticipated matching funds for transportation projects because of the nation's deepening economic crisis.

Indeed, the timing of the two transportation ballot measures, along with construction schedules and promises of congestion relief, were based in part on plans to wring more money from other sources. Chief among them is a giant federal transportation bill -- the first since 2005 -- to be crafted by Congress next year.

But state and federal lawmakers face major budget deficits, coupled with declines in transportation tax dollars from gasoline sales, which have dropped as motorists drive less.

Even with the new ballot measure money, including nearly $10 billion for the bullet train from the Bay Area to Southern California, some projects could be delayed or in jeopardy if current transportation allotments are cut back, Frommer said. "It's very complicated."

With 100% of precincts reporting, Measure R narrowly exceeded the two-thirds vote required; the thousands of provisional and absentee ballots that remained to be counted were not expected to change the outcome. Proponents declared victory.

At a Measure R news conference in the Wilshire Center, where the western spur of the Los Angeles subway ends, the head of the MTA told reporters that extension of a line to the Westwood-UCLA area could take 20 years.

Hearing that, Villaraigosa quickly stepped to the microphone and vowed that he and other elected officials would aggressively pursue federal dollars to speed up the project.

"This is a big, physical project that we can't do overnight," MTA chief executive Roger Snoble later said. "There's a lot to it."

But other local projects could begin relieving congestion within a year, officials said. Millions of dollars will begin flowing to cities, which can synchronize traffic signals, install left-turn lanes and pay for other improvements to unclog traffic, Katz said.

Villaraigosa, who led the Measure R campaign, said Wednesday that the Gold Line light rail extension to the San Gabriel Valley would probably be one of the first projects built, along with the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica. Both of those projects can now be paid for with local money and move ahead quickly, Katz said.

There are still considerable obstacles for many projects. The first phase of the Expo Line is mired in a dispute over a pair of pedestrian crossings in South Los Angeles that could take months, if not years, to resolve.

Another Measure R project, the Green Line rail extension to Los Angeles International Airport, still needs a commitment from the airport to build a people-mover system to get travelers from the train station to the terminals.

Even if all goes well for the proposed 220 mph bullet train down the spine of the state, it won't be completed for at least 10 years, though some parts will be ready sooner. The first phase is supposed to wind from Anaheim through Los Angeles to Palmdale, then up the Central Valley to San Francisco.

But questions remain about potential cost overruns and funding shortfalls. The initial leg alone is expected to cost millions of dollars more than the $9.95 billion in bonds that voters approved on Tuesday, meaning the state will have to find a partner in the private sector for a venture many view as financially risky.


"Even if nothing at all happens for years, this project will hang over our community, our towns and our state forever, like the mythical sword of Damocles, never actually going away but possibly never coming into existence," said Martin Engel, a longtime opponent. "It will be eternally short of funding; a bottomless hole in the ground."

Quentin Kopp, chairman of the state's high-speed rail authority, vowed to "ride herd" on costs.

He said doubters who claim the trains will cost more and deliver less speedy times than promoters predict are discounting positive reviews of California's plan by high-speed rail experts from France, Japan and Spain.

The rail line will support greater housing density near stations and decrease pollution, he believes. "With the increasing California population," Kopp said, "it's inevitable."

Whatever the challenges, the voter approval of the measures reflects broad public frustration and a demand for action, officials said.

"People are sick and tired of traffic," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a key Measure R backer. "They were willing to pay for it. . . . Our job is to deliver on the promises."

Connell, Hymon and Bailey are Times staff writers.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-11/43220398.jpg

[dragonsky]

Proponents say Measure R results will stand

I've received several e-mails from readers asking if the Measure R results will stand, given that it was a tight race -- it passed with 67.41% of the vote, needing 66.67% -- and that there are still thousands of provisional and absentee ballots to be counted. The short answer is that Measure R proponents are confident the math is in their favor.

County Registrar Dean Logan on Wednesday told the Board of Supervisors that there are likely more than 205,000 provisional ballots and 300,000 to 400,000 absentee ballots still to be counted. (Here's a link to the preliminary transcript.) A little more than 2.4 million people voted for Measure R, so there are potentially a considerable number of votes still out there to counted.

The question is whether there are enough outstanding votes to change the results. I think it's certainly possible, but I don't have anything in my reporting to suggest it's likely.

If, for example, there are still 500,000 outstanding votes on Measure R still to count and if I'm doing my math correctly, Measure R would have to receive less than 59% of the vote from those ballots.

MetroriderLA went through the Registrar's posting of Measure R results by city and posted this handy Google spreadsheet of the results. The list shows that Measure R received less than 59% support in only a few cities in L.A. County, and most of those cities were small. It's worth noting that the results, however, show that Measure R struggled to get two-thirds support in the San Gabriel Valley, the heart of opposition for the measure.

Even if there are 700,000 ballots outstanding, Measure R would need about 61% of those votes to still pass. Again, the above list of city results suggests that's likely. It's also worth pointing out that the more Measure R votes that were counted, the more support it received. Many of the outstanding ballots were likely cast either after the Measure R ads began airing on television or were provisional ballots from Democrats voting for Sen. Barack Obama, which was the exact demographic the Measure R campaign was targeting.

-- Steve Hymon

November 06, 2008 in Measure R | Permalink

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/11/proponents-say.html

[LongBeachUrbanist]

They repeated the claim on NPR this morning - that the vote on Measure R is not yet settled. They said the County Registrar says it currently has over 67%, but they're not willing to declare it passed at this time.

[northbay]

dont count ur chicks b4 they hatch

[bobcat]

Votes have been updated at the county registrar's website, and the tally for Measure R is now

Yes 67.22%
No 32.78%

At the going rate, assuming there are 600,000 ballots to be counted, Measure R will just barely pass.

[dweebo2220]

yeah, but we won't know for sure until December!
AAAH I hate the suspense!

[dktshb]

Sure, rip the rug right out from under real progress within our grasp. This better pass. Somewhat rhetorical but why is it that it takes such a long time to count remaining provisional and absentee ballots???

[edluva]

did anybody ever find out what happened to the hail a cab trial? have they expanded it yet or is it too soon to ask?

[Wright Concept]

Edluva, I believe it's too soon to ask based on the economy. There has been a reduced demand due to fewer travelers and people dining out.

Here's most of the details: http://blogdowntown.com/2008/11/3777-dcbid-wants-you-to-appreciate-taxis

[BrighamYen]

I agree with Bert Green on blogdowntown that taxi fares should have zones and most places in Downtown should be about $5. That would definitely be the right price to get people to use it to either bar hop or for an office to take lunch together by splitting the cab fare. Maybe an extra $1 to go to Chinatown?

Either way, it's better than paying $15 to go somewhere downtown.

[JDRCRASH]

They repeated the claim on NPR this morning - that the vote on Measure R is not yet settled. They said the County Registrar says it currently has over 67%, but they're not willing to declare it passed at this time.

True, but I find it hard to imagine that it would fail at this point.

[dragonsky]

Expo Phase 2

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/10/phase2map.jpg

The Construction Authority is saying that it will likely declare its preferred alternative for a route in early 2009 for the second phase of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica.

[Westsidelife]

Measure R's Lead Increases, Chances of Defeat Grow Slimmer (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/11/measure-rs-le-1.html)

By Steve Hymon
November 11, 2008

The lead for the half-cent transportation sales tax hike in Los Angeles County grew slightly Tuesday from 67.22% to ... 67.23% with another 127,700 votes having been counted, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar. Measure R needs two-thirds voter approval to pass.

There could still be as many as about 280,000 absentee and provisional votes to be counted, but the number probably isn't that high (I explained why in this morning's post). With a raw vote lead of about 14,280, it appears that the results of the remaining ballots will have to be substantially different from the nearly 2.69 million that have been counted for Measure R to be defeated.

[StethJeff]

Random question: why are the Expo and Purple termini so near each other? If the Purple line just goes all the way to the end of Wilshire, wouldn't it make more sense for the Expo line to end in Venice Beach instead of on Olympic?

[bobcat]

It would seem almost impossible for Measure R to fail at this point. I ran a few quick calculations, and assuming 90% of those remaining 280,000 ballots are both eligible AND have a vote for Measure R (which is probably too high an estimate), there'd have to be lower than 60.64% approval among the last ballots in order for the measure to fail. Unless all the ballots are from Antonovich's district that seems extremely unlikely.

OT, but it's been fun watching the roller coaster Beverly Hills Measure H race, which is now leading by 16 votes.

[dweebo2220]

Random question: why are the Expo and Purple termini so near each other? If the Purple line just goes all the way to the end of Wilshire, wouldn't it make more sense for the Expo line to end in Venice Beach instead of on Olympic?

Venice has no jobs..
However, what I think would be a better idea is to go through santa monica and then loop back through venice and culver city, similar to the loop in long beach only larger.

That said, can you imagine a train running down Main St. Santa Monica? I can't.. Talk about at-grade nightmares.

[BrighamYen]

It would be wonderful if there was a train that ran down the entire length of LA's beach cities. The PE cars did at one point looking at the map. That would be amazing since LA's beach cities are some of the most impressive in the world!

[dweebo2220]

yeah I grew up in manhattan beach so I've been trying to imagine a route/method for years.

The old red car right of ways are used for pedestrian and bicycle paths, and most of the streets that go at all near the beach are very narrow.

I think about the only thing that would work is a bus line.

Currently there is no bus line that takes you from santa monica to redondo beach.

[LongBeachUrbanist]

I would probably put the last Red Line station in Brentwood, at either Federal or Bundy.

I would bring Expo to downtown Santa Monica, as currently proposed.

Then I would create a wye on the Expo Line, at Sepulveda and Exposition, with a branch heading north underground through Westwood. In this scenario, Westwood station would act as the transfer point, rather than DT Santa Monica.

From here, the northbound branch could hit UCLA and maybe even continue north into the valley.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

exactly what i think should be done LBU!

[StethJeff]

I would probably put the last Red Line station in Brentwood, at either Federal or Bundy.

I would bring Expo to downtown Santa Monica, as currently proposed.

Then I would create a wye on the Expo Line, at Sepulveda and Exposition, with a branch heading north underground through Westwood. In this scenario, Westwood station would act as the transfer point, rather than DT Santa Monica.

From here, the northbound branch could hit UCLA and maybe even continue north into the valley.

not a bad idea. santa monica doesn't really need 2 lines. might as well save the money to build elsewhere.

[BrighamYen]

I disagree. I think there needs to be a straight shot all the way down to the ocean. It's not that Santa Monica is already a bona fide employment hub and major tourist destination, but the ocean itself is symbolic to LA's identity. I don't think a transfer station to Expo Line makes sense in terms of expediency.

I was just in Santa Monica last night at the corner of 4th/Wilshire where the proposed subway station would be, and I must tell you how exciting it was to imagine being able to get on a subway one day and ride it STRAIGHT SHOT to downtown LA (or anywhere in between).

Santa Monica is just too important to leave out AND Wilshire Blvd. is just too important to chop up. If anything the Expo Line should be diverted into the heart of the Santa Monica Civic Center instead of on Colorado. That way, pedestrians will be more apt to walk toward Main Street as well where the other major shopping district is in Santa Monica.

[Vangelist]

Venice should definitely get a terminus or extension of one of these lines, since it's not just a residential area but major tourist/commercial spot of its own

[Wright Concept]

Where Expo ends IS at the heart of the Santa Monica Civic Center/3rd Street Promenade, Pier, Santa Monica Place.

The point is between Santa Monica and Westwood or roughly west of the 405, Expo is the stronger candidate in terms of density, destinations and trip generators compared to Wilshire, minus Wilshire/Bundy. With Expo that's a straight shot to Downtown LA as well.

Venice should definitely get a terminus or extension of one of these lines, since it's not just a residential area but major tourist/commercial spot of its own

Venice Blvd should have its own corridor line from the Beach to at least Mid-City and then turn north to Hollywood. Here's a working sketch of that idea. (Sorry if the image is fuzzy.)

Legend:
Red = Red Line (HRT)
Purple = Wilshire Purple Line (HRT)
Blue = Expo Line (LRT) with Westwood branch
Yellow-Orange = Venice-Crenshaw (LRT) combined to run as a subway from Mid-City to Hollywood to meet both Red and Purple Lines. The concept behind Mid City subway is think Regional Connector multiple outer lines running through in a tunnel to serve a core area.


http://i34.tinypic.com/28c0y2c.jpg

[Vangelist]

Also this is just obscene and I don't understand how any modern industrialized nation can accept this for a 8-9 mile distance of land (from one of the articles posted on the previous page):

>>At a Measure R news conference in the Wilshire Center, where the western spur of the Los Angeles subway ends, the head of the MTA told reporters that extension of a line to the Westwood-UCLA area could take 20 years.


That is a joke, an insult, a mockery of engineering. We should demand privatization of the construction from the city if the MTA doesn't get on board somehow..

If Beijing and Denver can build entire networks in 4-5 years, why are we even SETTLING for this sort of thing? Dont give me all the old talks of the different municipalities getting together and the red tape etc - those are permanent excuses that shouldn't be acceptable anymore by the public

[Wright Concept]

Are we going to have all the money for this subway upfront while building the other corridors supported and voted on? I don't think we will. And what money we do get will go to the projects whose studies are ready to go and ready to build.

It isn't an insult to engineers. Engineers and builders know when you have all the money and plans done upfront there are no excuses. It will take a couple of years to have the cash on hand to build it, remember it's $40B over 30 years. Plus we need to complete the full EIR on the line, that is about a year or two away.

Beijing don't have Environmental reports to go through. Denver is running into a few small glitches because all the studies weren't complete or even started, but they kept the budget conservatively and gave themselves cushion in case there are delays, plus they are doing more of a regional Light Rail/Commuter Rail on existing rights of way, these are key elements that were understood and written into Meaure R.

We are in a better perameter because all of the projects in Measure R are currently in process of EIR which means more $$$ for building instead of planning and conceptualizing.

[BrighamYen]

I stand by my assertion that the Purple Line should be extended all the way down Wilshire Blvd. to the ocean. Wilshire Blvd. is just too important to chop up. Who is to say that AFTER the subway is completed down Wilshire in Santa Monica, major TOD's and offices won't sprout up around stations?

[Wright Concept]

That's WHEN it is built to Santa Monica. However most of that will be realized with Expo along the Colorado/Olympic Corridor.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

either way, its great that we actually have funding for these lines and we are no longer talking about dream lines and concepts! either line would be very successful and both are justifiable.

[Westsidelife]

Another option for Venice would be to extend the future Purple Line south along La Cienega and down Venice (Blvd.).

[LongBeachUrbanist]

I stand by my assertion that the Purple Line should be extended all the way down Wilshire Blvd. to the ocean.

I'm not married to my concept. My opinion (which is all it is) is based on working at 2nd/Arizona in DTSM. I've spent 3-1/2 years here, and I'm not really seeing the demand for service by both a HRT subway and LRT line.

Now that's just a hunch. I have no numbers to back that up: we may realize that a huge demand for transit exists once Expo opens in 5-6 years.

I won't deny the primacy of Wilshire in SoCal. I just think that Westwood or thereabouts is the end of the Wilshire corridor in terms of density, as of now. Plus, there are many other very important corridors that could use rail. For example, I'd rather see HRT subways on Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvds, than have them build both a subway and Expo to Santa Monica.

[LongBeachUrbanist]

Maybe the better solution is to build the subway down to Westwood, and then turn south to meet Expo at a new hub at Pico/Sepulveda.

[bobcat]

Measure R update:

Yes 1,848,845 67.31%

No 898,036 32.69%

I don't know how many more ballots need to be counted, but it's over.

[JDRCRASH]

Who is to say that AFTER the subway is completed down Wilshire in Santa Monica, major TOD's and offices won't sprout up around stations?

Why, inevitably local Homeowner Associations, as usual, complaining about traffic, size, and height. And lets not forget the Environmentalists, Sierra Club, local surfers, and Coastal Commission who would definately whine about beach-front high-rises.

Oh, and they're usual excuse is like this: "this beautiful beach coastline is one of last preservable landmarks in Southern California, and it's disgraceful that the city council would even consider such development here when it would be too tall, too big, only increase traffic, and would pose and enviromental hazard."


I mean, it's bullshit like this that makes me wonder that since it seems so hard to build beach-adjacant developments these days, why don't the developers just sue these associations and comissions all the way to the Supreme Court for interfering with these acceptable projects with invalid concerns?

[DaveofCali]

I'm confident that Villaraigosa will get federal funding to accelerate the timetable to build the Wilshire Subway.

I'm surprised that Measure R funds a 405 connector line, yet I haven't even seen a formal proposal of it from MTA.

[DaveofCali]

BTW, I have to hand it to Antonio Villaraigosa, he only took a little more than 3 years to turn the Wilshire Subway from a major project in Red Tape L.A., that was thought to have almost no chance of being built to a major project that will actually be built in the near future! Talk about influence!

[DaveofCali]

BTW, why hasn't anyone drawn L.A.'s future mass transit map based on Measure R's projects?

[Westsidelife]

^ It's been on the MTA's website for months now...

http://www.metro.net/measurer/images/proposed_rail.pdf

[BrighamYen]

BTW, I have to hand it to Antonio Villaraigosa, he only took a little more than 3 years to turn the Wilshire Subway from a major project in Red Tape L.A., that was thought to have almost no chance of being built to a major project that will actually be built in the near future! Talk about influence!

Yeah I like Villaraigosa! He is one of the main guys for bringing the subway back to life in LA! :tup:

[sopas ej]

BTW, I have to hand it to Antonio Villaraigosa, he only took a little more than 3 years to turn the Wilshire Subway from a major project in Red Tape L.A., that was thought to have almost no chance of being built to a major project that will actually be built in the near future! Talk about influence!

You say that as if it was all entirely his doing...

[DaveofCali]

You say that as if it was all entirely his doing...

Well of course it isn't, but he championed it and made sure that things got moving. You can't tell me that we wouldn't be where we are now in terms of metro rail without Villaraigosa. I remember the pathetic, far less ambitious future plans for metro rail expansion just several ago.

[DaveofCali]

^ It's been on the MTA's website for months now...

http://www.metro.net/measurer/images/proposed_rail.pdf

Actually, what I meant was a map that focused on Metro Rail lines, like an expansion of this map:

http://www.laalmanac.com/images/map_MTA%20Rail.gif

Of course though, no one knows exactly what are all the stops going to be for some of these future lines.

[KarLarRec1]

^ Here you go.

http://www.metro.net/projects_programs/exposition/Future%20Metro%20System%20Map%20(PDF).pdf

This has been on Metro's website for months as well. It includes only lines under construction.

[OhioGuy]

BTW, why hasn't anyone drawn L.A.'s future mass transit map based on Measure R's projects?

Fellow SSP forumer, J Church, has a great map on his website (San Francisco Cityscape (http://www.sfcityscape.com/index.html)) that he created based on the Measure R tax plan. Click here (http://www.sfcityscape.com/maps/LA_2035.html) to go to his website for a bigger GIF version or a PDF version of the map below.

http://www.sfcityscape.com/maps/graphics/LA_2035_preview.gif

[LivingInExile]

Thanks for the link OhioGuy, that map is so cool.

[Westsidelife]

Fellow SSP forumer, J Church, has a great map on his website (San Francisco Cityscape (http://www.sfcityscape.com/index.html)) that he created based on the Measure R tax plan. Click here (http://www.sfcityscape.com/maps/LA_2035.html) to go to his website for a bigger GIF version or a PDF version of the map below.

http://www.sfcityscape.com/maps/graphics/LA_2035_preview.gif

That's a nice map, though it doesn't include various BRT improvements or the West Santa Ana Branch Corridor.

The I-405 Corridor is/was planned to be a BRT line, though the option of HRT seems likely. The MTA describes it as a "...rapid transit option through the Sepulveda Pass between the Westside and the San Fernando Valley." Considering the 405 is the most congested freeway in the country, no other option but HRT should be considered.

The West Santa Ana Branch Corridor is/was a planned maglev train, though the MTA vaguely describes it as a "...grade-separated transit corridor."

[OhioGuy]

^^^ If you clicked on the link to his website, you would have seen: "(note that it does not includes two projects that haven't yet been defined, in the 405 corridor over Sepulveda Pass and along the Santa Ana Branch right-of-way)."

[Vangelist]

The problem is there is still no westward route or expansion of the Red Line. That's going to be a major blunder - why is it not worked into the plan ?

Two of the 4 final options of the MTA offerings this year included it...what is going on with that?

It will be completely, unthinkably stupid for people living in Hollywood or north fr there to have to go east down the Red Line's current route in order to go west ...

[LivingInExile]

I can't wait to see the gentrification in the Crenshaw district when that line gets built. It'll be like Harlem west coast.

[Westsidelife]

The problem is there is still no westward route or expansion of the Red Line. That's going to be a major blunder - why is it not worked into the plan ?

Two of the 4 final options of the MTA offerings this year included it...what is going on with that?

It will be completely, unthinkably stupid for people living in Hollywood or north fr there to have to go east down the Red Line's current route in order to go west ...

A westward extension of the Red Line down La Cienega is still being considered (Alternative 11), though the Purple Line extension down Wilshire would still be of top priority. My hope is that the Red Line extension would be built in conjunction with the first phase of the Purple Line extension (to La Cienega or further, but no further than Beverly Hills) so that Hollywood and West Hollywood would immediately benefit from the extensions to Westwood and Santa Monica once they're completed.