Exactly.

I think we either need to do the whole thing right and shut down the red line for a few years or build rail down western and/or Vermont bending up to MacArthur Park.

I forgot that there's currently only one track on each level, which certainly complicates matters. I suppose the most practical solution then would be to construct a new station box and connect it with the current platforms via a pedestrian tunnel.

Shutting down the entire Red Line shouldn't even be considered.

I'm surprised nobody has posted this yet. Potential for Expo and Blue line grade separation through Downtown and an underground Pico station. Also, more signal preemption and even an express Blue Line from Downtown to Long Beach. Huge.

http://la.curbed.com/2017/2/13/14603...chedule-delays

https://metro.legistar.com/Legislati...DA6&FullText=1

Its very necessary at this point... Blue line is at 80,000 riders, Expo will be up there soon enough... Its only logical.

Sounds like a good transit investment to me. Is there an estimate on how it would reduce end-to-end travel time?

It's about damn time the Blue Line and South LA got some love. I figure that grade-separating Washington/Flower alone will cut down travel time by 10 minutes during rush hour. Unfortunately, it doesn't include grade-separating the DTLB loop.

Even more reason to overturn that A/C ban!

Baby steps, but we're moving in the right direction.

http://la.streetsblog.org/2017/02/16...ovement-study/

I like that Garcetti guy.

What a poignant time for both of these revelations. There is an article in the LA times about the Blue Line titled... "Why I'm breaking up with the Blue Line after 19 years. (It's not me, it's definitely you)"

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livab...216-story.html

And yet Metro officials have the temerity to even wonder why ridership has fluctuated and not steadily increased over the years. Simply having the infrastructure in place isn't enough; the quality of service is just as important. Accommodate the customers, dammit.

Also land use reform. Rezoning can't come soon enough.

A 2024 groundbreaking and 2028 opening for the Vermont BRT? Um, what? Why even bother with BRT then if it's going to take that long? Just because Measure M identifies the mode as BRT doesn't mean that additional funding sources can't be explored to upgrade it to rail. The current ridership along the corridor is 45,000; that's already enough to warrant rail. We don't need to wait 50 years, dummies.

http://thesource.metro.net/2017/02/1...ansit-project/

The only reason it's taking this long is because of getting the other needed state and federal funding and to complete the study. When the study is done and there is a windfall of new dollars the project gets accelerated.

If this was a rail project it would need just as much time or more to do the complex station rebuild if it is a heavy Rail all subway extension. Light Rail the same dilemma.

It will reduce travel time but not by 10 minutes, the biggest travel delays occur because;

1) Operators aren't turning trains fast enough at 7th Street Metro Center terminal. The Regional Connector or at minimum the pocket tracks and new cut and cover tunnel on Flower Street will help the turn around problem as trains move through and don't get stuck. The Red/Purple Line has routine delays of service at Union Station at rush hour because of this same exact problem and the whole line is underground.

2) The signal delay for cars turning into the 18th Street & 10 East on-ramp is where the back up occurs. Closing that on-ramp and prohibiting left turns on to 18th Street from Flower Street will improve reliability immensely because now trains only have to deal with one signal 18th Street rather than two 18th Street and the 10 East on ramp. This not only helps the trains it helps move Flower Street more effectively because that bottleneck is removed.

3) Reliability of the Siemens trains that routinely get stuck in the tunnel and cause most of the back ups and delays. Having newer trains and mid-life rehab of these trains will help with that.

4) Add signal preemption and or priority in Long Beach. The delays through Long Beach are because of no signal preemption and/or priority enabling minor streets to hold the trains. The signal preemption and priority will improve by the service by 3-5 minutes alone. If they eliminated the Loop with a more streamlined route like two way down Long Beach Blvd and new terminal station maybe even an extension to the LB Convention Center/Shoreline Village and Pike that would also improve the operation of the trains and speed up an additional 1-2 minutes because the route operations are much simpler. If there is any crossing that needs separation in Long Beach, it is Willow Street. It's the busier station and the spot where there's multiple signals at Long Beach Blvd and Willow Street in a short 500' distance.

5) Metrolink as a strategy for Express Service. With the express service idea because most of my friends who used to ride the Blue Line at my home station Wardlow now drive their cars and park and ride on the Silver Line because it is a slightly faster and more pleasant trip even though it is a higher fare. With that in mind, I think a Metrolink extension from Downtown Union Station to Del Amo Station should be considered here as well. As a regular Blue Line rider the bulk of the Blue Line ridership drops off to serve these potential riders after Del Amo Station during the peak period because of the large parking facility.

This would be faster to implement and serve more customers and because most of the Blue Line from Del Amo to Washington has freight trains running parallel through it on a daily basis (one to three trains a day) this is a perfect service extension that can serve a larger regional benefit to riders as new trips can be established like Burbank to Long Beach or From Antelope Valley to the Green Line for the connection to LAX.

All the Express train will do as currently envisioned is pose a new problem without a solution more constrained operations through Downtown LA, even if the line is underground. The solution comes in the form of another entry corridor into Downtown LA. Metrolink and WSAB will be a way to do that.

Don't get me wrong, I think the junction and new underground station for Pico/Staples Center/Convention Center is needed however this needs to be thought of more comprehensively as an extension of the Flower Street tunnel from Convention Center all the way to Jefferson/USC with a re-configuring of the Blue Line on Washington Blvd using the eastern portion of the Expo Right of Way with new bridges and underpasses in that area will be cheaper and serve more riders and get more Federal/State grants.

http://a.scpr.org/i/64898d4b221a182c...78380-full.jpg

Elon Musk says he's tired of traffic and he wants to advance the tech of tunneling by creating a way to tunnel a mile a week; greatly shaving down the time consuming way we currently are doing it.
I feel that with Elon Musk being an Angeleno and now setting his sights on advancing the technology and speed of tunneling, we need to be ahead of the curve and begin studying every possible corridor where an at grade right of way isn't already present. Then put all of the studies into a comprehensive plan for the entire region while overturning A&C. Once Elon's figured it out, Metro would be ready to go forth with the entire plan

Hell if the technology exists where you can tunnel a mile a week, then you don't need to overturn Prop A & C as the key factor, tunneling costs and construction time of the stations will make them more cost effective as to not need a overturning as there is Measure R and M money that can be dedicated to tunnel projects done in this manner.

The point is, why waste money on BRT when it's clearly just a short-term solution? Why can't Metro explore the possibility of a P3? Are they even discussing overturning the A/C ban to start?

Except it doesn't exist so let's focus on reality instead of Elon Musk's absurd comments.

I doubt Elon Musk will be able to find a technological solution to the problem of high cost. Existing TBM technology is already pretty efficient. Certainly it's far more efficient than the picks and shovels that most people imagine when they think of tunnel-building. Much of it is already automated, with a small crew of highly trained operators.

The high costs (and in LA, Metro's new tunnels have actually been relatively cheap by American standards) are driven by labor laws and environmental reviews/mitigation. Both of those things are backed by powerful interest groups - unions on the one hand, and environmental groups on the other. Good luck doing an end-run around Big Labor and environmental in California.

Even as a private company, Musk would still need special permission from city and state governments to tunnel below public streets and highways. And if you plan to go under private property, it would be near impossible to assemble a continuous route through the city without using the government's power of eminent domain. Once Musk has to go to the government for permission, that's when politicians will demand that he use union labor, that he do all sorts of mitigation measures to appease community groups, etc.

Elon creates reality. One of his goals when he started out was to create space travel at a fraction of the cost we do now. He has already created the technology to get mission launches into space at a fraction of what NASA has done by creating the first reusable rocket that can land upright after its space flight. He has made TESLA the #1 selling automaker (including all cars not just electric) in a couple well developed countries in Europe like; for instance, Norway. His vision created the relaunching of the electric car industry. Many new automakers like; Faraday Future and Lucid Automotive, were born, as well as rapid propulsion of all the big car makers to make electric vehicles. All of the major automakers had to get onto Elon's ride or risked being left behind. Now we have the BMW I8 & I3, the Nissan Leaf, the chevy Bolt & Volt, and many more.

When someone like Elon declares something, its best to prepare and get on his ride. It would behoove Los Angeles to prepare for it, because it's happening.