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  #881  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2010, 10:53 AM
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^ Sure the architecture is ugly, but Palms is quite peaceful with its clean, tree-lined streets. The neighborhood is relatively affordable and is exceptionally diverse. There's a lot to like about Palms.
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  #882  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2010, 10:59 AM
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And I never denied those things. Assuming a plague of NIMBY's doesn't descend on and ravage the nabe, I'd vouch that Palms is the Westside's best hope for near-term urbanization due to a perfect storm of future upgrades such as Expo, continued gentrification/revitalization, economic/racial/ethnic diversity that prevents the group-think found ion Cheviot Hills, and the existing dense nature of the place (which puts most NIMBY arguments to moot). On a less serious note, there is always the added benefit of having lots of good Indian/Brazilian cheap eats down there!
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  #883  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2010, 2:54 PM
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Sheesh, what happened to all those photos darrel posted?
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  #884  
Old Posted Jul 14, 2010, 7:01 PM
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Quote:
Happy 20th Birthday, Metro Rail!

Posted by Steve Hymon on July 14, 2010 - 9:08 am

In between 1963 and July 1990, there was no mass transit that traveled by rail in Los Angeles County. I do not think it’s a coincidence that it was during this time that L.A. County — and, by extension, the rest of Southern California — cemented its reputation as the car capital of the free world, a place that became synonymous with gridlock and smog and a paradise paved several times over.

Then, 20 years ago today, the Blue Line light rail opened between Los Angeles and Long Beach. I don’t mean to suggest that the old stereotypes vanished day — they didn’t and they shouldn’t yet. But I do think the tide began to turn that July 14 and I think the above video –made by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission — reflects that view (it’s also a little heavy on the propaganda).
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But I think it’s worth repeating: the system is only 20 years old. That’s barely adulthood on a human scale and I think it’s fair to say there’s considerable room for growth and maturity on Metro’s rail lines.

Over the next 20 years, there will be extensions of current lines, new ones altogether and, in all likelihood, better transit, pedestrian and cycling connections between rail and surrounding neighborhoods. There almost certainly will be more development around the stations. And, yes, there probably still will be traffic — but there will a much better alternative to sitting in it.


http://thesource.metro.net/2010/07/1...ay-metro-rail/

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  #885  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2010, 12:12 AM
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Metro Rail averaged 326,663 weekday boardings last month, which I believe is a new record.

June 2010
Red Line -- 162,648
Blue Line -- 82,840
Green Line -- 43,904
Gold Line -- 37,270
Total -- 326,663

http://www.metro.net/news/pages/ridership-statistics/
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  #886  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2010, 7:26 AM
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^ Thanks to the Lakers parade?
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  #887  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2010, 4:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Kingofthehill View Post
^ Thanks to the Lakers parade?
Well, probably not. Same thing happened last year, right. Plus, the averaging would delute the higher ridership from that day.
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  #888  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:25 PM
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Laying Tracks

L.A. business titans get behind downtown streetcars

By Howard Fine
July 12, 2010

A plan to bring streetcars back to downtown Los Angeles is getting on track as three of the city’s most prominent businessmen have climbed aboard.

Billionaire philanthropist and downtown booster Eli Broad, shopping mall magnate Rick Caruso and AEG Chief Executive/L.A. Live boss Tim Leiweke have agreed to lead a September fundraiser for a streetcar project that would link L.A. Live with the cultural attractions of Grand Avenue and the historic theaters on Broadway.

Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, supporters will learn whether the $100 million project will get a crucial $25 million in federal transportation funds.

“If we get this transportation grant, it’s a huge boost,” said Dennis Allen, executive director of Los Angeles Streetcar Inc., a non-profit organization leading the streetcar project.

Streetcars used to run all across Los Angeles. One of the hubs was the shopping district downtown, centered on Broadway. But that famous Red Car network started to fade in the late 1950s and was extinct by the early ’60s. By then, shoppers drove their cars to suburban shopping malls and huge swaths of downtown fell into decay.

Now, Broad, Caruso and Leiweke, and the downtown business community believe that this new streetcar project can provide the missing link in the revitalization of the area. It will give people the ability to move around downtown – say, from a restaurant to a theater on Broadway, a concert at the Music Center or a basketball game at Staples Center – without having to drive to each and deal with parking. They envision streetcars loaded with arts patrons and sports fans, conventioneers and tourists, office workers and residents, all moving from place to place across downtown.

“Ever since I first started getting involved in downtown with the creation of the Museum of Contemporary Art 30 years ago, I’ve felt we needed a way to connect the various parts of downtown,” Broad told the Business Journal last week.

The project was inspired by an eight-mile streetcar system in central Portland, Ore., that was launched in 2001 and now attracts up to 10,000 riders on weekdays.

Backers of the L.A. streetcar project are hoping to have funding and approvals in place within the next two years. Construction would take another two years, putting the earliest opening date at 2015.

There are two four-mile loop routes under consideration, each of which would run by the Music Center, L.A. Live and Broadway. (See map.)

“With a streetcar going down Broadway and over to L.A. Live and then Grand Avenue, someone could park in one place and go to each of these activity centers,” Broad said.

In addition to MOCA, Broad has been a key backer of the now-stalled Grand Avenue mixed-use project across from Disney Hall. And he’s in discussions to site a museum housing his extensive art collection on Grand next to Disney Hall. As such, the streetcar would make those destinations more attractive to visitors.

Likewise, AEG will benefit if more people came to L.A. Live for a meal or a drink before or after a night out at a Broadway theater or the Music Center.

“Downtown businesses and attractions rely more and more each day on our public transportation system to bring residents and tourists to these popular destinations,” Leiweke said in a statement in June.

While Caruso isn’t directly involved with downtown destinations, he said he is fond of streetcars and trolleys.

“I have a couple of trolleys that operate at my projects at the Grove and at the Americana on Brand and both are packed with people,” he said. “And those don’t even go outside of those shopping centers.”

While the downtown streetcars would be closer in style to light rail than Caruso’s trolleys, he said the streetcars would be “a great idea” for downtown, and attract more visitors. Indeed, that’s one of the major aims of the project – to provide the missing link for commuters and visitors using the Red Line subway or Blue Line train to travel the final two or three blocks to various venues.

Portland Success

“The key is to make sure the route design hits all the major attractions and destinations,” said Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the South Park area around the Staples Center and Los Angeles Convention Center.

Backers of the latest effort to revitalize the Broadway theater district – which includes a dozen historic theaters and hundreds of storefronts on the ground floor of historic buildings – see the streetcar as a vital component.

They look to the example of Portland. During its first seven years of service, that city’s streetcar helped attract half the investment in revitalizing the downtown business district.

More than 10,000 housing units and 1 million square feet of new office space were built within two blocks of the Portland route.

“The streetcar has proven it can be the driving force behind redevelopment,” said L.A. Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes the Broadway corridor.

Huizar said he hopes the streetcar and related streetscape improvements on Broadway can entice property owners to renovate and reopen some of the area’s historic theaters. He also hopes the streetcar would draw more tenants to more than 1 million square feet of office space that’s sitting vacant above Broadway storefronts.

But he acknowledged the biggest obstacle to a streetcar system is money. So far, the only firm commitment is $10 million from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. The $25 million urban circulator grant from the federal government expected to be announced soon would provide a big boost.

But if that money doesn’t come through, cobbling together the funds will be especially difficult. “That’s the one thing that keeps me up at night about the streetcar and about bringing back Broadway,” Huizar said.

The Los Angeles Streetcar non-profit is also laying the groundwork for the creation of an assessment district of property owners along the route. The district could raise as much as $50 million toward the project cost over a period of several years. As for the remainder, backers are still searching for federal and state funding sources.

In the meantime, Los Angeles Streetcar needs about $1 million for planning and environmental work over the next two years. The Sept. 30 fundraiser at L.A. Live is designed to launch a drive to build up that money.

One critic of the streetcar project said the city should consider other alternatives that require less up-front investment.

“If the argument is we need better transportation and circulation downtown, before we invest a hundred million dollars in a system like this, we ought to look at easing the barriers to jitneys and taxis downtown,” said Jim Moore, professor in the School of Policy, Planning and Development at USC.

The city has expanded cab service downtown with its “Hail a Taxi” program that loosens the rules for curbside pickup and drop-off. But Moore said more should be done to encourage private transportation services to fill in the gaps.

Still, streetcar supporters said having a fixed-rail route is crucial to bringing in long-term investment, especially along the Broadway corridor.

“The real key to a streetcar is the economic development potential that comes with permanent rails in the ground,” Los Angeles Streetcar’s Allen said.
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  #889  
Old Posted Jul 19, 2010, 6:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Westsidelife View Post
Laying Tracks

L.A. business titans get behind downtown streetcars

By Howard Fine
July 12, 2010

A plan to bring streetcars back to downtown Los Angeles is getting on track as three of the city’s most prominent businessmen have climbed aboard.

...
Yeah yeah yeah... but what is the transportation benefit for Los Angeles? I mean, assuming the Regional Connector, what does a street-car offer users. It'll be a pretty thing to go by on the street, but will people use it?

And, where will the vehicles my stored and maintained?
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  #890  
Old Posted Jul 19, 2010, 8:28 AM
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Originally Posted by bmfarley View Post
Yeah yeah yeah... but what is the transportation benefit for Los Angeles? I mean, assuming the Regional Connector, what does a street-car offer users. It'll be a pretty thing to go by on the street, but will people use it?

And, where will the vehicles my stored and maintained?
Other than the wow factor, what will streetcars do that buses can't?

I'd rather see them put in some really nice buses and save the money to build more light rail or subways.

The Portland streetcar system averages only 5mph. Is that good enough for LA?
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  #891  
Old Posted Jul 19, 2010, 7:57 PM
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^ They're two separate systems designed to serve two separates corridors and ridership groups. The regional connector does just what it sounds like... connects various light rail lines so through service will have less of an impact on the existing subway.

The streetcar is meant to attract development along the Broadway corridor and tie in the southern redevelopment (LA Live/South Park) with the northern redevelopment (Grand Avenue/Broad Museum/Music Center). Streetcars have a good track record in that respect. I don't think the speed will matter much, since it's a local line and not a regional rail project. Bus routes just simply don't have the track record for redevelopment potential.
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  #892  
Old Posted Jul 19, 2010, 8:09 PM
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Bootstrap Bill:
Quote:
Other than the wow factor, what will streetcars do that buses can't?

I'd rather see them put in some really nice buses and save the money to build more light rail or subways.

The Portland streetcar system averages only 5mph. Is that good enough for LA?

*Streetcars can hold 2 to 3 times as many passengers as the typical bus.
*As with subways/fixed rail, streetcars lack the stigma that buses have. There are many discretionary riders who'll ride streetcars who wouldn't otherwise ride buses.
*The average useful life for streetcars is 25-40 years, whereas for buses it is typically 12-15 years.
*Streetcars run on electricity (renewable, emits less carbon/air pollution, produced domestically not imported from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, etc...).
*Streetcars are fixed infrastructure-- giving the permanence needed for developers to invest hundreds of millions (billions of dollars in PDX) in new housing and businesses along the routes.
*Streetcars are far more comfortable than buses and have wider aisles: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show....php?p=4828312 .
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  #893  
Old Posted Jul 20, 2010, 2:40 PM
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Council Gives Nod To Light Rail Station Designs (Santa Monica Mirror)

Council Gives Nod To Light Rail Station Designs

July 18, 2010
Hannah Heineman
Santa Monica Mirror

The Expo Light Rail will be coming to Santa Monica in 2015 and it will have a station at the Bergamot Art Center, 14th Street and Colorado Avenue, and its terminus will be located at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue.


Rendering courtesy of the City of Santa Monica
Concept Station Rendering C (with an alternative park design) for the Downtown Exposition light rail station on 4th Street and Colorado. The view from northwest looking to southeast.


On July 13 the City Council had the opportunity to review the baseline expectations for the rail stations that will be the obligation of the Metro Line Construction Authority (Expo) to include in their construction of the stations. Baselines need to be established now because Expo is utilizing a competitive process by having two design-build teams develop baseline plans and bids for the project. By early November each team must submit their final design packages and bids and in early 2011 the Expo Board will select the team who will construct the Expo Light Rail.


Rendering courtesy of the City of Santa Monica.
Station Concept A (with current buildings indicated in red), view from northwest looking to southeast.


The Council voted unanimously to endorse having all three stations include sensitive placement of mechanical/electrical and train control buildings and bus stop amenities. They also unanimously endorsed specific baselines for each individual station. For Bergamot Station they approved two entrances, side platforms with center entrance ramps, and east-end track crossing subject to the approval of the California Public Utility Commission....

http://www.smmirror.com/?ajax#mode=single&view=30764
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  #894  
Old Posted Jul 20, 2010, 8:38 PM
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The National Journal has a good debate about whether the federal govt should provide up-front financing for transportation projects, with LA's 30/10 plan being the focus of this debate.




"Would it be a good investment for all concerned if state and local governments borrowed federal money for transportation projects up front and paid it back over time?

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last fall floated a plan for getting 30 years' worth of transportation projects built in 10 years: Borrow now to fully fund the projects and pay back the loan using the special tax already approved by L.A. voters. Villaraigosa has been attracting support since then with the argument that the 30/10 plan will save money in the long run, put vital projects in use sooner, create jobs and help the environment. It isn't so far off from the idea of a national infrastructure bank, and President Obama reportedly called it "a template for the nation."

Is it? Discuss the benefits and costs of having the federal government front money for transportation projects. How much is there to gain from getting must-have projects built sooner, and how would you determine what makes the cut? Does the short-term outlay make sense in the current spending climate? Will the return on investment be enough? What have we learned from the Recovery Act that should guide any further decisions about getting the feds involved in infrastructure spending?"

http://transportation.nationaljourna...nment-fron.php
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  #895  
Old Posted Jul 20, 2010, 11:55 PM
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Time to hammer the conservative trolls.
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  #896  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 1:45 AM
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Originally Posted by RAlossi View Post
The streetcar is meant to attract development along the Broadway corridor and tie in the southern redevelopment (LA Live/South Park) with the northern redevelopment (Grand Avenue/Broad Museum/Music Center). Streetcars have a good track record in that respect. I don't think the speed will matter much, since it's a local line and not a regional rail project. Bus routes just simply don't have the track record for redevelopment potential.
So, the street car provides the eye candy in order for downtown development to do whatever.

And the transportation benefit? For how much money? And, who should pay for this if - as if it should not be the private sector or local redevelopment agency?

And, even so, where would the cars be stored and maintained?
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  #897  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 8:24 AM
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^ It's better to spend more money for something effective than to spend less money and have something ineffective. And then you have to spend more money anyway to get something effective, and then you already wasted your money on the previous attempt, thus spending more money overall than if you were to have spent more money in the first place.
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  #898  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 9:53 PM
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bmfarley: cleaning and light maintenance will be done at a site along the route since laying additional rail is expensive. The work will be done off of the street, with likely office/residential above and retail at ground level. Several potential sites are identified but I suspect they won’t release the locations until the EIR is done and some preliminary negotiations take place. If you are really interested, both Bring Back Broadway and lastreetcar.org are VERY good at providing information.

In general, I agree that buses are the way to go in most of LA. But where a significant tourist factor is involved (Hollywood, SM/Venice) the trolley isn’t just transportation, it is part of the attraction (ala SF cable cars). Pasadena is studying trolleys for its touristy areas as well.

In short, this is eye candy (like the Eiffel Tower or cable cars) but like the cable cars, it also provides transit for tourists, local residents and workers. The idea is to make DT the obvious place for a tourist to stay; or to add to his stay after going to a convention; or to make him want to come back to a convention in DT because he had a great time.

Last edited by pesto; Jul 21, 2010 at 10:31 PM.
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  #899  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 10:32 PM
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Expo in Santa Monica: OK, now SM has agreed to stations for Expo. I will be more impressed when I see the actual approval of dense projects in the surrounding 1/2 mile areas. This will show whether SM is really interested in the Purple Line extension.
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  #900  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 10:36 PM
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^ They'd be nuts not to be interested in something that would elevate their city, especially if it's underground.
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