LOS ANGELES | Transportation News & Discussion

[IconRPCV]

Did anyone go to the Streetcar Event last night in the Cooper Building? It was alot of fun, lots of free food and drink from Downtown restaurants bars and buisnesses.

[M II A II R II K]

Crenshaw Boulevard comes to a crossroads


September 15, 2012

By Christopher Hawthorne

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...5187.htmlstory

Summary

Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles has a history as long and winding as its pathway through the city. Crenshaw's 23-mile route encompasses an array of districts, each with distinct personalities. The aerospace and car dealership companies along the boulevard that had provided many jobs after World War II have shut down over the years, causing a major shift in the District's livelihood. Nowadays, writes Hawthorne, "despite its central location, the street has been called the city's 'forgotten spine.'"

Writes Hawthorne, "the notion of the boulevard as a major transportation corridor -- a thriving center for planes, trains and automobiles -- has faded in recent years." Which is why the new $1.7 billion light rail Crenshaw Line is primed to revive the boulevard and bring the Crenshaw District back out of the shadows.

Area residents grew anxious, however, when they caught wind there may not be enough funding for a Leimert Park stop. Echoing resentment from when the Santa Monica Freeway was built right through Crenshaw Boulevard, dividing Leimert Park from affluent areas to the north, the community is urging Metro and Mayor Villaraigosa to reconsider and allow Leimert Park to be a part of the revitalization process. Noting these pleas, Hawthorne takes a stand for a Leimert Park stop, claiming that "It is hard to think of an area better positioned to benefit from the new vitality and foot traffic that a light-rail stop would bring."

[M II A II R II K]

Workforce housing in LA costs too much. Here's how to fix it


Oct 3, 2012

By Matthew DeBord

Read More: http://www.scpr.org/blogs/economy/20...eres-how-fix-/

.....

The idea laid out in "Developing Livable Communities: Enhancing Economic Competitiveness in Los Angeles" is straightforward. We don't have enough affordable workforce housing. But developers don't want to develop for the portion of the market that needs that housing the most: people earning between $42,400 and $63,600. Those folks — what Habibi calls a "donut hole" — make too much to qualify for subsidized housing, but don't make enough to afford the high-end housing that developers prefer (for obvious reasons).

- Enter an integrated solution. Create an incentive to develop housing for this group along transit corridors, which are currently being expanded in L.A. "Continued investment in transit and transit corridors will make LA more economically competitive," said Habibi, who was the report's lead author. If you think this is about creating more density in infamous L.A. urban sprawl, you'd be right on track. "You want to bring the workforce back toward the employment centers," Habibi said. "We need to lower the economic cost of getting workers from point A to point B." Habibi thinks that multifamily rental housing makes the most sense for this development model. "It's the most cost-effective platform, because the cost per unit for developers is significantly less."

- Habibi would know: In addition to serving on the Anderson School faculty, he's a Principal of Habibi Properties, LLC, "which owns over 1,600 apartment units in the Los Angeles area," according to his UCLA bio. Would this approach to development be good for his own business? Quite possibly, but Habibi takes a nuanced view that, in the end, isn't purely about maxmizing profits. At the moment, Habibi acknowledges, it makes more sense for developers to go for market-rate projects because they can make money doing it. So incentives have to be provided in terms of reduced risks and costs for developers — and the reducing has to be achieved through policy. "The city needs to get very proactive and streamline development," he said.

.....

[202_Cyclist]

The US Department of Transportation's blog has a post about the TIFIA loan for the Crenshaw line.

DOT's TIFIA and Los Angeles’ Crenshaw Light Rail Line, working together to create jobs, improve transit options


Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"At DOT, we’re committed to investing in transportation projects that give hard-working Americans safe, reliable, and affordable options for getting to work, school, and everywhere else they need to go. One such project is the Crenshaw Light Rail Line in Los Angeles, California, which I had the opportunity to tour with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa yesterday.

Earlier this month, DOT was proud to provide the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority with a $545.9 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to help build this new light rail transit line along the Crenshaw corridor. The MTA expects this DOT TIFIA loan to help generate a total of $1.75 billion in investment in this key project..."

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/10/dots...sit-optio.html

[ltsmotorsport]

I wish the Crenshaw line was going to go NW on MLK and then head up La Brea all the way to Hollywood. That would be a great phase II after it meats up with the Expo line.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by ltsmotorsport

I wish the Crenshaw line was going to go NW on MLK and then head up La Brea all the way to Hollywood. That would be a great phase II after it meats up with the Expo line.

I think the long term plan (i.e. Crenshaw Phase II) is for it to jog over to La Brea, intersect with the Purple Line and eventually wind up meeting the Red line in Hollywood.

[ltsmotorsport]

Well glad to hear that La Brea is part of the plan. MLK just makes a lot of sense logistically to get the line from Crenshaw to La Brea.

[JDRCRASH]

Well i think north of wilshire it's still TBA on what route it will take: La Brea, Fairfax, La Cienaga, or San Vincente. Ultimately tho, it will end at Hollywood & Highland (though i saw a route proposal map somewhere saying it might eventually reach the Hollywood Bowl).

[202_Cyclist]

Foes of transit sales tax extension face uphill battle
Measure J would extend the half-cent levy an extra 30 years, to 2069. Backers are an array of interests fueling their bid with money. The opposition is a relatively low-budget, grass-roots effort.

October 20, 2012
By Ari Bloomekatz
Los Angeles Times

"A small group of opponents to a three-decade transportation sales tax extension on next month's ballot huddled this week for their first news conference, a thinly attended event in a Hyde Park parking lot.

Only two television stations showed up — one from USC — signaling the kind of David versus Goliath battle they face.

The Coalition to Defeat Measure J included a smattering of groups with accumulated grievances against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Among them were bus riders who feel shortchanged by the agency's heavy spending on rail projects and Beverly Hills school officials battling part of a subway route beneath their city..."

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct...asure-20121020

[202_Cyclist]

Greater Greater Washington has a good post about the Orange line and suggests that it should be used as a model for the bus rapid transit planned for Montgomery Co., Maryland, here in the DC suburbs.

LA's Orange Line shows the way for Montgomery BRT
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/...ontgomery-brt/

There are also some good photos linked to from the article.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecour...th/8100015875/

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by ltsmotorsport

I wish the Crenshaw line was going to go NW on MLK and then head up La Brea all the way to Hollywood. That would be a great phase II after it meats up with the Expo line.

Here's Metro's study to show they are looking into a northern extension of the Crenshaw Line. Most likely, this rail line will go north on La Cienega toward West Hollywood and head east to Hollywood/Highland so that more destinations are captured (i.e. Cedars Sinai, Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Sunset Strip, all destinatinos which will be missed with a La Brea extension).

http://www.metro.net/projects_studie...20Appendix.pdf

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Here's Metro's study to show they are looking into a northern extension of the Crenshaw Line. Most likely, this rail line will go north on La Cienega toward West Hollywood and head east to Hollywood/Highland so that more destinations are captured (i.e. Cedars Sinai, Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Sunset Strip, all destinatinos which will be missed with a La Brea extension).

http://www.metro.net/projects_studie...20Appendix.pdf

Good. La Cienega is the better choice, much better then La Brea. Ideally, Crenshaw Line would branch off and hit both streets, but I'll gladly take La Cienega instead.

[Quixote]

The big day is in 2 weeks. In 2 weeks, our transit future will either get a major boost or take a big step back. I'm so anxious. I just don't think it will pass.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

The big day is in 2 weeks. In 2 weeks, our transit future will either get a major boost or take a big step back. I'm so anxious. I just don't think it will pass.

I just don't think people care. Most people voting won't even be alive when the tax is extended.

[Quixote]

My hunch is that it will fall just short of the required 67%. I see the final tally being 65% yes, 35% no.

Although it's been hovering around 68-22 the past 2 weeks. The pro-J campaign really needs to make one final push.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

and they will be. they have the funds to swamp the tv ads.... at least one vote is in FOR J.. i voted a couple days ago

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

My hunch is that it will fall just short of the required 67%. I see the final tally being 65% yes, 35% no.

Although it's been hovering around 68-22 the past 2 weeks. The pro-J campaign really needs to make one final push.

I heard a "yes on measure J," commercial on the radio yesterday morning, so they've definitely made some ad buys.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Here's Metro's study to show they are looking into a northern extension of the Crenshaw Line. Most likely, this rail line will go north on La Cienega toward West Hollywood and head east to Hollywood/Highland so that more destinations are captured (i.e. Cedars Sinai, Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Sunset Strip, all destinatinos which will be missed with a La Brea extension).

http://www.metro.net/projects_studie...20Appendix.pdf

Thanks for posting this. It's also nice to see that the extension between Crenshaw and the Puple Line is planned to run underground. Means they won't have money to do this for a while, but it's a better idea in the long run.

[ltsmotorsport]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Here's Metro's study to show they are looking into a northern extension of the Crenshaw Line. Most likely, this rail line will go north on La Cienega toward West Hollywood and head east to Hollywood/Highland so that more destinations are captured (i.e. Cedars Sinai, Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Sunset Strip, all destinatinos which will be missed with a La Brea extension).

http://www.metro.net/projects_studie...20Appendix.pdf

Hmm, I'm liking that alignment now too, with some closer study. I still like my idea of a diagonal shortcut on MLK before Exposition though.

[blackcat23]

http://thesource.metro.net/2012/10/2...nal-connector/

Utility relocation to begin in November for Regional Connector!



by Steve Hymon

The Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project will extend Light Rail Transit (LRT) tracks 1.9 miles underground through Downtown Los Angeles, connecting the Metro Gold, Blue, and Expo lines. The project also includes the construction of three new stations located at 1st/Central, 2nd/Broadway, and 2nd/Hope. Utility relocation activities are expected to begin in November 2012, with construction of the Regional Connector beginning in late 2013. Anticipated project completion is 2019.

In other very related news, we're seeing some movement on a project that may tie into the regional connector (the preferred routings are West Bank 3 and the East Bank). This is one of the least talked about Measure R projects, but is expected to attract a daily ridership of 80,000 (significantly more than the Gold, Green and Expo lines).

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/1..._rail_line.php

What It'll Take to Build a DTLA to Santa Ana Light Rail Line



by Neal Broverman

Transit planners are currently exploring the use of the old PE right-of-way south of the 105 near Lynwood; they'll present their findings to the SCAG transportation committee next week and will likely suggest looking closer at three options: not building anything, managing current transportation efforts better, and constructing light rail. The ROW north of the 105 (and the adjacent Green Line light rail) towards DTLA is not available for use anymore, so they're considering various routes on other ROWs through places like Vernon and Huntington Park. A SCAG rep says they'd need to build a new Green Line station to allow transfer between the two lines, and that the LA County part of the line would likely be built before the OC part. There is Measure R money for this project, and a light rail line would is expected to attract 80,000 daily riders, but such an option is extremely expensive and would cost around $3 billion. After the SCAG study, Metro and OC's transit authority will decide next year whether to green-light an environmental review of the project.