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  #1841  
Old Posted Apr 20, 2012, 6:57 PM
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Originally Posted by OhioGuy View Post
Wow, there was certainly a lot of stopping at intersections. LA is building rail lines, but they aren't necessarily building rapid transit. Though the purple line, once it finally opens, will certainly be a good addition!

(I'm sure the Expo line will be a good addition as well, but not as good as it could be if it were completely grade separated, or at the very least had better signal priority at all of the intersections it crosses at-grade.)
This is my sense as well. Since cars move so much faster than rail in LA, the only real riders are those who can't afford cars. The Purple Line may be a game changer, but on the other lines LA attracts a very much more downmarket ridership than do other lines (NY, SF, London, Paris, DC, etc.)

I do exclude rush-hours, however; at these times, rail is often faster than driving. But my real hope is that there will be a focus on subways or other grade separation, rather than interminable rides on city streets.
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  #1842  
Old Posted Apr 21, 2012, 3:19 PM
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What Will It Take to Change Commuters' Behavior in Los Angeles?


April 16, 2012

By Alissa Walker

Read More: http://www.good.is/post/what-will-it...n-los-angeles/

Quote:
.....

Angeleno commuters lose about 70 hours per person per year sitting in traffic—that's the equivalent of nearly ten days! It averages to about 485 million wasted hours that cost the region more than $10 billion annually, estimates Vision Los Angeles. Plus, commutes in Los Angeles are a third longer than they should be, according to a study by Texas Transportation Institute. But it wouldn't even take that much change to see an improvement in those numbers, according to a study by RAND. Reducing the number of cars on the road by only 2 or 3 percent could cut congestion delays by 10 to 15 percent.

- Many drivers don't know, for example, that the city can help place commuters in a carpool or vanpool using their Rideshare program. According to April McKay, director of customer programs and services at Metro, drivers can register with their address and place of work confidentially. "There are thousands of interested ridesharers in our database," she says. "We’ll help them find someone close by their home who shares their workplace destination and hours." The motivation to share a ride is often economic: While something like high gas prices might increase the number of calls to their Rideshare hotline, McKay says that what really helps is when employers themselves offer incentives.

- While the economic benefits are obvious, she says aiming for one car per household can help people start to experience a car-lite lifestyle without having to jump right in. "While still having the security of one vehicle, families can incorporate creative transportation trips. For example, the person driving can rotate by day and assist the others with a ride to the bus stop, a pickup to prevent an uphill bike ride, or participate in a carpool group," she says. "And for those times you really need an extra car—and there are these times—depend on your neighborhood car-share vehicle." It's true that people might be more likely to surrender at least one car if they knew they could have one available when they needed it, and that's how car sharing programs could be another big part of the L.A. commuting conundrum.

- Of course, transit-oriented car-sharing found in pockets around the city will only make sense for those who live close to public transportation. For everyone else, there's another, newer option. RelayRides, which recently launched in Los Angeles, is a peer-to-peer sharing service that allows people to "rent" cars owned by other drivers. Unlike Zipcar, there are no membership fees, and renters can buy insurance to cover them while driving a stranger's car. But you don't need a company to share a vehicle, argues Joe Linton, a bicycling advocate and co-organizer of CicLAvia, who lives in L.A.'s Eco Village. His neighbors set up a Google calendar for their car, which functions a lot like the peer-to-peer rental service.

- What Linton would like to see is some city-wide technology that can help groups of people who live near each other connect and create their own car-sharing systems. "We've got a lot of one-car persons, and quite a few zero-car persons like me and not so much in between," he says. "The former can't imagine not having a car for every trip, the later can't imagine having a car for every trip." This way, those without cars can give tips and advice to help wean car owners off their vehicles, while still having a car at their disposal when they need it.

- Even with her Zipcar membership and good friends on speed dial as backup, taking the leap was challenging, says Wong. She hopes to see more stories like hers shared by the city with tips on how to go car-free. "If people aren’t willing to part with their cars altogether, I’d challenge them to designate a 'car free day' each week where no matter where it was they have to go, they had to get there without a car," she advises. Or even better, she says, spend a day exploring your neighborhood and see how many needs could be met within a one-mile walking radius. "I discovered so many businesses there were in my neighborhood that I never thought to support," she says. "Look at it as an adventure."

.....



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  #1843  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2012, 9:39 PM
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MTA issues timetables for Expo and it looks like it will take just under 1/2 hour from Culver City to 7th/Metro. Not bad. Sounds like a winner on time and cost vs. driving. The key is to get some serious TOD around the stations (it looks to be starting).

It's less clear to me that the trip from Santa Monica to DT will be efficient. But as long as Culver City can connect to SM and points in between, this should give them a decent amount of ridership.
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  #1844  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2012, 4:17 PM
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Figueroa Comeback


04.23.2012

Read More: http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6012

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.....

Since 2010, the MyFigueroa project had tried, through street, landscape, and land-use planning studies, to pave the way for the city’s most innovative pedestrian and bicycle environment along Figueroa Boulevard between LA Live, on the southern end of Downtown, and Exposition Park, adjacent to USC. It included separated cycle lanes and improvements to streetscape, pedestrian infrastructure, and transit stops.

- But in early April, the LA mayor’s office and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (DOT) struck a deal to move administrative oversight of the project to the DOT. Now MyFigueroa appears primed to move forward quickly. According to Tim Fremaux, a city traffic engineer, DOT will bundle the project’s environmental review with that of the city’s plans to build 40 miles of bike lanes. DOT would serve as lead agency on MyFigueroa’s construction, overseeing work by a yet-to-be-determined contractor. The Proposition 1C grant money will fund it, and additional Metro Call for Projects money could be used to improve connections between the Figueroa Street and the new Expo Line.

- All told, the project will add pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements on 4.5 miles of streets along the Figueroa Corridor. LA-based landscape and urban design firm Melendrez Design Partners has already completed initial designs. The centerpiece of the project would be a separated cycle track (SCT) running in each direction along Figueroa Street between 7th and 41st streets. The SCT would slide parking spaces out toward the street, leaving curb, sidewalk, and drainage infrastructure in place. Grant funding for the MyFigueroa project also targets improvements for 11th Street from Broadway to Figueroa, Bill Robertson Lane between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, and, finally, MLK Boulevard between Figueroa and Vermont. Eleventh Street, which feeds into LA Live, would add a bike lane and enhance pedestrian infrastructure—including a possible 19-foot-wide sidewalk.

.....













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  #1845  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2012, 6:28 PM
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im so glad this is back. i was really looking forward to it and i was bummed when the CRA was killed mainly because of this very project. i really hope they go with the best urban option and fully implement it. LA is vastly lacking in great and complete streets and this would be a huge start. ideally, all of the streets in downtown will get similar treatment in the near future
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  #1846  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2012, 6:41 PM
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Originally Posted by pesto View Post
This is my sense as well. Since cars move so much faster than rail in LA, the only real riders are those who can't afford cars. The Purple Line may be a game changer, but on the other lines LA attracts a very much more downmarket ridership than do other lines (NY, SF, London, Paris, DC, etc.)

I do exclude rush-hours, however; at these times, rail is often faster than driving. But my real hope is that there will be a focus on subways or other grade separation, rather than interminable rides on city streets.
At rush hour, walking is faster than driving.
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  #1847  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2012, 6:43 PM
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[QUOTE=M II A II R II K;5674544]What Will It Take to Change Commuters' Behavior in Los Angeles?

In a word, a practicable alternative to the personal auto. Buses won't do it; carpooling won't do it; streetcars won't do it. The only answer is dedicated right-of-way rail.
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  #1848  
Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 8:35 PM
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Shortlisted teams unveil vision boards for LA's Union Station area.


04.26.2012

Read More: http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6020

Quote:
Such is the strange state of affairs at LA’s Union Station, where LA County’s transit agency, Metro, asked the six shortlisted teams to masterplan the 42 acre area it owns around the station to present “vision boards,” containing conceptual renderings—with no specified limitations— for the neighborhood as it might look in the year 2050.

The boards, presented in front of a packed house at the station yesterday, will hold no weight in the team selection. That choice will be made, by the end of June, on the much more nuts-and-bolts basis of qualifications, interviews, data collection, draft alternatives and implementation strategies, aka “scope of work.”

“It’s about fun and inspiration and the future of Los Angeles,” said Martha Welborne, Metro Executive Director, Countywide Planning, of the vision boards. She appears to be fighting an uphill battle to get the bureaucratic and engineering-driven agency to embrace design. “It’s about opening up their imagination before they have to get serious about the limitations,” she noted, of the architect/engineer teams’ proposals. “These are not going to get built.”

.....


The schemes while inspiring and informative, will not become reality.




Grimshaw and Gruen's entry for LA's Union Station area.






EE&K with UN Stuidio.






NBBJ and IngeNhoven.






Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Parsons.






Moore Ruble Yudell with Ten Arquitectos and West 8.






Foster and IBI.

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  #1849  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 2:49 PM
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Expo Line backers hope the Westside is ready to come aboard (Los Angeles Times)

Congratulations LA! This is great for the region. The discussion towards the end of the article about the limited ability of the Expo line to reduce congestion is a bit ridiculous. Transit gives people options to avoid being stuck in congestion. Clearly, it won't eliminate highway congestion in LA County but it will give people a choice to spending two hours on the highways. Additionally, removing just five percent of the vehicles from the highways during peak travel periods can have a disproportionate benefit in reducing congestion.

Expo Line backers hope the Westside is ready to come aboard
Transit officials are spending $2.2 billion to extend the Expo Line light rail through the Westside. Both Santa Monica and Culver City are making big bets that the line will be a boon to their bustling but traffic-clogged communities.


Crews remove trees at 26th Street and Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica in preparation for construction of the Bergamot Station, part of Phase 2 of the Expo Line. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times / April 25, 2012)

By Martha Groves
Los Angeles Times
April 28, 2012

"Cuningham Group Architecture's office is situated a few blocks from the water in Marina del Rey, where some workers like to run, bike or skateboard to work.

In June the firm will be moving seven miles inland to an office compound in Culver City. The draw? The nearby Expo Line station.

"We wanted to be in Culver City because of the rail line," said Jonathan Watts, a firm principal. "We end up being in downtown Los Angeles a lot dealing with the city and permitting, and we have a number of employees living east of downtown. We were looking for a more central location by transit..."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...882,full.story
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  #1850  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 4:59 PM
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Yes, the Expo Line is FINALLY here after a nearly 2-year delay!
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  #1851  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 5:54 PM
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Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist View Post

Crews remove trees at 26th Street and Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica in preparation for construction of the Bergamot Station, part of Phase 2 of the Expo Line. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times / April 25, 2012)

By Martha Groves
Los Angeles Times
April 28, 2012

"Cuningham Group Architecture's office is situated a few blocks from the water in Marina del Rey, where some workers like to run, bike or skateboard to work.

In June the firm will be moving seven miles inland to an office compound in Culver City. The draw? The nearby Expo Line station.

"We wanted to be in Culver City because of the rail line," said Jonathan Watts, a firm principal. "We end up being in downtown Los Angeles a lot dealing with the city and permitting, and we have a number of employees living east of downtown. We were looking for a more central location by transit..."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...882,full.story
A nice feel good article and think Expo will be a success; but I do have some issues.

I don't think that people from the eastside are going to be using Expo to SM very often. It's just too slow. Compare this with the Purple Line that will make the same trip in about half the time.

I'm also not sure how much traffic on the westside is going to be helped. The real problems are north-south, not east-west. Olympic, Pico, Venice, Washington and others move fairly well (even at rush hour except right around the 405). North-south streets are more congested.

I see the shorter legs as being the more useful: DT-USC; CC-USC-DT; CC-WLA-SM. Once you get longer, you need subway speeds.
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  #1852  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 6:21 PM
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Curbed has another article about MTA and BH. A quote from the BH attorney:

"The Final EIR also proposes to relocate the terminus of Phase 1 construction from the Fairfax station to the La Cienega station. This change in location will result in significant increases in ridership and boardings at the La Cienega station. In particular, this change will increase boardings at La Cienega from 6,500 boardings per day to over 10,000 boardings per day. This change will result in increased traffic, parking, and pedestrian safety impacts in the vicinity of the La Cienega station that were not previously disclosed. Increased ridership and people in the vicinity of the stations also has the potential to result in additional calls for service to police and fire, as well as increased traffic and noise impacts."

Curbed notes that this is a dangerous development since it could delay the entire line and require substantial additional filings and review. Similarly, Loyola Law School is looking at discrimination against the handicapped when MTA decided to move their entrance when LACMA paid to get it to come to their location instead.

All of this was avoidable. Instead, MTA is building a rep as someone who steamrolls opposition and couldn't care less about local opinion. Predictable 2 years ago and unfortunately coming through now.
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  #1853  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 10:11 PM
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  #1854  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 2:42 AM
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All of this was avoidable. Instead, MTA is building a rep as someone who steamrolls opposition and couldn't care less about local opinion. Predictable 2 years ago and unfortunately coming through now.

youre such a tool sometimes. why should Metro change course because of a few idiots in BH? doesnt make any sense. couldnt care less about local opinion? get the hell out of here with that bullshit
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  #1855  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 2:45 AM
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Rode the Expo Line today. Definitely is going to be a nice commodity for the westside. Ends kind of akwardly right now though since the Culver City station isn't completed yet. The Exposition Park/USC station is the gem of the line right now... absolutely beautiful.
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  #1856  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 4:58 AM
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I rode it today too. From start to finish and back to USC. The USC station is beautiful. The Expo Line is going to be a huge cataylist for development.
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  #1857  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 7:00 AM
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I rode it today too. It was very nice, clean, and completely packed. I was surprised how quite and smooth it was. I don't know why, but I was expecting more bumps. But why is everyone saying that the Expo Park station was particularly nice? The stations all seemed the same to me.
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  #1858  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 7:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Illithid Dude View Post
I rode it today too. It was very nice, clean, and completely packed. I was surprised how quite and smooth it was. I don't know why, but I was expecting more bumps. But why is everyone saying that the Expo Park station was particularly nice? The stations all seemed the same to me.
I think he meant the Expo Park/USC station was beautiful in terms of how the train rises from the tunnel into a great surrounding landscape, i.e. the USC campus plaza + buildings and the remodeled Natural History Museum and rose garden across the street.... compared to outdated strip retail plazas at the other stations.
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  #1859  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 12:36 PM
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How does it work out with traffic lights in between stations though..
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  #1860  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 2:24 PM
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I think he meant the Expo Park/USC station was beautiful in terms of how the train rises from the tunnel into a great surrounding landscape, i.e. the USC campus plaza + buildings and the remodeled Natural History Museum and rose garden across the street.... compared to outdated strip retail plazas at the other stations.
Exactly. You come out of the tunnel and just have a beautiful view in all directions at that station. You just want to jump off the train there and explore even if that wasn't your intended destination.
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