LOS ANGELES | Transportation News & Discussion

[pesto]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

1st - the Green Line Aviation station is 2.2 miles from LAX with a bus transfer. The Crenshaw Line cuts that to a 1.2 mile distance between a rail station and LAX with the Century station, thus the Aviation passengers (one of the busiest stations on the Green Line) will move to the Crenshaw Line. Plus, trains from the new Century station will go towards South Bay, Norwalk and Exposition.

2nd - Eventually, the LAX connector ($500M from Measure R) will be connected to Century Station most likely through a People Mover, thus even more ridership

3rd - Also stops repeatedly? The Crenshaw Line is only mixing with traffic between 48th through 60th streets in South LA. This line is over 50% grade seperated and outside of the 48th through 60th street, there's nowhere else the train would potentially stop for cars. So why "stop repeatedly"? That sounds to be an empty statement. The Expo Line stops repeatedly on Flower street, but outside of 48th through 60th in South LA, there is no other possbility for repeated stops.

4th - Destinations? Leimart Park, Slauson Blvd and Inglewood downtown are destinations for riders.

5th - Connectivity. Imagine people from the South Bay can now take a train towards LA's Westside without having to go east towards Blue Line or Silver Line through downtown LA. The Crenshaw Line will save people in the South Bay significant time commuting between Santa Monica/Mid City/Culver City/USC and home. That's more important than an airport connection.

Sorry to keep this going.

Leimert Park, Slauson and Inglewood DT are not destinations requiring rail transit. They are LOCAL shopping areas, more than adequately served by existing bus lines. (btw, same issue for DT Monrovia, San Dimas, etc., which will be connected by the Foothill Line; buses are MORE than adequate; but I will agree that Pasadena IS a legitmate rail destination).

It will be pushing 2 hours from South Bay to the Westside via Crenshaw and Purple (20 years to SaMo?) or Expo. I never thought I would say this, but I would recommend the 405 at rush-hour over using this method of transportation from, say, Redondo to Venice or the Marina.

Connection to LAX? For whom? From DT you would take the FlyAway bus; from the Westside you wouldn't chose Expo to the airport since you are already so close, and the tony crowd further north are not going to do Purple to Expo to people mover with luggage and kids. (btw, true story: a MTA employee warned two Swiss tourists not to take metro to LAX because the connection to the Green Line was in the most dangerous gang territory in LA and there were shooting there the previous night; not a great marketing guy, but he did give them the right advice, to take the FlyAway bus).

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by pesto

It will be pushing 2 hours from South Bay to the Westside via Crenshaw and Purple (20 years to SaMo?) or Expo. I never thought I would say this, but I would recommend the 405 at rush-hour over using this method of transportation from, say, Redondo to Venice or the Marina.

2 hours? The Blue Line takes 54 minutes from LB Transit Mall to 7th street/Metro Center going 22 miles and its street running for 6 of those miles. Outside of the 2 miles in South LA (between 48th through 60th), there is no street running segment for Crenshaw Line. So a comparison from El Segundo to Expo/Crenshaw, which is 10 miles would take 30 minutes (due to lack of street running except for 2 miles). Then the train is underground all the way to Hollywood.

By the way, why would somebody take Crenshaw Line to Purple Line to Santa Monica, when they can take Crenshaw Line to Expo Line to Santa Monica?

Originally Posted by pesto

Connection to LAX? For whom? From DT you would take the FlyAway bus; from the Westside you wouldn't chose Expo to the airport since you are already so close, and the tony crowd further north are not going to do Purple to Expo to people mover with luggage and kids. (btw, true story: a MTA employee warned two Swiss tourists not to take metro to LAX because the connection to the Green Line was in the most dangerous gang territory in LA and there were shooting there the previous night; not a great marketing guy, but he did give them the right advice, to take the FlyAway bus).

- There are A LOT of LAX workers who live in South LA, this is going to give them a lot of convenience.

- Try getting to LAX during rush hour from Santa Monica when both Lincoln blvd and 405 are jammed. Then you'll see why we're waiting anxiously for the Crenshaw Line. It'll be even more convenient for those living closer to Expo/Crenshaw station.

- Not all tourists want to go to downtown LA. The Crenshaw Line provides mobility to get people between South LA/Culver City/Mid-Wilshire/West Hollywood/Hollywood without having to go to downtown LA and then back west.

- And also the Crenshaw Line does open up job opportunities for those living in West LA and commuting to the South Bay. Remember, the Crenshaw Line will eventually go up San Vincente to West Hollywood and Hollywood. And this is going to be an underground train. All preliminary studies by Metro have affirmed this. This is not going to be a slow "Flower street" Expo Line train.

This is going to be one of the fastest Metro trains that will be operated, it's the Westside's North-South rail line.

[blackcat23]

http://thesource.metro.net/2012/08/0...way-extension/

Westside Subway Extension secures Record of Decision from feds, a big step forward for a big project!

by Dave Sotero

Another big milestone for the Westside Subway Extension today: the Federal Transit Administration gave its stamp of approval to the project’s environmental studies. In plain English, this means the project is now eligible to pursue the federal money it will need to get fully built.

What’s next for the project?

• A variety of activities can now commence to prepare for construction. Among other things, these include advanced soils testing in the vicinity of the La Brea Tar Pits, utility relocation, continued engineering and design, and property acquisition.

• The soils testing and utility relocation work could begin later this year.

• Metro will now pursue a full funding grant agreement for the project for New Starts funding from the Federal Transit Administration. Metro is planning to build the project with a combination of local Measure R funds and the federal money; getting a Record of Decision is a necessary prelude to getting the Full Funding Grant Agreement from the FTA.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

2 hours? The Blue Line takes 54 minutes from LB Transit Mall to 7th street/Metro Center going 22 miles and its street running for 6 of those miles. Outside of the 2 miles in South LA (between 48th through 60th), there is no street running segment for Crenshaw Line. So a comparison from El Segundo to Expo/Crenshaw, which is 10 miles would take 30 minutes (due to lack of street running except for 2 miles). Then the train is underground all the way to Hollywood.

By the way, why would somebody take Crenshaw Line to Purple Line to Santa Monica, when they can take Crenshaw Line to Expo Line to Santa Monica?



- There are A LOT of LAX workers who live in South LA, this is going to give them a lot of convenience.

- Try getting to LAX during rush hour from Santa Monica when both Lincoln blvd and 405 are jammed. Then you'll see why we're waiting anxiously for the Crenshaw Line. It'll be even more convenient for those living closer to Expo/Crenshaw station.

- Not all tourists want to go to downtown LA. The Crenshaw Line provides mobility to get people between South LA/Culver City/Mid-Wilshire/West Hollywood/Hollywood without having to go to downtown LA and then back west.

- And also the Crenshaw Line does open up job opportunities for those living in West LA and commuting to the South Bay. Remember, the Crenshaw Line will eventually go up San Vincente to West Hollywood and Hollywood. And this is going to be an underground train. All preliminary studies by Metro have affirmed this. This is not going to be a slow "Flower street" Expo Line train.

This is going to be one of the fastest Metro trains that will be operated, it's the Westside's North-South rail line.

Take the bus to Expo or Purple if you are desperate to waste your time getting to the westside. You have to change platforms anyway. The rest is trivia. The same kinds of arguments could be made about any line connecting any part of the city. Sure it'll help a few people.

No issues on the piece from Expo to Purple to Red in Hollywood. Build that now (not in 15-20 years) and scrap this.

[JDRCRASH]

from The Daily Breeze,

Torrance signs off on design for new $21M transit center

By Nick Green Staff Writer
Posted: 08/08/2012 07:02:40 PM PDT



Rendition shows the design approved for the new Torrance Transit terminal. (City of Torrance)

Torrance has finalized the design of its new $21 million regional transit center on Crenshaw Boulevard.

The City Council signed off Tuesday on the 16,500-square- foot structure.

The center features a "signature" white canopy over a pedestrian walkway that will be lighted from underneath, reminiscent of the white roofs at Carson's Home Depot Center.

"It's a fairly modern, plain building so the feeling was to add some canopies to add some feel to the building," Public Works Director Rob Beste said.

Officially dubbed the Torrance Transit Park and Ride Regional Terminal, the 15-acre site will have room for 300 cars in a surface parking lot and serve as a transit hub for the South Bay.

Torrance has not had a transit center since the one at Del Amo Fashion Center closed in 2005 as the mall began to redevelop the east side of the shopping center.

The new transit center is strategically located so that an extension of the Green Line will eventually connect with local bus lines at the location.

A proposed retail building was eliminated from the final design and a parking structure - or two - will be built at a later date.

"We had to remove some portions of this (project) to be within our budget," Mayor Frank Scotto said.

However, the elimination of the retail space means planners have carved a 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot plaza out of the transit center instead. The space could be used for concerts
or other events, officials said.

City officials received grants totaling $18.1 million last year to build the 18-acre former industrial site at 465 Crenshaw Blvd., for the transit center and related developments. Much of the money came from Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase county voters approved in 2008 that's dedicated to transportation projects.

The transit center will occupy 5 acres of the site and the city has already received interest from developers, including companies interested in building retail space, for the remainder of the site, Beste said.

City officials hope to break ground early next year and have targeted a summer 2014 opening for the transit center.

nick.green@dailybreeze.com

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_2...transit-center

[M II A II R II K]

Los Angeles might ease up on parking requirements for businesses


August 14, 2012

By David Zahniser and Kate Linthicum

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2276469.story

Sparking new debate over how the city should grow, Los Angeles officials have embraced a plan to ease parking space requirements for apartments, restaurants and stores in selected areas of the city. Council members Tuesday backed an ordinance that would allow real estate developers, landlords and business owners to reduce the number of parking spaces needed for their projects.

The action represents an ambitious effort to breathe new life into moribund business districts and spur new housing construction while getting more people out of their cars. It comes just weeks after the council endorsed new development guidelines for Hollywood that seek to decrease reliance on automobiles and nurture more vigorous pedestrian activity and street life. The parking changes and Hollywood plan dovetail with a broader City Hall commitment to "elegant density," a planning concept that seeks to channel growth along the city's expanding rail and bus corridors.

Council members representing the Eastside and Central City spearheaded the new parking initiative, saying the ordinance would ignite investment in century-old neighborhoods designed without the car in mind. "We need to be a business-friendly city ... [and] stop the bleeding that occurs every time a business cannot open its shop because it needs one or two" parking spaces, said Councilman Ed Reyes.

.....

[Busy Bee]

^This is a great step forward.

[pesto]

Interesting. A big win for developers, which may be good or bad, depending on the 'hood.

The problem is when a new business opens and assumes it can skimp on parking because its customers can just park on the local city streets. On the westside this is addressed by Byzantine parking restrictions which are more or less a tax, since after a while you just take your chances.

My argument has been for local control. If the locals think that a new business who is going to take all the local street parking is worth it, then let them come in without providing for parking. If not, let the business find somewhere else where the people don't care about the parking situation.

[M II A II R II K]

Los Angeles Asks Its Voters to Extend Transit Tax Far Into the Future


September 3rd, 2012

By Yonah Freemark

Read More: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...to-the-future/

.....

Because of the lack of strong federal support, the full extent of the Westside Subway will not be completed until 2036; important improvements for other parts of the county will not be done until later. That’s more than thirty more years with little significant alternative to the traffic-clogged arteries so infamous in the city. Thus the county approved, the state legislature accepted, and the governor signed late last month the bill offering to the public in the form of a referendum Measure J, which will extend the Measure R tax 30 years past its original expiration date, which was supposed to be 2039. What is to be voted on is not a new tax. Rather, if approved on November 6, it will continue assessing the 1/2-cent sales tax between 2039 and 2069.

- Effectively, the mayor wants to be able to “bond against” future revenues — in other words, to take out loans from the investment market that will not be paid back until beginning in 2039, in order to pay for transportation projects now. The tax extension does not appear likely to add to the list of transit projects that will be completed — it will just allow them to be completed more quickly. Though the measure is practically sure to win a simple majority of voters, whether it will win a two-thirds majority remains to be seen. Measure R passed with only 67.2% of the vote, just enough to succeed, and that proposal actually provided funds for new projects.

This referendum, on the other hand, states that it will “accelerat[e] construction of light rail/subway/airport connections within five years not twenty,” as well as improve safety on roads and keep senior, student, and disabled fares low. Will that be enough to convince voters on this matter, especially when certain local officials make the reasonable point that the proposal would “bind our hands until 2069“? By 2040, will the county’s citizens be content with the transit system they have constructed? If so, perhaps they will be happy to continue paying taxes. If not, will they assent to essentially continue to pay off the debt on an unwanted infrastructure for another thirty years?

.....

[pesto]

Any polls on this? 2/3 is tough.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by pesto

Any polls on this? 2/3 is tough.

It won't pass. I'm calling it right now.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

It won't pass. I'm calling it right now.

Why not? It's not even a new tax, just an extension. With a little marketing, this could easily pass.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by pesto

Interesting. A big win for developers, which may be good or bad, depending on the 'hood.

The problem is when a new business opens and assumes it can skimp on parking because its customers can just park on the local city streets. On the westside this is addressed by Byzantine parking restrictions which are more or less a tax, since after a while you just take your chances.

My argument has been for local control. If the locals think that a new business who is going to take all the local street parking is worth it, then let them come in without providing for parking. If not, let the business find somewhere else where the people don't care about the parking situation.

This is the stick to force people to walk or take transit, in conjunction with pricing street parking adequately. Measure R and earlier investments like MetroRapid are the carrot.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

It won't pass. I'm calling it right now.

That was the same thing said in 2008 and it did pass.

Metro is saying that internal polls show it at 80% voting "Yes". I think it has a chance to succeed. I wish it wasn't a 30 year extension but an indefinite tax so that we could envision more funding in the future for more rail lines.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

That was the same thing said in 2008 and it did pass.

Metro is saying that internal polls show it at 80% voting "Yes". I think it has a chance to succeed. I wish it wasn't a 30 year extension but an indefinite tax so that we could envision more funding in the future for more rail lines.

That 80% figure is impressive, if it's in fact legitimate. Seems oddly high though, considering that Measure R barely topped the 2/3 threshold.

The ballot language for Measure J will probably help. It's convoluted, but emphasizes job growth and traffic relief repeatedly. Nothing is nearer or dearer to LA residents than those two issues.

[ardecila]

Smart to be including the ballot measure in the Big Election; Angelenos will turn out in massive numbers to vote for Obama, and will likely vote to support transit.

If it were included in a special election, it wouldn't motivate a lot of supporters to turn out, but the anti-tax types would be sure to show up and vote against it.

[202_Cyclist]

I absolutely agree with this. When we visited LA a few weeks ago, I was very impressed with LA's transit system. The passenger rail (including commuter rail and light rail) network is extensive, the stations were clean, the headways were frequent and convenient. Additionally, unlike DC, all of the escalators in the metro stations seemed to work (admittedly the system is much newer and LA doesn't have DC's weather).

L.A.’s Transit Revolution
How a ballot initiative, a visionary mayor, and a quest for growth are turning Los Angeles into America’s next great mass-transit city.

By Matthew Yglesias
Sept. 17, 2012
Slate


A Los Angeles Rapid bus line (Image via Slate).

"On a recent visit to Southern California, I began my day in Claremont, where I’d spoken the previous evening at a Pomona College event. I walked from a hotel near campus to the Claremont Metrolink station, where I grabbed a commuter rail train to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. From there I transferred to the L.A. Metro’s Red Line and rode up to the Vermont/Santa Monica station and checked into a new hotel. I had lunch in that neighborhood, and later walked east to meet a friend for dinner and drinks in Silver Lake.

My father, a lifelong New Yorker and confirmed L.A. hater whose screenwriting work has frequently taken him to the City of Angels, found the idea of a carless California day pretty amusing. But the city that’s defined in the public imagination as the great auto-centric counterpoint to the traditional cities of the Northeast has quietly emerged as a serious mass transit contender. It’s no New York and never will be—Los Angeles was constructed in the era of mass automobile ownership, and its landscape will always reflect that—but it’s turning into something more interesting, a 21st-century city that moves the idea of alternative transportation beyond nostalgia or Europhilia..."

http://www.slate.com/articles/busine...sit_city_.html

[M II A II R II K]

Downtown LA protest planned against Metro; advocates say agency displaces working class residents, small businesses


Sep 12, 2012

By Corey Moore

Read More: http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/09/12/...metro-advocate

Activists accuse Los Angeles County Metro of pushing out working class people and small business owners as the transportation agency develops land - particularly in South and East LA. They plan a Downtown LA protest march Thursday afternoon. East LA Community Corporation is one of the protest organizers; Isela Gracian is a member. She’s concerned about what she calls corporate-driven projects that Metro’s promoting near light rail stations in Boyle Heights.

“We’re looking at seven different parcels along the Metro Gold line," Gracian said. "One of which has a proposed development that doesn’t fit into the pedestrian nature of the neighborhood.” Gracian and others contend that the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has focused on promoting major retail chain development on those parcels. They say the agency has not done enough to protect blacks and Latinos from displacement when – as they put it - Metro “corporatizes” the land it owns. Metro spokesman Marc Littman said that’s not true.

“We’ve done to date, including what’s under construction now, 1,222 affordable housing units. And so all these are green projects, we’ve worked very closely with the community, they’ve generated a lot of jobs,” Littman said. Littman added that while the agency has removed some affordable housing, Metro’s replaced those units throughout LA County and will continue to do that.

“In the Boyle Heights area in East Los Angeles, we’ve got a 1st and Lorena project that’s gonna get under construction for the year," he said. "That’s going to have 52 affordable housing units plus 10,000 square feet of retail space. We also want to build a new market.” Activists contend they want a say in the way Metro plans to develop property. Agency officials maintain that they’ve met with local people and elected officials in neighborhoods where those projects are on the drawing board.

.....

[M II A II R II K]

Visions of Sixth Street


09.13.2012

Read More: http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6262

Last night at the packed Puente Learning Center, a school in Los Angeles’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, three design and engineering teams attempted to predict the city’s future. The groups—headed by HNTB, AECOM, and Parsons Brinckerhoff— have all been shortlisted to create the city’s new Sixth Street Viaduct. Their vivid public presentations were the first glimpse of what will likely be LA’s next major icon.

The original 3,500-foot-long structure, a famous rounded Art Deco span designed in 1932, has been deemed unsalvageable due to irreversible decay, and in April the city’s Bureau of Engineering called for a competition to design a new, $400 million, cable stayed structure. Following the city’s lead, all three teams presented plans that not only showcased memorable forms, but embraced people-friendly designs, including pedestrian paths, parks, and connections to the river below. The push reveals Los Angeles’s focus on attracting people and talent through increased livability. Such moves are a welcome, if uphill battle considering that so much of the city has been designed for cars, not people.

The first presentation, by HNTB with Michael Maltzan Architecture, AC Martin, and Hargreaves Associates, among others, showcased the most exuberant design, a riotous collection of tall and short, slightly canted concrete and cable arches pulsing over the river and well beyond in both directions. Because of their exact repetition, the concrete spans would be affordable, pointed out the team. They would also be rougher than their steel competition: “The last thing we need is something that looks like it’s meant for a pastoral setting,” explained team member David Martin, a principal at AC Martin.

The arch that spans the river, and a slightly depressed arch below it, would both contain pedestrian walkways which people would be able to enter by literally walking into the bridge. Below the bridge the scheme would contain a hardscaped Arts Plaza to the west, with restaurants, paths, and graphical representations of the bridge’s boisterous arches on the ground; a slightly softer Viaduct Park, containing a promenade, amphitheater, and skate park; and a landscaped Boyle Heights Gateway to the east, bordering the Boyle Heights neighborhood.

.....

[pesto]

HNTB. Game over.

Iconic. A nice metaphor for entering into the land of creativity and invention. Something that people would get excited about when they see it and would want to go see when in LA.

AND, it has potential for generating interest and demand to live and work in the 'hood around it, stimulate interest in improving the river and leave the area between the river and Alameda in the middle of two developing areas.