If You Want Transit-Friendliness, Try the Downtown

by Steven Frein on June 24, 2009

6_24_09_signs.jpgPhoto: Marco Siguenza/Flickr

(Editor's note: This is the second in a series of local residents talking up their neighborhood in an effort to discover Los Angeles' best community for car-free living based on transit accessibility as well as bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.   Yesterday the Southern California Transit Advocate's Dana Gabbard took up for the Wilshire Corridor.  Today Steven Frein speaks up for Downtown Los Angeles)

Living in Downtown Los Angeles give me a distinct advantage in being able to use public transit to get to anywhere in the greater Los Angeles area.  Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) benefits from the “all roads lead to Rome” syndrome as most bus and subway lines begin or terminate in the downtown area.   DTLA has a variety of local and regional lines that make it impossible not to use public transportation to get anywhere relatively easy.

I often take the bus from DTLA to Glendale for work.  There are several routs to choose from and I have tried them all.  I enjoy crating new opportunities of seeing the city using the vast infrastructure that is afforded to downtown residents.  The question of best community for transit is a good one but living in DTLA takes the cake with availability of service.  I know some communities are underserved and I hope we can improve transit options in those areas, but for me, DTLA is the clear winner in this question of best.