Comments on: Metro Board Preview: Long Range Transportation Plan, Federal Funding, Measure R and One More Time with AnsaldoBreda

By: CrazyCommuter

CrazyCommuter — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:33:26 +0000

I would have “debated” with one of the BRU guys I saw if he was more interested in talking about his cause than hitting on a couple of girls. :)

By: ubrayj02

ubrayj02 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:25:05 +0000

In response to Juan’s post – that is a great point! If the MTA’s Call For Projects staff would focus on the number of people moved through an area (as opposed to vehicles/hour – which currently puts a 60-person bus and a single occupant car on the same footing), we’d have a whole different ball game.

That technical change would force the sort of people-moving-equity that transit advocates have long fought for.

By: Dana Gabbard

Dana Gabbard — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:31:05 +0000

“How these people say any of this crap with a straight face is beyond me.”

They recruit from college campuses–lots of kids from UCLA etc. Young and idealistic, and given a sales pitch that they are fighting for the people against “The Man”. The main conduit of cheap labor for the BRU is the LCSC’s National School for Organizing

http://www.thestrategycenter.org/project/national-school-strategic-organizing

Eric Mann is nothing if not clever. And in some circles still has a reputation as a tenacious leftist champion of working class people. The truth is more complicated plus Mann has burned many bridges over the years with his strident approach.

I by chance was at Wilshire/Western last night and witnessed the street theater. Seeing a guy dressed like the devil and three prop coffins labled global warming etc. was surreal.

By: CrazyCommuter

CrazyCommuter — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:02:48 +0000

Yeah I saw the BRU at Wilshire/Western yesterday. Their point was that basically MTA wants to build new things and that’s somehow racist because I guess people of non-white ethnicities are only able to ride non-express surface buses or something and in order to build trains they will have to raise monthly TAP prices to $90 and slash bus routes and also this is all tied to the Goldman-Sachs bailout or something.

How these people say any of this crap with a straight face is beyond me.

By: Spokker

Spokker — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:03:13 +0000

Sad to hear how racist the long range plan is though. Perhaps I should bring it up with the Hispanics, Asians, whites and blacks I ride the subway with every morning. Maybe I’ll ask the dude in the business suit and the blue collar Joe what they think of it as well.

By: David Galvan

David Galvan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:41:18 +0000

We’re not seeing massive cuts in bus support (at least not as massive as other places, like the OC) thanks to Measure R. . . which the BRU opposed.

By: Spokker

Spokker — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:24:54 +0000

I heard that the Bus Riders Union had a guy dressed up as the Grim Reaper or something who was “slashing” bus service. Are we seeing huge cuts at Metro? I thought LA County was spared from massive cuts.

By: Erik G.

Erik G. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:11:25 +0000

Can someone ask the folks from AnsaldoBreda who might be there how the merger talks with Bombardier are going?

By: Albert

Albert — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:41:08 +0000

Great write-up. I’ll link to this during my tweets tomorrow. I’m assuming I’ll see you there?

By: Juan

Juan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:50:06 +0000

I wrote my comments on my blog:
Honorable Metro Board Members:
Last night while waiting for the 720 bus at the busiest intersection in Los Angeles (Wilshire & Westwood), I conducted an informal study of vehicles passing in the curb lane. First, the roadway was so congested that over the 5-minute period I surveyed an average of 14 people per minute passed through that curb lane. Second, about a third of the vehicles with identifiable dealer plates came from Burbank or points east along the I-210 corridor (Longo in El Monte, Claremont Toyota, etc). Third, I then boarded a bus, which was much delayed due to the congestion, and counted 55 people aboard that bus. One slow, delayed 60-foot bus carried as many people as 4 minutes of traffic. Public transportation is essential to getting Los Angeles moving again and recouping some of the $10 billion lost annually due to traffic congestion.
The transportation reauthorization bill is likely to expand funding opportunities for transit, but future projects will be continue to be evaluated based on cost-benefit criteria. Two proposed projects serve as significant system-wide ridership multipliers to all projects connected to the network. These projects will increase the potential benefits of all future transit projects in Los Angeles County more than any project, proposed or conceived. These projects are the downtown regional connector and the subway. These projects will create a robust core transit network by providing quick reliable access to job centers and areas of dense population. All peripheral projects will benefit, and jump well ahead in the competition for federal funds as a result.
The benefits of both the Wilshire subway and regional connector will be both substantial and regional. To focus substantial efforts on building other projects before making substantial progress on these core projects is akin to building the second floor before the frame (it’s an important part of the house, but there is nothing yet to support it) and appears parochial and short sighted. I urge you to pass a Long Range Transportation Plan that reflects this reality.
Juan Matute