And maybe part of the problem why our problems have festered is many have taken Mr. Trammell’s stance of decrying the situation but flinching from getting their hands dirty.

Personally I believe in doing heavy lifting, which is part of what my recent opinion piece on L.A. Observed was all about.

http://www.laobserved.com/visiting/2009/10/take_transit_seriously_la_obse.php

Nothing more needs to be said here.

It’s very hard for me to see how a bunch of mildly autistic transit advocates with too much time on their hands arguing on a message board really affects transit in LA. I include myself in that group, of course.

I mean really, gender, obesity, race card,sexual orientation, filibustering? You are making great strides to keep your little part of the world encapsulated.

Amazing that you continue burning bridges with electeds, activists etc. Have you no concept that of any strategy beyond using a flamethrower of rhetoric about everything? A sledgehammer of simplistic hyberbole is a poor way to build support. ou talk a good game but hold a weak hand.

You are snide and condesecnding while evading how being 0 for 3 is any reason to continue paying attention to your alleged insights. Your pop psychology analysis of those of us who aren’t on board with the great Damien Goodmon crusade is beyond pathetic and insulting.

“…leaving LA in the dark for a good 3 years for New Starts funding.” I see good reasons why LA is working toward a big payday for the connector and purple line in a few years and thus forgoes small potatoes for Expo Phase II to let us build alliances. A concept foreign to your “I have all the answers” mentality.

Amazing what a success you are. Oh, wait–for all your snark, you aren’t.

And again–Mr. Goodmon, are you still having fun as your ambitions wilt?

1) They really are always 3 steps behind and too lost to know it, yet remain so confident in their rhetoric.

2) They really are too stupid to realize that bureaucratic apologists are typically smart enough to get paid. I mean the folk are really too stupid to realize that the only people willing to say the stuff they do get paid to do it. I mean at least folk like Fred are smart enough to cash it in!

You know, before we posted our request to Fire Thorpe on the FixExpo.org website, I had someone send an email saying, “Friends 4 Expo will probably send in support letters.” I responded I HOPE THEY DO!

You see I love seeing So.CA.TA and Friends 4 Expo endorse the holding pen at Dorsey.

Loved all the emails you guys sent in encouraging the commission to overturn the ruling of a judge composed after days of testimony including the pre-eminent rail safety expert in the country.

Love seeing you guys defend at-grade crossings of Sepulveda/Expo on Phase 2, and the 1st/Alameda at-grade crossing on the Regional Connector.

I love it because you strengthen the most powerful narrative against you individually and your organizations: that you’re part of the problem at Metro – you defend their incompetence and do absolutely nothing to challenge severe errors. You’re their very weak, very small but vocal cheerleaders.

I’ll leave it up to the psychologists to figure out why you love this role, but I have a good background in politics so I know how even secure and successful people can be lured by the prospect of being close to power and living under an illusion that they are an integral part of something big, and accordingly will sell their souls to live in that fantasy world. That’s secure and powerful people, so you can imagine how insecure people who have spent a life time as society’s outcast react.

So please Dana, give us more on why Thorpe has been great for Expo, so can further strengthen the narrative.

-A year behind schedule.
-No resolution at Dorsey HS (adding even further delay on top of the year delay).
-Failure to qualify Phase 1 for New Starts, and pulled out of the process IRONICALLY to open the project early
-Hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget.
-Failure to meet the local hire requirement.
-Pulled Expo Phase 2 out of the New Starts process, leaving LA in the dark for a good 3 years for New Starts funding.

Please tell us how those are all good things.

“No resolution at Dorsey HS” — isn’t that delay basically because the PUC and LAUSD belatedly are cleaning up a mess created by comissioners and board members who played politics with the crossing? Pandering has yielded to reality.

And most of the delay otherwise is due to problems with DWP. Anyone knows how dysfunctional it can be.

And let us review:

Demand for congressional investigation of Blue Line going nowhere

Tunnel etc. demands for Expo Phase 1 are DOA.

Lawsuit to be filed in against Expo Phase II never filed

Looks like Mr. Goodmon is 0 for 3 (or worse)

Let us review:
-A year behind schedule
-No resolution at Dorsey HS (adding even further delay on top of the year delay)
-Hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget.
-Failure to meet the local hire requirement
-Pulled Expo Phase 2 out of the New Starts process, leaving LA in the dark for a good 3 years for New Starts funding.

Tells us again about what a great success Thorpe has been for Expo.

And Mr. Goodmon should not celebrate too much since Mr. Thorpe will indeed continue in his role with the Expo Line. In fact Mr. Goodmon should be very unhappy as by all signs the great community crusade has been a giant flop (both at Dorsey High AND Cheviot Hills). Mr. Goodmon, are you still having fun as your ambitions wilt?

“some staff only work for some board members.” If you change the word staff to consultants that would hit a little too close to Ms. Molina for comfort…

Sounds like that “filibuster” was the biggest shake-up to happen at Metro since Measure R was passed a year ago.

Incidentally it was Inge who first came to mind when Molina said, “some staff only work for some board members.”

http://www.metro.net/news_info/press/images/eastsideSafety.pdf

P.S. Thorpe also just left metro (but will continue to oversee Expo construction), just the latest person who finally had enough of Metro Board member grandstanding attacks.

http://thesource.metro.net/2009/10/28/metro-official-overseeing-projects-resigns/

Are you kidding me? throwing up

I wasn’t really annoyed, actually. I made fun of them for accusing me of doing my nails. But I didn’t intend for the piece to come across as annoyed.

I wanted them to have a chance to say what they think happened.

Well, I figure that if an idiot like me can stay safe around trains, anyone can!

Gentlemen!

If I buy you all a copy of the Roady the Road Builder Coloring Book and the new book “Roady Saves Little Town”from these folks:

http://www.betterroads.com/community-outreach

Will you simmer down??

Here’s the synopsis:

Follow Roady the Roadbuilder™ on a journey into the world of road building and traffic safety. Roady’s team builds a bridge so Sammy the school bus won’t have to wake up so early to get the kids to school.

Sounds like fun, now who will earn their book first?

The number of people on a train is directly relevant to the safety of others because of what train passengers would be doing if they weren’t on the train.

How would people get around if there were no Blue Line? In that case, there would be additional vehicle and bus trips. Those trips would pose a direct threat to public safety.

The key question is, is that threat greater than, less than, or equal to the threat posed by the Blue Line? If the answer is “greater than”, the Blue Line improves public safety, by heading off even more dangerous behavior.

By only focusing on “train miles traveled”, we ignore the fact that the train keeps people from using other modes which create threats. The rate at which it keeps people from driving and adding pressure to increase bus service depends on the number of people on the train and demographic factors.

That’s why we have to look at passenger miles traveled.