I agree that the line comes close to pedestrian areas and can be overwhelming at times, but I also think that people need to be a bit more vigilant. We have a beautiful new line. Let’s continue to improve upon it so we can continue to be proud.

http://www.blogdowntown.com/2009/11/4858-software-upgrade-should-speed-gold-lines

Anyone who thinks the critics are just unduly safety conscious should take a walk through the intersections at rush hour, then come back and share their thoughts.

http://fixexpo.blogspot.com/

Portland’s stops downtown are on the curb where the tracks are in a one-way couplet, but other stations are in the medians of Burnside Street and Interstate Avenue.

And yet we will build the Expo line and the Broadway streetcar the same way – with the pedestrian having to cross auto traffic in order to board a train. It doesn’t have to be built this way. In Portland. OR, the transit rider boards at the curb, not in the middle of the street. But when this issue is brought up at public meetings, it falls on deaf ears.

picture 1: http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo116/ihatenamingthings/sidewalkclosed.jpg

picture 1: http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo116/ihatenamingthings/otherside.jpg

picture 2: http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo116/ihatenamingthings/otherside.jpg

The sign says “Sidewalk Closed, use other side of the street”

The other side of the street. You can barely see the sign from the previous picture in the background of this photo

This was the situation for at least a month or 2 and they are a result of some “transit oriented” developments being constructed near the train station. As something that was supposed to be friendly for those riding the train, these were some pretty bad conditions and this is just a small snapshot of the resulting difficulties (open trenches, jackhammers being used, people using leaf blowers and ignoring pedestrians and blowing dirt directly onto them).

As someone who rides the Red Line every day from Universal City Station and must walk past one of many freeway entrances/exits on pedestrian pathways leading from the station to the areas nearby where at least once a week I am nearly hit by a car speeding onto the freeway, it makes me wonder how far from the train stations we should be looking for “safety hazards” and if we continue outward in all directions that we will continue to find problems because in general the problem is a general pattern of behavior in LA, not just a train stop. A little bit further up the street pictured above, one of my friends was walking and was hit by a car earlier this year and sustained major injuries. As far as you look, I think you’ll find hazards of behavior patterns all throughout the city.

The other and probably the most dangerous aspect of the line is the 1st street and Indiana intersection which transition to 3rd street. It is very tight, and can be confusing for people not being traffic flow savvy and I agree with Damien the signal timing is way off. Terry Marquez mentioned that both Jose Huizar and Gloria Molina have been notified of the communities concerns at several public meetings.

Today, I attended the Grand Opening of the Gold Line Extension and Councilmember Jose Huizar re-stated to the community what he told Damien and I; that there will be continued improvements to this train line which includes fencing and railing along the route and he thanked LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina’s for keeping persistent on this issue. We only hope that no one gets hurt mean while these safety improvements are implemented.

It was pretty exciting to see a new chapter in the Eastside community’s history. Today was a good day!

Thank you Damien, for organizing this safety bike ride and all others who joined us and gave their input.

Damien (second post)

“Our light rail trains in LA travel at 35 mph in the median of the street and 55 mph when they have gates (Eastside Extension has no gates).

No way if the Green Line trains traveled as fast as ours would it have been able to make this stop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odk7WZ3UjSY

You may be confusing the travel time speed, which is around 14-16 mph, with the operating speed. The Eastside Extension takes an hour to go 14-16 miles, not travels 14-16 mph along the way.”

Ehm, if a train takes one hour to travel 14 miles…then it is traveling at 14mph. And as I said, the D branch of the green line moves at 55mph.

Youll note that in the video, the train was approaching a station and intersection. In LA, the train would also be moving at less than 10mph in such a situation.

You then linked to a picture of the blue line….again, we’re talking about the gold line here. The 4 track freight/light rail situation is a whole different animal, and as far as I know, is one of a kind. The green line, running in the freeway, is also completely different.

Someone provided this link
http://friends4expo.org/ltrail.htm

Look at the T-Third Street line, which looks just like the gold line. I dont see fences, flashing lights or gates.

Theres nothing special about the gold line. It’s built just like most other american light rail systems….but with an insane amount of “safety” features that are not needed, and only serve to demonize trains.

“[i]The Green Line is more of a local circulation line, which takes forever to travel in it’s at-grade section. It stops every few blocks, and rarely if ever travels above 20-25 mph at street level (there are some sections in Downtown Boston with subway and one of the Green Line branches is all grade separated). Comparatively, the Blue Line is a regional system, 22 miles in length (55 min travel time from end to end) with stations roughly every mile, operating at speeds of 35 mph when in street running (like the Eastside extension), and 55 mph in the cab signal section (where there are gates).

It’s really apples and oranges.[/i]“

I am not comparing the Boston Green line with the Los Angeles Green or Blue lines. This is only about the Gold line. Even so, the D branch of the green line operated at 55mph.

It is a straight comparison between the gold and boston green line. Average speed in Boston is about 10mph. Average speed in LA, measured during testing, is 13mph.

“[i]Let me give you a real good example. Part of $4.5 million in safety measures proposed to be added later to the line is fencing in the median of the tracks. The intent is to discourage jaywalking. How tall must the fence be to obtain the desired goal of discouraging jaywalking? The only way you can answer that question is by evaluating the population in question. Surely you’d agree that while a 4 foot fence may discourage adults and elderly from jaywalking, it very likely will not discourage middle school aged children from jaywalking?”[/i]

But why have fencing at all? There are many streets in LA, with 6 lanes and traffic moving at 40mph. There is nothing to stop a jaywalker. Whats so bad about jaywalking across tracks that have a 10 minute headway? Why are we ok with these dangerous 70 foot (width) avenues, but terrified at 10 feet (width) of track?

“[i]And yes there is “carnage” in Boston and Philadelphia. There are accidents on the Boston Green Line and some times they’re as bad as the accidents we have on Blue Line. In the age of google, no person can claim ignorance when making these statements, simply laziness. Indeed, it’s rather…interesting for people to profess that if they don’t know about an accident then they must not be occurring.[/i] “

Carnage implies death. There are maybe 2-3 instances a year where a car hits the green line. I cant recall any deaths. A pedestrian is hit every year. Hes taken to the hospital with minor bruises and is lectured on paying attention.

How many deaths are there every week from cars?

“[i]It seems that your statement is two pronged:
-We don’t care about bus safety
-Buses are worse than rail so we shouldn’t care about rail safety

Would you like to attempt to substantiate either of these points?[/i] “

What I’m saying is that there is never any outcry when a bus or car crashes. Take the recent incident where that truck fell off the bay bridge. The response? Lets put up a new flashing sign. Now image a train fell off a bridge. The entire line would be shut down. There would be a system wide speed restriction. There would be investigations. Why the double standard? If it had been a bus, instead of a truck falling off the bay bridge, I guarantee the bridge would not have been shut down. The speed limit (50mph, and then 40mph) would have remained. If it were a train, you would be guaranteed a 10mph speed restriction for ever.

Vehicle (bus, truck, car) accidents are shrugged off as a part of life. Train accidents, even train fender benders, are treated like huge incidents.

Im not saying we should build grade separated bus lines. Im asking why we’re ok with buses and cars being unsafe, but not ok with trains?

“[i]Second, FTA stats show that buses are half as accident prone as light rail. This is really not hard to understand. Buses (and cars by the way) have shorter breaking distances and steering wheels. They can avert accidents more easily. If a person trips on the street 50 feet in front of a bus and the bus driver can swirve to avoid her or brake more quickly. A train operator is helpless.[/i] “

Thats a fair point. Buses can avoid an obstacle. HOWEVER, buses have stuff coming at them from every single direction. They can be hit from all sides. A train driver just needs to worry about whats directly in front of him, on the tracks. A bus driver may need to be concerned about a drunk driver swerving two lanes to his right.

Yes, trains take longer to brake…but so do trucks. Go over the the NY page and youll read about a truck that slammed into a building because it couldnt stop. Trains are driver by drivers who are extensively trained, are continuously monitored, and are held to a high standard. Meanwhile, getting a truck license is a piece of cake, and there’s no monitoring.

There’s a lot to say, but I won’t say it now. My sentiments can best be understood through the immortal words of John McClane (Bruce Willis) in Die Hards 1-4:
“Yippie Ki Yay Mothaf****a!”

This is a great day for LA County!

Last, the questions from Boyle Heights community from Soto and east to Indiana, no stations at all, leaving almost half of the distance of the Gold line in Boyle Heights with no available stations, we need at least one on Evergreen and 1st, bringing access for north and south of Evergreen bus lanes. three (3) stations on the west of Soto, no stations on the east beyond Soto until the ELA County line Indiana and 3rd.