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  1. Post Thumbnail  

    Will Campbell

    I'm going to wish Fred's at-grade call for a "Warning: Satire Ahead" statement from LA Eastside was satirical.

  2. Post Thumbnail  

    Damien Newton

    Was it really not clear that I laughed along with the Eastside blog? I actually noticed this story last weekend while looking up Gold Line Stories. I didn't think it was worth a story, but when The Source responded that Metro was actually getting complaints, well, then it seemed worth it.

  3. Post Thumbnail  

    Spokker

    That Eastside Blog post was definitely satirical. No need to get worked up over it.

  4. Post Thumbnail  

    jass

    Some more interesting articles from the Daily Trojan:

    In LAPD takes new approach to enforcing bike laws
    "Carlisle said LAPD reported that it noticed many motor vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, and it plans to return Thursday to address the issue.

    “It appears they will be back tomorrow to monitor areas such as Hoover and 28th [Street] and Hoover and Adams [Boulevard] because of the number of vehicles ignoring pedestrians in crosswalks,” Carlisle said."
    http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/lapd-takes-new-approach-to-enforcing-bike-laws/

    But whats up with this?

    "While the task force is not considering a campus-wide bicycle ban — a solution raised by the Department of Public Safety last semester — Becker believes that some restricted access for bicycles lies in the future.

    “The campus can only accommodate so many bicycles, so in the end one of the ideas that we’ve come up with is having landing spots where you park your bike somewhere and then walk to wherever you’re going,” Becker explained."
    http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/bikes-mounting-it%E2%80%99s-time-to-break-the-cycle/

    I dont go to USC, and I dont understand their attitude. The administration fought the expo line, and now bikes are the villains? I also dont understand why the Daily Trojan is so content to push the "dangerous bikes" line. These articles have almost no reporting. Instead of questioning the tactics taken by USC, they just repeat them

  5. Post Thumbnail  

    ds

    At grade crossings suck because they greatly limit the speed that the trains can go, not because they're some massive hazard beyond that of normal street traffic.

    The process of not getting hit by a train is exactly the same as not getting hit by one of the thousands of cars, trucks, and buses that pass by every day: Look both ways and make sure it's clear before you step in the middle of a street.

    It would have been nice if Metro sprung for more grade separation, simply because it would be nice to have actual "rapid" transit.

  6. Post Thumbnail  

    ubrayj02

    You forgot the other reason for doing these fake signs: they're kinda funny regardless of what the MTA did or didn't do.

    They are also a little bit tasteless. The context of who created them is the key to the humor. If these came from The Minutemen border patrol types ... eh ... not so funny.

    I'd hate to see the "local lingo" signs for the Crenshaw Corridor. Can you say "controversy"?

  7. Post Thumbnail  

    Dave S

    hear hear Crazy Commuter, spoken like a true urbanista!

  8. Post Thumbnail  

    Dave S

    Don't mean to contradict, though I do not see the big deal with at grade crossings. Is this what the controversy is over? Ever been to Portland, or even Minneapolis? I would like to think that people growing up in busy urban areas are aware enough of their environment to know to get out of the way of the train. Some of the best public places in the country occur where a train runs right through at grade, like a river. Look at Skidmore historic areas in Portland.

  9. Post Thumbnail  

    CrazyCommuter

    OK maybe I'm a horrible person and maybe I haven't been following specific safety complaints about the eastside extension enough but still, generally speaking, some of the people in south CA kind of horrify me. How hard is it to NOT run into, or get run over by, a large, loud, multiple ton monstrosity lumbering along clearly marked tracks accompanied by bells and flashing lights?

    Seriously, people :(

  10. Post Thumbnail  

    Brandon Leddy

    We would have none of this without concrete. http://www.srmconcrete.com . This company goes above and beyond.

  11. Post Thumbnail  

    Brent

    I mailed an old-school letter yesterday:

    I am a pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist. Since 1996, I have walked to work, a twenty-minute journey from my apartment to my office in Century City. Last year, I returned to my teen-age passion for bicycling, when I purchased a new bicycle on July 4, 2008. Since then, I have regularly ridden more miles weekly than I drive.

    I find it symbolic that Dr. Christopher Thompson’s attack on Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr happened on the very day I restarted my cycling life. My walking experience in Los Angeles has always carried its dangers, but bicycling has proven to be on a different level altogether. In the short time since I returned to riding, I have had several close calls with cars, with many incidents bordering on the intentional, or at least grossly negligent.

    I know neither the injured cyclists nor the doctor, but when Thompson was convicted, I felt a palpable sense of relief. This conviction delivers an important message to the drivers of Los Angeles, that sharing the road with non-motorists is the law, and that breaking the law has serious consequences.

    Thompson now faces sentencing. From what I understand, one possible outcome is probation. If such light sentencing emboldened him to return to the streets with a renewed desire to “teach cyclists a lesson,” I would be horrified. For the sake of my safety, and for the safety of the many law-abiding road users in this great city, he needs to be kept off the roads for as long as possible.

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    John F. Conroy

    Build a "flyover" like the Harbor Freeway downtown. Two lanes each way, and leave room for a Gold line connection. NO on or off ramps in South Pasadena. Over 30 years of NIMBY-ism is quite enough, thank you.

  13. Post Thumbnail  

    Spokker

    There are better ways to opposing the 710 project than resorting to fear tactics. We don't like it when it's done to transit projects, so we shouldn't do it to freeway projects.

  14. Post Thumbnail  

    dudeonabike

    Here's mine:

    Dear Hon. Millington:

    I am an attorney, a father of two young boys (both of whom regularly bike on the streets of Los Angeles), and a daily bike commuter from Los Feliz to my office in downtown Los Angeles.

    I read with not only sadness—but thoughts concerning a fear for my own life as a vulnerable cyclist on city streets—the case of Dr. Thompson, his reprehensible actions, and the injuries that he so unnecessarily inflicted on the cyclists in Mandeville Canyon.

    I, too, have been the victim of unnecessary harassment and intentionally malicious driver behavior—just for cycling on our city streets. Frankly I’m lucky to still be here to write this letter, and luckily my injuries were significantly less severe those inflicted upon the victims by Dr. Thompson.

    But unfortunately, many drivers seem to be unaware of the consequences of taking out road rage on cyclists—just for cycling on our city streets. And unfortunately, it seems many of our own LAPD are either unaware or unwilling to treat such criminal behavior for what it is.

    I can’t help but think over and over again on every ride what if I were the victim of a similar act of intentional violence? What would my two boys be feeling if I were not to show up for dinner one night? What type of worry would my wife have to endure upon receiving that call, after hours of hand wringing, from an emergency room informing that her husband’s skull had been propelled through the rear window of a driver that “wanted to teach him a lesson.” For cycling?

    A strong sentence will reverberate loudly to our fellow motor vehicle driving community that intentionally harmful or vindictive behavior will not be tolerated--and will be severely punished.

    A strong sentence will send a message to our LAPD, whose enforcement of crimes such as these is historically lax, that if a driver intentionally hits a cyclist, he/she will be prosecuted and go to jail.

    I am compelled to write this letter because I feel that Your Honor has a chance to chip away at the severely outdated notions held by drivers, law enforcement, and possibly our elected officials that keep many off their bikes and in fear of their lives. I plead with my wife and have to regularly convince her (and scores of other parents with whom I regularly see) that it’s ok for me to bike with my sons on city streets. She’s afraid we’ll all die. That is so wrong. True, accidents happen, but intentional infliction of grave bodily harm of the kind doled out by Dr. Thompson simply never should. But when it does, the consequences must be dire.

    This defendant must be taken off our streets, this defendant must have his driver’s license revoked, this defendant should be forced to fund an insurance trust that would pay for the medical bills and expenses of cyclists for those that have no insurance or ability to pay for their cycling injuries.

    Thank you for your consideration.

  15. Post Thumbnail  

    Will Campbell

    Done.

  16. Post Thumbnail  

    Sam

    It's true. Scare tactics delayed the Wilshire Subway a couple of decades and here we go again, deja vu, with this blog post. Some things never change.

  17. Post Thumbnail  

    Another Angeleno

    This "No We Can't" attitude emerges only when a proposal offers to move cars more efficiently. I have yet to see any rational opposition to the 710 tunnel. Note the same people fighting the 710 tunnel support tunneling twice as many miles under Wilshire for a subway -- I support that too, by the way... we need a comprehensive approach: mass transit AND more freeway capacity to meet future demand.

  18. Post Thumbnail  

    ramonchu

    Residents are going to know about this and make a boisterous stand if I have to go door to door on every block in a two mile radius. This off ramp has been the bane of my existence since my first attempt to bike from Echo Park to Eagle Rock when I was 16. The SR2 terminus has created a dead zone all up and down both Glendale and Alvarado and it's time for the community to let the rest of LA know that if you want to come to our neighborhood, awesome, but you're not going to do it in a 3 thousand pound killing machine and you're not going to be allowed to destroy our streets so you don't have to take the 101 to the 110 to the 5 on your commute home to the valley.

  19. Post Thumbnail  

    John Rob

    It is better to listen to text messages when driving and concentrating on the road. I use drivesafe.ly mobile application to make sure my concentration is on driving.

  20. Post Thumbnail  

    Dave S

    personally, I do not see the big deal with at grade crossings. It just takes an IQ and willingness to pay attention to ones surroundings. Look at Portland, even Minneapolis. Its not rocket science.

  21. Post Thumbnail  

    Carlos Morales

    Watch KABCTV Channel 7 tongiht at 5:30pm & at 11pm
    They may be reporting on this subject!

  22. Post Thumbnail  

    DJB

    Haha, guess I need to learn more about what's going on out there. I'm glad to hear about Bus Rapid Transit in the Inland Empire. Kudos on the name too: SBX. That sounds pretty edgy.

  23. Post Thumbnail  

    Rebecca

    Does anyone know where this escalator is located? I'm looking for one just like it and can't find it anywhere!

  24. Post Thumbnail  

    mattlos

    DJB -- SANBAG and Omni are hard at work on extending the Metrolink SBL to serve to the future San Bernardino Transit Center near the Carousel Mall

    http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_sanbag04.3dde5b3.html

  25. Post Thumbnail  

    MU

    LACBC (Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition) is doing organizing on this issue. I can't find the page on their website, but you can contact Aurisha Smolarski at aurisha@la-bike.org for more info.

  26. Post Thumbnail  

    Damien Newton

    Easy enough: echoparkcac@att.net

  27. Post Thumbnail  

    ramonchu

    Damien what is the group doing all this footwork? Can you link to them for those interested in getting involved?

    I'm so glad to see you covering this nightmare of an off ramp, which separates me and everyone else biking in echo park, silver lake, east hollywood from everyone biking in the NE; it's truly an example of how rotten and disconnected our transportation system is. Restructuring this off ramp will be a huge victory for improving the liveability of these same neighborhoods and will help all of us bicyclists/walkers/sitters/breathers/humans move forward with the rest of our game plan.

  28. Post Thumbnail  

    dudeonabike

    This is great news--hopefully for the kids in the area. My kids go to Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts, which is (hopefully) relocating to the Media Center complex just behind Super King later in 2010, LAUSD is opening a behemoth school just a bit further south, and the area has very low car ownership rates (from what I'm told). San Fernando Rd sucks for kids to be riding on right there, but it would be great if some SRTS could be brought to the neighborhood and all the kiddies could hop on some bike caravans to get to school.

    Go CICLE's Families and Bikes (FAB) Rides!

  29. Post Thumbnail  

    ubrayj02

    (1) I am on board, as are most at the Bike Oven, to help. If you've got the staff time, please contact Ramon Martinez or Veronica J. at the Oven. These two have been hustling to do this sort of thing and need some help/networking effect on their efforts.

    (2) Matt from Cafe de Leche is trying to install L.A.'s first bike parking corral in front of his cafe. Councilman Huizar has found some money, but he needs some support to bring the bike corral to fruition.

    (3) Get all the traffic survey data possible! It turns out that most of NELA's busiest streets are actually BELOW their minimum requirements as Major Class I, Class II or Secondary Class I or ClassII highways! This means that the roads are not being used by enough cars - which also means that degrading peak hour auto throughput to LOS D by putting in traffic calming and bike/ped/and transit facilities is totally okay, and only faces political hurdles (not legal hurdles as the LADOT likes to claim).

    (4) I would use the 1996 bike plan only so much - because people around here will respond better to "slower cars", "safer streets", "better for business" over "Yay! Bike Lanes!". Maybe bike lanes aren't what is needed in every case, but it's a good starting point.

  30. Post Thumbnail  

    JRider

    Freeways are a precious commodity and the community alternative calls for removing the off-ramp overpass. Wait? What?

    LA won't be getting any new freeways ever again, so does it make sense to start tearing out already-precious freeway segments?

    Whatever is done with this terminus, leave the overpass! Work the open space around that.

  31. Post Thumbnail  

    Joe Linton

    There's some interest in reviving ArroyoFest... but it took a lot of work, hence won't be easy to re-do... we'll see.

    Personally I like the idea of ciclovia events being in community retail areas - so folks connect with their communities. Freeways are set apart from the areas where we people actually walk and ride.

  32. Post Thumbnail  

    nobody

    Really, they should just make an alternative that ends this around Huntington Drive. A lot of the congestion in the area would vanish if they did so. No use wasting the money to connect the 710 all the way to the 210, when the same benefits could be obtained by connecting to a more suitable road for the volumes on that freeway.

  33. Post Thumbnail  

    Todd Edelman

    It’s great that this meeting happened, and I hope that Secretary LaHood does all he can to decrease the number of deaths and injuries on US streets. But this term “complete” really bothers me, just like “safer”, but especially “everyone” and so on… Language is a powerful thing. More on my blog.

  34. Post Thumbnail  

    Justin N

    I also wanted to mention that calwatch's suggestion is a good one. Many commuter rail systems do this- not only ACE, but West Coast Express in Vancouver, and GO Transit in Toronto. It allows for a substantially denser network, with improved off-peak service and late-night runs... I would LOVE to see Metrolink run late at night, even if it's a bus.

  35. Post Thumbnail  

    Justin N

    I wrote on my blog a while ago that what Metrolink needs out here in Inlandia is something similar to what Dan proposed- let holders of local bus passes ride for free within the territory of their bus pass. (I don't think this could be properly applied to Metro- their territory covers a LOT of Metrolink routes, and it would just cannibalize fare revenue.) The trains don't run empty, but they have a lot of excess capacity until they fill to the gills in eastern LA county (Pomona, Industry, Covina) or the northern O.C. (Anaheim, Orange).

    It'd be a benefit for Metrolink, because seats that were empty get filled, possibly attracting subsidies and no doubt getting paid by local transit agencies for the privilege, it'd benefit local transit riders by providing quick intra-regional service (which is pretty much nonexistent on the bus system out here- getting around along the I-10 corridor from Ontario to San Bernardino is ridiculous on the bus, but well-served by Metrolink), and it would encourage our transit operators to connect their services to Metrolink better than they currently do.

    Original post:
    http://ridinginriverside.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-bus-passes-and-empty-trains.html

  36. Post Thumbnail  

    Anonymous

    The expense and challenge of building a tunnel is exactly why the I-710 gap closure should be built as a surface freeway.

  37. Post Thumbnail  

    Dan Wentzel

    Once the Purple Line gets extended and the Regional Connector goes online I imagine Metrolink ridership will dramatically rise as there are places to connect to when you get to Union Station.

    It will be interesting to watch the Harbor Subdivision Transit Corridor extension project. Because of the Crenshaw project, it will no doubt be light rail hopefully offering a one-seat ride from downtown to LAX. It would be interesting to see if there could be a heavy rail connection there too so that Metrolink can run to LAX. I'm not sure it is wide enough for both heavy and light rail, but I imagine that will be studied.

  38. Post Thumbnail  

    Adonia

    There is no shortage of riders on any of the trains I ride on the Orange County line. I usually purchase a Metrolink monthly pass to get between where I live in Koreatown and my school, UC Irvine. This lets me ride Amtrak trains in addition to Metrolink trains, along with being a Metro pass. This pass has enabled me to live carfree while commuting about 40 miles each way, since it is also quite easy to get a bike on the trains and I ride from the station to my campus. I agree that Metrolink could do a lot more in terms of ensuring connectivity, and advertising to local hubs that might send more commuters their way. Would a fare increase lead to my buying a car? Probably not, but from what I overhear on the train and what I know from talking to other commuters, I'm one of the few carfree people who rides. Any fare increases will probably send the car owners back to the freeways.

  39. Post Thumbnail  

    DJB

    There needs to be more dense development, both residential and office, around Metrolink stations. I've seen a couple projects going up along the San Bernardino line. The problem as usual is fragmented land use authority and local NIMBYism.

    Downtown San Bernardino could start by redeveloping that Carousel Mall parking lot, which seems to be far too large and acts as a barrier between the San Bernardino Metrolink station and Downtown San Bernardino. Put up a parking garage and a dense, mixed-use development.

    It'll have to wait for a better economy or a more progressive stimulus though.

  40. Post Thumbnail  

    Joe Linton

    Not sure when they reappeared... but today large maps are up on the city website:
    http://www.labikeplan.org/bikeway_maps
    and the maps are different than the ones released in May... for example, York Blvd was BFS now it shows as Potential.

  41. Post Thumbnail  

    Spokker

    Metrolink trains look empty sometimes but it can be deceptive. I would ride weekend trains on the OC Line and think I was one of ten people on the train, but once everybody gets off at Union Station the platform is very crowded from people getting off the train. I'm thinking, "Where the hell did these people come from?"

    Everybody complains about trains being half full but cars are often only a quarter full (1 driver, 3 empty passenger seats) and they clog up streets and highways. Looks like a lot of wasted capacity to me.

  42. Post Thumbnail  

    jass

    USC will be ticketing cyclists again if they do not walk their bikes across a crosswalk.

    http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/17/bike-regulation-requires-a-more-cohesive-plan/

  43. Post Thumbnail  

    calwatch

    Some folks won't like this, but lots of the midday, evening, and weekend service needs to be replaced by charter buses. Incidentally, costs are cheaper and it allows Metrolink to provide later service. This is similar to what Altamont Commuter Express does in lieu of running lightly patronized trains in the evening hour, or the Vallejo ferry. Rather than the last Metrolink leaving at 9 p.m., space the trains around a little (say, leaving at 5:40, 6:30, and 8:00 instead of 5:40, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00) and run a late bus at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00. Yes it will take a little longer but it is dedicated service for Metrolink riders at Metrolink fares (with charter bus-level seats and comfort), making stops directly at Metrolink stations.

  44. Post Thumbnail  

    Encino Bred

    Although I grew up in LA, I have lived in San Francisco for many years. We have large, sometimes double, cars from Breda traveling on many streets. Many of the stops are indeed right in the middle of the street without even a platform to separate people getting on and off from traffic, for example on the J Church and L Taraval lines. And many of the intersections the LRVs travel through lack traffic lights and walk signals; some are just 4-way stops that the train must stop for as well. Obviously most of our system is quite old and does not have the myriad "safety improvements" (although I prefer to call them "stupidity preventers") that so many of you are agitating for and wanting to waste precious transit resources on. Believe it or not, we're all still here, not being mowed down by the evil monsters and living to see another day. Are the people in my home town so feeble-minded that they can't simply treat these trains like any other vehicle to look out for when crossing, just like cars or buses? Really, it's not that hard!!

  45. Post Thumbnail  

    Spokker

    And Amtrak will be running Metrolink trains soon, lol.

  46. Post Thumbnail  

    ubrayj02

    Wow, that was what, 15 minutes after I bitched about this issue in the post for today's headlines? Nice work Damien.

    The bike and pedestrian set-aside is critical for L.A.'s future.

    There was report this morning in the Guardian that the International Energy Agency has systematically lied in its reports on world oil production and reserves to avoid panic in the markets.

    Whether that is a good thing they've done, or not, is an academic discussion for another day. What is clear is that we have a very short window of time to spend what is left of our resources retrofitting our city for an era of energy shortage and privation.

    We can fight to maintain a high standard of living by shifting away from auto-dominated transportation, or we can ignore the warning signs and screw ourselves over.

    This money needs to go into repairing the way we are all but forced to get around in this town! More bike and pedestrian facilities, please!

  47. Post Thumbnail  

    Anonymous

    I've been on Metrolink trains, on the Burbank Airport line, arriving at Union Station late on a weekday morning, with fewer than 10 passengers. Though it was personally convenient for me, I have to wonder if there might be better uses of public funds than to operate every trip on Metrolink's current schedule.

    Certainly, a few mid-day trips can be justified--if commuters believe they have no way to get home if they should need to do so unexpectedly, they're more likely to drive--but perhaps their frequency can be decreased.

    Similarly, weekend service on the Orange County line could be better coordinated; I'd rather not have Metrolink duplicating service between Los Angeles and Oceanside that is already offered by Amtrak, especially when the connections to the south on NCTD's Coaster are timed to be impossible. (If New Jersey Transit and SEPTA can do through schedules and ticketing on the New York (Penn)-Trenton-Philadelphia route, why can't Metrolink and NCTD make it work here?)

    I understand there are lots of political issues to work out before any consolidation could occur, but does it really make sense to have three separate, publicly-subsidized passenger rail operators in southern California, each with their own set of overhead expenses?

  48. Post Thumbnail  

    Dana Gabbard

    blogdowntown has the scoop on why the cars are so slow crossing the freeway...

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

  49. Post Thumbnail  

    Dan Wentzel

    I wish communities and politicians in the east San Gabriel Valley, the north San Fernando Valley, and in Orange County would get more excited about double tracking Metrolink.

    In London, if you have a zone pass, you ride on any form of transit, including commuter rail, within the zones you paid for.

    It won't happen, but it would be great if there could be an intra-county pass that includes travel of Metrolink. If we had double tracking, we could have intra county short run trains as well.

  50. Post Thumbnail  

    Fred Camino, The Source

    Today the Daily News suggested that Metrolink LOWER fares (http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_13789704) to make the commuter rail a bargain and attract riders. Sounds like a good idea in theory, but it seems to me transit funding is like a box of Catch-22's inside a larger box of Catch-22's.