Eastside Extension Safety Ride

A group of activists will pedal
out from Union Station for points east to see for ourselves whether the
soon-to-be-opened Gold Line East Side Extension passes our safety
check.  The extension will open two days later on the fifteenth.  The
ride is currently supported by L.A. Streetsblog, the Bus Bench and the
L.A. Eastside Bike Club and will begin promptly at 7:30 A.M.  We'll
cover the whole route of the extension, stopping at every stop to take
pictures and discuss what we see.  Later in the day I'll post the
"findings" of our ride on Streetsblog and I'm certain Browne will have plenty to
add at the Bus Bench as well.

Anyone interested in doing some
research before joining us on our rush-hour tour has plenty of ways to
research the history of the project.  Metro held a "press only" ride
earlier this morning that I'm sure will get significant coverage; even if they gave their own bloggers a pre-preview. Many of the complaints mentioned by Supervisor Molina at last week's Board Meeting can be found in this report,
put together for Metro by independent consultants.  Whether or not
Molina's attack had anything to do with the resignation of Rick Thorpe,
one of Metro's executives signaled out in her presentation, is up for
debate.  However, on his way out Thorpe responded to Molina's concerns in this report.

Or, if you want to read all the official information, you can find the Metro website for the extension here.

The
ride is free, but I recommend bringing your own refreshments and safety
gear.  If you're with a group that would like to co-sponsor the event,
drop me a line at damien@streetsblog.org.