Dana Gabbard

On March 29th, Metro held a public hearing on its proposal to restructure fares. At that meeting, I presented the position of Southern California Transit Advocates.

Tomorrow, Friday May 2nd, Southern California Transit Advocates (SoCATA) is touring of Omnitrans' sbX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) express service. Omnitrans sbX started operating Monday. Our hope is by highlighting its key attribute, dedicated stations along an exclusive bus lane, that sbX will inspire aspirations in Los Angeles County as Metro studies corridors for a proposed BRT network for possible implementation in the next few years.

Starting this evening and continuing during the next two weeks Metro is holding community meetings seeking input on its Draft 2014 Short Range Transportation Plan and the companion technical document.

(I want to be explicit this is solely my own opinion, and in no way endorsed by either Streetsblog or Southern California Transit Advocates - DG But I can't help notice that So.CA.TA. has a special meeting just to discuss the changes this Saturday. - DN)

Four years have passed since the last time the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration conducted a certification review and evaluation of the region’s transportation planning process carried out by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and its partners, and that means it's time for the process to begin again.

FlyAway Board of Airport Commissioners Presentation Dec. 2, 2013 by dgabbard2

Metro Revised Organization Chart Oct. 17, 2013 by dgabbard2

As our friends at The Source have previously noted, Metro is in the midst of creating "distinctive styling and graphics for the new [Kinkisharyo] rail cars as well as the entire rail fleet". A presentation on the light rail vehicle color paint scheme by Jorge Pardo, Director of Art & Design for Creative Services at Metro, will be made Wednesday at 6:30 pm at the monthly General Assembly meeting of Metro's Citizens' Advisory Council (CAC).

Last year, I began subscribing to Trains Magazine. As one of the perks, each Monday I get an e-mail with links to the news items appearing during the past week on its online News Wire. Any stories about the Pacific Northwest or involving Amtrak's Empire Builder I dutifully cut and paste for e-mailing to my brother who lives in Spokane and is a rail buff (my way of giving him a pat on the back for being a great Dad to my autistic nephew).

I was gratified recently when I spoke with Ramon who owns the HMS Bounty to learn during the Iconic Wilshire Blvd. CicLAvia in June the place was so busy he was helping out the bar staff serving drinks. Since that was one of the three eateries I gave a shout out to I was gratified to confirm businesses along the route benefited from it, something which a just released white paper from UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs confirms as noted on Curbed L.A..