Transit Advocacy

The public process is over, and now the cuts can begin.

Why Does Metro Need Turnstiles? 9-11, 9-11 and 9-11

Public comment for Metro's planned service cuts ended nearly two weeks ago, but that didn't stop the City Council from taking its turn yesterday questioning the cuts. The results weren't pretty.

Don't Worry, There's Nothing to Dodge These Days Councilmember Ed Reyes and Council President Ed Reyes have stood out recently as advocates for cyclists in recent weeks. If their resolution urging Metro and the Dodgers to work together to (re)create bus access to Dodger Stadium is succesful they may also gain praise from baseball fans. The resolution will be heard by the City Council Transportation Committe at tomorrow's (Tuesday, 2/27) meeting. That we're discussing adding bus service to baseball games is confusing to this east coaster. How can a baseball team that was partially named after a mode of transit (the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers) doesn't have any non-automobile options to get to the stadium? That no transit service of any kind exists for Major League baseball in Los Angeles is just one of many signs of how car culture has taken control of the transportation grid. In other major cities transit is a crucial part of local nine's transportation plan and in some cases transit is spotlighted by the team as the best way to get to the ballpark. Yet in L.A., one of our teams has no transit access at all and the next closest team, the geographically challenged Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, doesn't list transit as an option to travel to the ball park on the official website.

The issue of grade separating Phase II of the Expo Line at Dorsey High School is back on the table after the Expo Board voted to undertake an Environmental Assessment on five different options for the grade separation at the Farmdale Avenue intersection. The Board stopped short of reopening the EIR (a move advocates of Phase II fear would kill the project) and claimed that the EA will not impact the schedule for the project.

Photo from Metro Rider

More than 60 people showed up to ask Metro to cancel or modify some of their proposed service cuts in San Fernando Valley earlier this evening (Wednesday). What wasn't surprising was that so many members of the public came out on a Christian religious holiday, but that the members of the Service Sector Board (more on that tomorrow) seemed as aghast at the proposed cuts as the general public was.

As we get closer to tomorrow's monthly meeting (2 p.m. at 500 Temple Street) of the Expo Metro Line Construction Authority both sides in the debate over crossings at Dorsey High School have been actively firing up the troops. Tomorrow's expected fireworks will be over agenda item 6d which would re-examine the crossing designed for Farmdale Avenue, at Dorsey High School. Critics of the Expo Libe an at-grade crossing needlessly endangers the students. Supporters of the plan argue that the safety claim is a red herring for people that want to stop light rail expansion.