Some people walk in L.A.
August 12, 2017 3:14 PM   Subscribe

L.A. Has the Worst Traffic Congestion in the World (Dennis Romero, LA Weekly), but L.A. — the city of traffic jams — finds a way to get people out of their cars. (Steven Hill, WaPo)

As of June, estimated ridership on the Expo Line increased 40 percent, from 45,876 passengers last year to more than 64,000 this year — a target it wasn’t expected to reach until 2030, the Santa Monica Lookout reports.

Expo Line Time Lapse - DTLA to SM (1:30)
Expo Bike Path Time Lapse - SM to Palms (8:01)
3D Panorama - La Cienega/Jefferson Station
Watching the train go by (15:50)
Inside the Art at the New Expo Line Stations Phase 2 (Elijah Chiland, Curbed LA)
Take a tour of all the site-specific artwork thought the Metro system

Obligatory
posted by Room 641-A (53 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
I just got back from my 15th trip to LA two weeks ago. I was there for about 3 weeks and was walking distance from the Expo. I used it about six of those days and it was terrific. Such a contrast to the dreadful public transit in Toronto -- which was recently and laughingly just named best public transit in North America.

One thing though, that second link states the cost of the train is $2.50. It's actually $1.75! (You have to have a one-time-purchase Tap card, which is a buck.) Compare to the $3.25 to stand on any public transit in Toronto.

I used to walk 12km home from work just to avoid getting on Toronto transit.
posted by dobbs at 3:48 PM on August 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


My anecdotal impressions: there are a lot more people walking around downtown Santa Monica and everywhere else along the Expo line since it opened. I don't use it to get to work, despite working and living within a mile of the stations, mostly because it would add over half an hour to my morning commute, which is otherwise 15 minutes or so. But I use the Expo line as much as possible otherwise. It is so much more convenient to use one of the Metro lots to park my car and get around via the Metro than it is to drive between West LA and the rest of LA and deal with parking etc. I used to avoid any and all events downtown because uuughhhh crossing the 405, but now it's just a matter of hopping on the train.
posted by yasaman at 4:00 PM on August 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


The number of people straight up lying about the travel time impact of the Venice blvd bike lanes (it's small), and moving to RECALL A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER because of his support of anti traffic fatality measures is driving me crazy.
posted by flaterik at 4:05 PM on August 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


I lived in Los Angeles for five years without a car. I'm not sure that makes me ahead of my time, or just crazy.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:16 PM on August 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


This spring, spouse & I took the expo from near Culver City to Santa Monica. The ride was well-filled, above ground, and thoroghly pleasant (unlike the 10--well, the 10 is above ground too). We bought TAP cards which we will never use again--there's $1 gone. But the senior off-peak fare was 35¢.

I had to use character map to even find the ¢ character--it means 'cents', as in the fare is $0.35 each way per person. That's the same as the fare in New York City. In 1972.
posted by hexatron at 4:20 PM on August 12, 2017 [10 favorites]


LA regularly got me out of my car when I lived there in the 70's. The traffic jams on the Hollywood freeway were so bad we motorists would turn off our engines and go sit on the hood of our cars. We would smoke, chat and curse, all the while looking far ahead for tail lights that indicated the mess was starting to move again. Then everybody back inside to move ahead a few more hundred feet...
posted by jim in austin at 4:33 PM on August 12, 2017 [7 favorites]


I walked in L.A . when I was there. When I told my mother, she clutched her chest and yelled, "Don't tell me! I don't want to know! You didn't cross the street, did you?"
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:43 PM on August 12, 2017 [5 favorites]


I was in LA a couple months ago without a car and found it pretty walkable. I even walked to a Missing Persons show in Redondo Beach.

The transit system is pretty good--the main problem I thought wasn't the infrastructure, it was that places and things I wanted to see were almost randomly scattered around the city. In less car-oriented cities, it's easier to find something interesting to you(shop, museum, restaurant, bar, whatever) and some other interesting things will be nearby. In LA, not as much. I never felt in danger from cars, but I was bored a lot.

I also went to the only music venue I've ever been to in the world that does not allow bags, presumably because they assume everyone has a vehicle to leave things in.
posted by smelendez at 4:58 PM on August 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


my current favorite LA walk: grab a satchel bag from my apt at 5th and bixel, walk thru the core all the way to little tokyo. have sushi. take detour thru arts district; remark to myself that i am now old as fuck. get groceries at the japanese market in that anachronistic 80s mall on central. stuff items in bag. load many podcasts on headphones. walk back thru grand central market to buy overpriced nonsense. jaywalk across the 110 onramp to shortcut home. cook.
posted by wibari at 5:00 PM on August 12, 2017 [8 favorites]


The number of people straight up lying about the travel time impact of the Venice blvd bike lanes (it's small), and moving to RECALL A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER because of his support of anti traffic fatality measures is driving me crazy.

I live in the area affected. This isn't a bunch of people crabbing for no reason or lying to get their way. LA traffic is already infamous, and this program makes it worse. Overnight the traffic became awful, there are daily jams where there weren't any before. I now avoid Venice Blvd. whenever I can, which makes me one of the many people clogging the side streets. And all of this is happening in the summer, before the many local schools are back in session! Venice is a major street, the city depends on it, and it's way too late to try to convert it into some quaint little small town street. You can't turn the clock back to 1950. Any program that causes daily traffic jams is a failure. How much garbage are we pumping into the air, while we're stuck in these new traffic jams?

People who were following this program closely have said they were never told we would be losing a lane. We were all misled about what this project involved, and Bonnin is not listening to the many, many complaints. You bet your ass I signed the petition to recall him.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:03 PM on August 12, 2017 [8 favorites]


When I lived in Los Angeles, I walked extensively. The reliable weather alone makes it a great place for walking, once you get used to the fact that all the cars are trying to kill you. Before leaving, we lived in Culver City really close to one of the now-open rail stops, and I'm sad I wasn't there to see the Expo line open.
posted by Slothrup at 5:08 PM on August 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I feel kind of smug when I remember the number of Usenet discussions in the past with people who insisted that passenger trains never make sense in America because "we live so spread out," or that the destruction of the LA streetcar system was no big deal because "people prefer driving their own cars and living wherever they want." I don't think that's right. If you have transit lines, housing gets built near them because it's more convenient; even through they also own cars, people will choose public transport if it's easier. The reason things are scattered out in LA is because the system didn't exist -- not vice versa.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 5:10 PM on August 12, 2017 [4 favorites]


I was visiting LA a few years ago, staying in Santa Monica without a car. I wanted to go to a Dodgers game so I took a bus to Union Station and walked to the stadium. It looked like less than a two-mile walk, so not that big a deal. Unfortunately, I had a small backpack with me and they aren't allowed in Dodger Stadium so I was told to take it back to my car. The security guy was shocked when I said that I had walked to the stadium.

Without a car to return to, I was led through the bowels of Dodger Stadium to the security office. All along the way the security guy kept gesturing at me and telling people in the most incredulous voice "he walked to the stadium". It was like he had witnessed a once in a lifetime event!

As a coda, after retrieving my backpack after the game I walked west out of the stadium. All of a sudden everyone walking in front of me did this big jump to the left. There was a rattlesnake sunning itself on Vin Scully Way.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:11 PM on August 12, 2017 [20 favorites]


The reason things are scattered out in LA is because the system didn't exist

um, not really. los angeles used to have one of the largest streetcar systems in the world
posted by entropicamericana at 5:23 PM on August 12, 2017 [4 favorites]


Maybe ten years ago, our local mall cinema instituted a no bag rule. They’d tell you to “just take it back out to your vehicle” and goggle and shrug if you told them you didn't have one.

After being turned away, the next time I came I noticed that they were showing an ad for the city bus line before the movie. I left a note for the manager saying how odd I thought it was that they would take advertising money from the bus company while denying entry to customers who had come there on the bus instead of in private vehicles. I sent a similar email to the bus company. I don't know if my notes had any influence, but the no bag rule was dropped soon afterward.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:34 PM on August 12, 2017 [10 favorites]


um, not really. los angeles used to have one of the largest streetcar systems in the world

"Used to" being the operative words.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:37 PM on August 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


The number of people straight up lying about the travel time impact of the Venice blvd bike lanes

I think that's also going on in the Marina. Unbelievable.

We bought TAP cards which we will never use again--there's $1 gone. But the senior off-peak fare was 35¢
.

For future readers, if the are reloadable you can give them away or leave it at the machine.

A lot of arteries are in place, with more coming online. The purple line will get to Fairfax soon and Crenshaw/LAX is under way. People already get it for events. The Woman's March was packed like sardines (if you could get in a car) and Sundays are packed with gold and maroon when USC plays Some people just need to ride it once to see it's pretty cool. Even if you use it once a year, one less car trip helps.

LA will always have a last-mile problem; it's too big, and living in the hills or canyons will always be unwalkable for most. Lyft is filling that gap. Strengthen the rights of drivers and I think we'll be okay. Oh, and people are still down on buses, but that helps cover the last mile for the rest of us.

I've lived here nearly my whole life and never thought I'd see this. I'm excited to see the city slowly start to turn the car culture ship around. Maybe they should add a juice and and poke car.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:39 PM on August 12, 2017 [5 favorites]


The only real problem left - and it's a big one - is that covering the distance from downtown to the port/Long Beach remains a nightmare. The Blue Line being at street level means it takes forever to get anywhere. LA transit is all well and good if you want to travel east-west, but god help you if you want to go north-south.
posted by Punkey at 5:47 PM on August 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Oh, yeah, light rail needs the green lights, for sure. I think they're trying to figure that out.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:55 PM on August 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I commute by bus in Los Angeles and I'm not a big fan of the Expo Line.

Until 2012 there had a been a bus line, in various incarnations, that had run from a few blocks away from where I live to where I work since at least the 1970s. Then the bus line got cut in a round of rationalizations in preparation for the Expo Line. Now, I have to transfer at least three times to get from my house to my work.

I'd be OK with losing a convenient bus line if the Expo were not so dreadfully slow. The Green Line, another east/west light rail line runs on at highway speeds in the middle lane of the 105. The Red and Purple lines, also east/west, run underground at reasonably high speeds. The other reason that the Expo line is slow is that Metro messed up the track sharing with the Blue line. 7th & Flower is the nexus where the Blue, Expo, Red, and Purple meet in downtown. Expo & Blue Lines share a track for 1 1/2 segments. There is always a delay getting into or out of 7th & Flower because Metro has not figured out how to track share after five years of operation. Those delays propagate through and make the Blue line, already the least reliable light rail line, even more unreliable.
posted by rdr at 5:55 PM on August 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


So I'm originally from LA, but moved to Seattle 13 years ago. Drivers up here suck. They lose the ability to drive as soon as it starts raining. They forget how again as soon as the sun shines. And apparently nobody ever learned how to merge properly. And yes, congestion is horrible here because the roads aren't big enough but people keep moving here (like me). But the driving sends my girlfriend up the wall, too, and she's born and raised here.

Last month, my girlfriend and I went down to LA to visit. We were exactly four minutes out of the Hertz rental car lot outside LAX when we hit a lane merge...which cost us no time at all. Cars in front of us fell into line like a perfect zipper.

There was, of course, a whole lot of "Did that actually just happen!?" shouting inside our car.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:34 PM on August 12, 2017 [9 favorites]


congestion is horrible here because the roads aren't big enough

The roads are fine. The cars are the problem.
posted by Automocar at 7:04 PM on August 12, 2017 [14 favorites]


I think the real takeaway is that ridership goals are now 13 years ahead of schedule. Public transportation has to catch up to its riders. In LA. That's a paradigm shift.

One day you'll be able to take the Expo Line from the beach to East LA. There's so much that's changed that I'm so cranky about but this is exciting. I can't wait to see how the city evolves around the train and light rail systems.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:31 PM on August 12, 2017 [5 favorites]


"Used to" being the operative words.

right, we were talking about past reasons for current conditions
posted by entropicamericana at 8:15 PM on August 12, 2017


Me: The reason things are scattered out in LA is because the system didn't exist
entropicamericana: um, not really. los angeles used to have one of the largest streetcar systems in the world

Is there some kind of catchy MeFi phrase for when someone quotes you but erases your deliberate mention of something, only to deploy that same thing as a gotcha zinger response?

To spell out more clearly what I was trying to say: I believe that if the streetcar system hadn't been destroyed, the shape of LA development over the following decades would be very different. People would still own cars -- but they would also take the streetcars, and would prefer homes and destinations that were more convenient for that. Probably not everybody, but enough to make a difference!

Also ... Ursula Hitler ... have you ever read Joan Didion's article Bureaucrats? It's 40 years old, but totally supports you. A functioning traffic flow in LA, she says, is like an organism sustained by the efforts of thousands of expert drivers, and slapping down big changes results in chaos.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:45 PM on August 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Last year I rode the Expo line from Santa Monica on the weekend it opened. It makes riding bikes to the beach a shuttle run for me, which is AMAZING. Avoiding the vast wasteland that is Venice Blvd on a bike rates top priority with me. After that ride it occurred to me that I could take a few different trains out to stops that were pretty close to MTB trailheads, or got me onto buses that would take me pretty close. From Koreatown:
- Red line to Universal, a bus along Ventura to Reseda Blvd*, and you're on the classic Reseda To The Sea route. Or drop down Backbone into Will Rogers SP. Beach path cruise to the SM Pier, hop on the train to Crenshaw or DTLA depending on whether I want to climb or cruise home, ride home.
- Purple line to Union Station, Gold Line to
  • Memorial Park, chill road climb up Lincoln & Forest all the way to Hahamonga & Arroyo Seco trail network,
  • Lake Station, bus or road climb to the top of Lake and LSM, Echo Mountain, Sunset Ridge, El P, etc.
  • Arcadia Station, and up to Chantry Flats, etc. (The goal with this one is to eventually do the epic Gabrielino NRT E->W, come out above JPL, and either coast all the way home or get back on the train at Memorial Park. Just waiting for that last section to open back up!)
posted by carsonb at 9:22 PM on August 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


* Eventually the LA River Bike Path will go all the way to the 405 (and beyond!) so taking a bus won't be necessary. The sea really is changing, and it's not just light rail. Various municipalities are working together to string together cycling networks and, while it looks really patchy now, it will eventually grow together into a legit cycling-oriented network. Nonprofit entities like the Emerald Necklace and local IMBA chapters are always advocating for increased bicycle access, and if you keep a keen eye out you can see the pieces start to come together.
posted by carsonb at 9:29 PM on August 12, 2017


"traffic data firm" Inrix (quoted in TFA) has clearly yet to visit Bangalore.

The aggressive and unchecked development of "tech parks" to serve the world's seekingly insatiable urge to offshore operations, coupled with apparently zero master planning has rendered The Outer Ring Road a diesel-choked, near-stationary, horn-blasted version of hell for more than a third of every day.
posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 10:38 PM on August 12, 2017


I used to walk 12km home from work just to avoid getting on Toronto transit.

What! 12 km? When I was young we used to walk 25km home, if you could call it a home, it was just a shoebox in the middle of the road, but for us it was a palace.

No seriously, 12km? That was like, what, 2 hours one way?
posted by Laotic at 12:42 AM on August 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Arguably the reason things are sprawled in LA is precisely because of the streetcar system. The Pacific Electric Railway connected far apart areas for the purpose of new suburban land development on a huge scale, i.e. streetcar sprawl. That set the stage for the highway takeover and decentralized form of LA.
posted by parudox at 3:12 AM on August 13, 2017 [4 favorites]


thank you, that's exactly what i was trying to say. many of the freeways are old streetcar routes.
posted by entropicamericana at 5:32 AM on August 13, 2017


Never been to L.A. but, great song!
posted by freakazoid at 7:54 AM on August 13, 2017


No seriously, 12km? That was like, what, 2 hours one way?

About an hour and forty. But taking public transit sometimes took an hour and fifteen.
posted by dobbs at 8:43 AM on August 13, 2017


I have used LA's public transpo since high school (and it was still the RTD, rough, tough and dirty) and it has improved over time, but most drastically since Measure R.

That $1.75, by the way, is good for up to 3 hours, i.e. you TAP in and all other transfers apply during your journey. I've gone to happy hour and taken the return bus back on that same fare.

I am definitely guilty of proselytizing LA Metro to anyone I meet that tells me, "You need a car to live in LA."

Got my TAP card (works on all transpo systems in SoCal), got my NextBus app, good to go.
posted by linux at 8:45 AM on August 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


The experience worldwide, but especially in LA, is that if you make wider roads, you get more cars, because more people choose to drive because previously the traffic was too bad.

The reverse is true: if you close lanes, some people will eventually choose another method to get around other than driving, and you'll settle down to about the same traffic as before.

The Expo line hitting its projected passenger counts years early is a sign of massive pent-up demand (and, probably, lowballing the actual usage of the system).
posted by Merus at 8:48 AM on August 13, 2017 [7 favorites]


The Expo line hitting its projected passenger counts years early is a sign of massive pent-up demand

Also doesn't factor in NIMBYism and how weirdly protective Santa Monica/Venice/etc. are of their coastline from East LA intruders.
posted by carsonb at 11:18 AM on August 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Hey now, that wasn't us! Blame Cheviot Hills:

Breaking: Cheviot Hills NIMBYs Lose State Supreme Court Battle Against the Expo Line Extension (2013)
posted by Room 641-A at 11:52 AM on August 13, 2017


The real barrier for light rail on the west side is Beverly Hills. The city & school district have fought tooth and nail for the last three decades to prevent a light rail that runs through the city. Their motivation is not NIMBYism, it is straight up racism with an admixture of fear of poor people.
posted by rdr at 11:56 AM on August 13, 2017 [6 favorites]


Got my TAP card (works on all transpo systems in SoCal), got my NextBus app, good to go.

Having a Clippper card (Bay Area transit card, good for bus, ferry, BART) and Next Bus is a game changer for me as far as car free movement goes. No more worrying about having the right fare, not losing a transfer, if transfers even worked across agencies; and where and when the next bus was coming. It makes such a huge difference.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:07 PM on August 13, 2017


Well, what I hear them actually say is "too loud going under our children's school" which is hilarious for how obviously moronic an excuse it is but also crazy because there's a freakin' operating oil derrick on the BHHS campus that is decidedly not quiet at all. But yeah,

it is straight up racism with an admixture of fear of poor people.

This. They also refused to install the Bus Lanes on Wilshire, which breaks up what would be something like 15 straight miles of the corridor between MacArthur Park and Santa Monica and adds a ton of time to the routes.
posted by carsonb at 12:09 PM on August 13, 2017 [2 favorites]


Several years ago I went to the Municipal Court just south of downtown L.A. Rode the Blue line which stops right there. When I went through the scanner I had a camera or recorder, forget which, and was told I couldn't bring it into the courthouse and would have to leave it in my car. When I told them I didn't have a car but rode the Blue line, they acted totally confused like they had never heard of such a thing. It was not evident that they knew what the Blue line was (you can see the courthouse from the Blue line as you ride by). They finally let me leave my equipment at the desk until I came out but they clearly had never had the problem before.
posted by charlesminus at 12:15 PM on August 13, 2017


Ooh! Ooh! BH also fucked us with wrt the freeways! At least they finally lost the battle against bike lanes on Santa Monica. (Like, don't even pass through our city.) But Cheviot Hills seriously delayed Phase 2.

Having a Clippper card (Bay Area transit card, good for bus, ferry, BART) and Next Bus is a game changer for me as far as car free movement goes. No more worrying about having the right fare, not losing a transfer, if transfers even worked across agencies; and where and when the next bus was coming. It makes such a huge difference.

That's exactly what I came to say, but my EZ Pass means not having to worry about parking or traffic or having money for parking.
posted by Room 641-A at 12:29 PM on August 13, 2017


I've been hoping to spend my old age in CA for a long time - every time I've been out there my chronic health conditions improve like I never could have imagined. I always assumed that not being able to drive would be a major barrier, so all of this is very encouraging. There's still the money situation, but there's always the money situation.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:40 PM on August 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


I went to LA for the first time last fall and took public transit (train or buses) most of the time... Hollywood -> Pasadena, Hollywood -> Silver Lake, Hollywood -> UCLA, and Venice Beach -> Hollywood. I was honestly shocked at how user-friendly and reliable the service was, given that most of what I've heard about LA in terms of transit has been car horror stories.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 2:24 PM on August 13, 2017


While Metro is having success with their new rail lines and extensions, bus ridership is declining so overall use of the system is basically unchanged. This LA Times article blames two factors: buses stuck in traffic, and safety concerns.

I have lived in downtown LA without driving since 2003, more or less, but my longest commute in that time has been 1½ blocks. My wife and I didn't replace our car after it was totaled two years ago. Now our transit is all DASH, Metro, Lyft, and the occasional ride from friends or family.
posted by jimw at 2:48 PM on August 13, 2017


Venice is a major street, the city depends on it, and it's way too late to try to convert it into some quaint little small town street. You can't turn the clock back to 1950. Any program that causes daily traffic jams is a failure. How much garbage are we pumping into the air, while we're stuck in these new traffic jams?

Someone always makes these argument for any scheme that takes space from cars, and they're almost always bollocks. Remove space for cars, make driving harder, driving becomes less attractive, people drive less, total driving goes down. Just like building a new road encourages car travel, removing an existing one discourages it. It may take a while for habits to change, but it's always what happens.

"Traffic evaporation" is a well-proven concept.
posted by grahamparks at 3:35 PM on August 13, 2017 [6 favorites]


Meanwhile, the Orange Line is one of the most successful bus rapid transit lines in the country, but there's talk of turning it into rail, at enormous cost.

Vision Zero is the city's initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. Check out the map to see fatalities in your neighborhood.

Also, USC is a pretty good team, but last time I checked, they play on Saturdays, not Sundays (NCAA vs. NFL). On Sundays, I have seen a lot of folks in blue and gold waiting on the platform to go to a Rams game.
posted by mogget at 7:39 PM on August 13, 2017


This thread makes me very happy. I lived in Santa Monica from 1996 through 2015. We moved to Seattle just as Expo was starting its test runs to Santa Monica. The conservatory where I took cello lessons was right across the street from a stop. Every week, I'd see a little more work done until one day, I heard the DING-DING of the test train.

I also heard so much FUD about Expo. It's going to kill people at crossings! No one will be able to drive because of trains at crossings! And "those people" are going to come to Santa Monica to commit crime! That last one came from a member of my neighborhood association's board. I regret not confronting his bigotry to his face. Calling someone a xenophobe via email doesn't have the same punch.

Keep pushing for more rail and more last-mile connections, Los Angeles. You're a flattish city with sunshine and all the room for biking, walking, and buses. Keep fighting that war on cars. You'll breathe easier.
posted by RakDaddy at 10:36 AM on August 14, 2017 [5 favorites]


LA will have great transit around the year 2040. Everything's lining up including density around rail, a transporation mesh that combines bus/rail/bike/shared rides/cars/subway.

Sadly (for me) I'll be dead by then.
posted by chaz at 10:56 AM on August 14, 2017


Ursula Hitler, I live one mile away from those bike lanes. I ride or drive through that part of Venice Blvd almost every day. I'm not some outsider making uniformed comments about them.
During construction there was a traffic impact that was noticeable, but there is nothing approaching a "jam" at any time I go through there since.
It's a one mile stretch, and I've timed driving through it at rush hour. It took five minutes. People are yelling at me in other places online telling me that I'm a liar and a communist and a shill for the bike lobby (wtf?) and saying that the changes are introducing a 30 minute delay.
That's total bollocks. That one whole mile puts me outside of Bonin's constituency, so I can't do much to fight the recall, but whenever I sail through that mile with a road free of cars next to me I don't have a good opinion of the recall yard signs.
That said, I appreciate you and your contributions to metafilter, and I do respect your right to have a different opinion about it.
posted by flaterik at 11:51 AM on August 14, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm so thrilled to see LA public transportation changing so quickly. The Gold Line will be boardable on the eastern edge of the county and will go through Pasadena and east LA. That is super amazing.

They do need to give trains the green light.
posted by persona au gratin at 3:08 AM on August 15, 2017


Also: I went to DTLA the other evening. I could have taken the train to Union Station. But it was faster to drive and park. Even with terrible traffic. Driving still usually beats the train.
posted by persona au gratin at 3:10 AM on August 15, 2017


It's going to kill people at crossings!

True story: the very first time I took the expo line after phase 2 was complete it was to go to an IRL meetup at the Museum of Science and Industry. On the way home, we hit a pedestrian a few blocks away (at Vemont, I think.) It wasn't fatal, and we had a little expo party on the train while we waited for the cops to let us off.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:32 AM on August 15, 2017


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