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ChineseReasons I Love The Red Line
Contributed by Fred Camino on July 14th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Inspired by Wad’s birthday post celebrating 10 years since the opening of the Wilshire/Western segment of the Red Line, I’ve decided we need to continue the celebration of all things Red Line. It is our city’s one and only subway after all.
What better way to continue this exalting of the Red Line than by putting together a lovely Top 10 list? Check it after the jump.
- Station Designs: Perhaps it’s because I’m a visually oriented person, maybe it’s because I’m shallow and superficial, or it could be that they are just really impressive and cool, but I love the Red Line stations. Inside and out. Each and every one of them. I’m sure many critics, bean-counters, and conservative fuddy-duddys find them to be an outstanding waste of money, and perhaps the money could have been spent on something more immediately functional, but what’s done is done and I like it. Plus I feel the unique station designs do serve a function which is to create an identity to our subway which is uniquely Los Angeles. In a city where strip malls, car washes, and fast food restaurants serve as cultural monuments, the designs of the Red Line stations shine like a cultural beacon. I feel like they should be included in the pantheon of other stand-out LA monuments like the Hollywood Sign, Capitol Records building, the skyline of Downtown LA, the Santa Monica Pier, Watts Towers, and the LAX Theme Building. Some of the exterior station designs are downright iconic: the bold arcs of the North Hollywood station; the “sweeping metal canopy” that juts out from below at Hollywood/Highland; and the brilliant rock formations in the middle of a highly urban area at Vermont Beverly. The interiors are equally spectacular, leaving you unsure if you’ve walked into a subway station or a grand art exhibit. Plus they are so large and open, any feeling of claustrophobia that one might get in other subways worldwide is nonexistant. These stations are something to be proud of and to take care of, they truly set our subway apart from all others in the world.
- Smooth Ride: I’ve gotta say, compared to other subways I’ve been on, the Red Line offers one hell of a smooth ride. My recent experience on the subways of New York City left me a bit shaken, quite literally. The Red Line on the other hand seems to carve smoothly and rapidly through the arched tunnels with nary a jitter or jump.
- Serves the Transit Center: By ending at Union Station in Downtown LA, the Red Line is smartly integrated into the greater public transit system in LA. Unlike say the Green Line which goes from nowhere to nowhere, the Red Line goes from everywhere (well within it’s limited reach) to everywhere. Meaning that even though I live in Hollywood, I can get to Downtown, Pasadena, and Long Beach with only one quick transfer. And if we look north, I can transfer to the Orange Line and check out the Valley. Essentially it’s a major artery straight to the heart of LA’s public transit system. If/when it gets to Santa Monica, people from all over Los Angeles county will have access to many of the major residential/commerce areas without ever touching a freeway.
- Exiting the 7th Street Metro Center Station: Exiting this station at Figueora and 7th gives me that rare feeling that I do actually live in a big bustling metropolis. After getting off the traing and going up the first set of escalators you end up on, whoa, another platform (the Blue Line). Is this some kind of real transit system? Then as you continue up the next set of escalators, you look up to see a painted ceiling featuring a worms-eye view of the hustle of downtown life and as the elevator passes the threshold and your eyes orient away from the painting, you see the actual hustle of downtown life. My feeling is that one day you experience this as you exit every Red Line station.
- Ample Seating: Most other subway trains I’ve been on have limited seating situated along the sides of the train, facing each other. The Red Line on the other hand has rows and rows of forward facing seats, offering a comfortable way to travel for more people
- Easy to Naviagate: Obviously this is because of the limited size of the system, but it is really easy to figure out where you are going with the Red Line (with the notable exception of catching the wrong north bound train). Stops are named after major street intersections, the onboard system map is simple and easy to read, and the signage at the stations does a pretty good job at telling you where you want to go.
- Bikes are allowed on board: As a bike owner and rider I’ve always really appreciated this. It’s nice to be able to hop on board with your bike and use the train/bike combo to get where you need to go quickly and easily. I hope that as ridership increases they figure out a way to keep the bikes on board. Anything that encourages alternate means of transportation is a good thing in my book.
- Timeliness: The trains stay on schedule. It’s a breath of fresh air after waiting for buses.
- Metro Reading Material: I for one get very excited when I see the latest issue of “Metro News” or any exciting new service pamphlet resting in the little brochure holder near the doors. I know some people feel the MTA’s marketing department wastes money printing these full color brochures, but I for one learn a lot from them and enjoy the free literature from my train ride.
- Hot European Babes: They hop on downtown and the always want to know where that hostel is near Hollywood and Highland. They’ve got funny accents, strange style, and hot bodies. They are the European tourist babes of the Metro Red Line. Leave it to the Europeans to be the largest group of white people to embrace our city’s subways system. I love them, and for the same superficial shallow reasons I love the station designs.
Well that’s my list. What does everyone else love about the Red Line?
Discussion
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Great top ten list, very well written and lovingly expressed. You are in love with public transit!
great. great. great. this alone should justify the extension.
the other day a family on vacation was riding the red line to hwood/highland. i was standing behind the group and because the train is not only so smooth its also fairly quiet, i happened to hear what they were talking about. though not European fredcamino, nor busty in the right areas, they still LOVED the red line. the patriarch couldn’t stop harping on about how nice the subway “here” is and how much he wished the one at “home” was equally as nice. the family agreed and continued to talk about some of the very same things on your list. Specifically the designs and hugeness of the stations. I smiled in gratitude as if they were complimenting me personally. Unfortunately, my beaming must have made me look like a complete psycho because as i got off the bus i think i heard the dad say, “though they have the crazies too.”
Here’s 5 things I hate about the redline:
1. USELESS scrolling text - why can’t it show when the next train is coming or even the time??
2. DISGUSTING elevators which you normally have to take because of #3.
3. CRUMMY escalators that NEVER work in No. Hollywood. After spending 9.1 million for a security system you think they could afford to fix them right?
4. TERRIBLE design of the stations - why do you have to take 2 to 3 staircases or escalaters or elevators to get to the ground floor? It takes 3 minutes just to get to the train station from the top… How about an extra large elevator, larger escalators, and BIGGER staircases?
5. Trains coming TOO slow. 10 minutes for every train is too slow. It should be every 5 or even 7 minutes during the rush-hour.
Touche. The Red Line certainly has it’s lions share of problems, but I felt it’s always easy to focus on the negative, we rarely hear any positive words about things in our transit system.
The scrolling text is a nightmare… I feel those signs should simply have like you said, when the next train is coming. Service messages should be posted elsewhere (new electronic signage that is more suitable for reading long paragraphs of text).
I’ve honestly rarely ridden in an escalator, but I do have a memory of one at 7th Street Metro that of course reeked of urine.
Not enough bad things can be said about the escalators.
I’d love faster service, but I’m okay with the service as it stands now, as long as the trains come on time I can always plan my travel.
I’m originally from Moscow, Russia, where the subway system is one of the most efficient in the world (where trains run every 45-60 Seconds in rush-hour, and 2-3 minutes outside rush-hour), so in comparison the Red Line frequency is VERY poor (10 minutes during rush-hour is WAY too long!! And 20 minutes during evening hours is outrageous!) Nevertheless, things in Los Angeles, as far as public transit, are indeed improving. 15 years ago there was no rail service, except for the Blue-line to Long Beach. I believe, Los Angeles MTA needs to receive much more funding for improving the rail service, specifically the Red-line, as it has proven to be the optimal way of getting around (Buses are a complete disgrace, it’s a waste of time, and are totally inefficient). And - yes, I agree with you folks - the electronic display should indicate the time of next trains’ arrival, as opposed to useless messages.
I am a regular transit user in LA (yes, I practically gave up driving! - it’s a pure nightmare and a huge waste of money), and I have hopes that the subway system will soon be extended to the sea.
oh man… those damn scrolling messages are so ridiculous. entire paragraphs scrolling. just looking at them gives me a headache. as for “al#” anti design stance, they’re not all like that. Go to western/vermont and take the longest damn escalator you’ve ever seen. its amazing. though, the fact that the escalators work only about half the time, is quite annoying. however, the stair cases are about 8 people wide so i’m not sure i get that complaint.
earthquakes, mudslides, fires and riots……snow, desert, forests and beaches all within 30 minutes. A spectacular place we find ourselves in as the transit system will continue to grow and better itself.
Not to harp so much on it, but I take the train every day to work. I’m happy I have that option, but it could be SO good with just a few improvements.
There’s no parking at the North Hollywood station after 7 AM, and if you think the staircases are 8 people deep try walking up one at NoHo at 5 pm - you’ll see what I mean.
One last complaint, and it’s not even about me. The Orange Line people have to literally RUN to catch the bus which is supposed to be timed w/ the arrival of the Red Line. It’s amazing to see approx. 100 people in a full gallop to catch their bus across the street.
Things I like about the red line = it’s available and it works. It just needs to be better. =)
i guess 8 wide isn’t enough for some stations… but i’m not sure how much wider you want to build these things. i’ve only seen three subway systems so i could def be wrong, but the stations in la are by far the biggest/widest/aireist/whatever. and the north hollywood may be extreme at times, but theres only so much that can be done as far as width of stairwells go. and wad or some others can say for sure, but i’m pretty sure they’re so deep for structural reasons. where as some of nyc’s are just a staircase down, such was not plausible for l.a.
The station mezzanines were a design stipulated by RTD, which originally planned to install turnstiles. Mezzanines were the fare control areas.
Those turnstiles really worked out well
Here’s something, forget the complaint I had about the staircases. That was like the least of my complaints.
Some of the items are so obvious - the lame scrolling text, the 10 minute wait time - the terrible parking situation. The always-broken escalators.
The MTA makes taking the red line from NoHo a chore rather than an easy driving alternative. That’s my point.
Wow, so it’s the slow scrolling text that has the majority of Angelenos goldlining public transit.
Maybe, al91206, it’s not the MTA’s problems. Not even miracles can please the sniveling Angeleno.
I didn’t realize this board was for MTA cheerleaders only. I guess the reason the FEDS won’t give LA anymore transit money is because the MTA did such a great job w/ the subway money in the 90’s?
If sniveling means pushing for better management of the scarce resources they now have due to mismanagement in the earlier years, then go ahead a call me sniveling.
Perhaps WAD (which brings other names to mind) is a tired 30 year + MTA employee? Maybe it was his idea to use the scrolling LED displays to show useless info on the Redline? I’m sure in the MTA world you’d be promoted.
To al91206,
First off, I am not an employee of MTA or any other transit agency. I am a long-time rider and once a dogged transit advocate, and I have amassed a wealth of knowledge riding the buses and trains and working with and against MTA and other agencies.
I will say this, though. I know many frontline and administrative employees of MTA and other transit agencies and having actually known these people and what they do, most of them are hard-working, friendly and willing to help riders work for a better system. I know this because I ride the system and know who is responsible for fixing what.
And the reality is that MTA is a bureaucracy, so you have to be very patient. Why? Because everyone who contributes money to keep the buses and trains running wants paperwork to not only see where the money goes, but paperwork to make sure that paperwork gets done. And it’s not MTA who set up this mess; the paperwork is imposed on it by regulations from federal, state and local governments.
If you actually want to make a useful contribution to public transportation and not play the victim, there’s a proper way to do it and many people to help you along the way.
And you get nothing accomplished by thinking that people you do not know or meet who are accomplished in their fields are mentally challenged, incompetent or malicious. And if you think you can do a better job, put your money where your mouth is and just do it. At least just do a hard day’s work with having people think of you the way you think of the MTA’s workers.
Second, where did you ever get the idea that the feds stopped giving money to MTA because of the 1990s mess? MTA was in such bad shape that the feds were giving the agency bailouts for all the problems they’ve caused. This was an agency that was on the brink of collapse; the lowest point came in 1994 when MTA had announced that it was cutting all night and weekend service just to save itself. The 1990s were a series of one catatrophic decision after another. What made it worse was the merger of the LACTC, a policy making body, and the RTD, an operating agency. The bureaucrats during this time were waging an ugly turf war when they could have stopped the problem, and many talented employees ended up leaving the agency when they needed them the most.
I couldn’t believe it myself that the most disgraceful government agency in California of the 1990s had turned itself around to become not only good but actually an agency to emulate.
And the money? MTA’s projects and new starts proposals get some of the highest recommendations from the Federal Transit Administration. Eastside Gold Line and the Exposition Light Rail line are funded.
I’m not cheerleading the agency as much as I am looking at the past and present honestly. I see the same problems riders do, only I actually make an effort to fix them. I don’t think that over 10,000 check-pullers are closet sadists finding new ways to make my life miserable.
Second, I am making an assumption that you are an adult, or at the very least a well-adjusted adolescent. If so, start acting like one. If you want to be reasonable, I will be reasonable. If you want to be pissy, I’ll rub your nose in it.
my knowledge of metro’s history is limited, though i’m trying to read up on it and learn as much about it as possible, so it’s hard to comment on “where we’ve come”, and therefore i think i’m like al91. we see flaws and want them fixed. especially the minor ones. scrolling text bars. useless. no clocks or even a tiny schedule anywhere. stupid. breaking escalators all the time. absurd. etc. etc. how those very small problems can’t be addressed and fixed in a timely manner is hard to believe i guess because fixing those tiny things would make the expereince so much better for newbies and veterans alike. but i also see the HUGE positives of the redline and i think they outwiegh these problems by a landslide, causing my praise to be somewhat propaganda-like. but what can i say, i love the redline.
I think the problem is that many people expect a major city like Los Angeles to have a transit system that is comparable to other major cities. It does not. Sure, its system is far better than most cities in the United States, but I think people expect more from “world-class” cities, and are let down by LA.
This “world class city” nonsense is civic penis envy. Cities exist because of a mutual need, jobs. Unless you are one of the idle rich, your residence is determined by where you make your money.
The problem is that Angelenos can be counted on to do the wrong things. We have sidewalks everywhere and pleasant weather 300 days of the year yet people make it a point of pride to never walk. Sniveling passes for civic advocacy.
Los Angeles would be a great place if it weren’t for the people.
Wad,
Tell me then, without making comments on boards such as these and going to transit meetings and making my views known how do ‘you get things done’? I think TykeJohnson’s comments (#17 on this comment line) reflects what I was trying to say BEFORE you called me a sniveling Angelino.
Wad - how difficult do you think it would be to get the escalators working and the scrolling text to at least give us the time & date if not when the next train is coming?
If you look at my first post I’m HAPPY there is a red line, I’m just irked by the small issues that keep it from being a great transit system.
Nonsense or not, the “civic penis envy” exists, so it should be considered. Size may or may not matter, but NYC sure has a big dick, and I think a lot of people want LA’s to be comparable. The question is, are the citizens of LA getting out the penis pump to work on it?
The escalator problems pretty much take care of themselves. They may not always run when you want them to, but they do not stay idle for long periods of time. The Wilshire/Normandie station, however, had its escalators rebuilt twice in 10 years. These were shut down for longer than 30 days (the stairs were removed).
Most of the time, the escalators are shut down by the station cleaners, who are also responsible for notifying management of idle escalators. Very few are broken down for extended periods of time. The Normandie station’s, though, have me perplexed.
The station announcements, though, have been a much harder battle. Both Socata and the Transit Coalition have made it aware to the people in charge of rail maintenance about getting the Red Line signs to say which train is arriving. It’s not that they don’t know.
It’s that they can’t act. The software and network needs to be reconfigured to be able to tell you which train is coming, and it’s a job complex enough that it would have to go the formal procurement process with alternatives analysis. This is what’s been holding up progress on the signs.
Otherwise, al, you have to wait for MTA staff to get around to the problem. Complaints and advocacy help move the system along.
And al, there is no perfect transit system, and even the ones we think of as “great” have their own burdens. (You know how long track replacement takes in New York City and Boston, and how often they have to do it? Or BART being so overdesigned originally that extensions are really expensive?) Besides limited service length, the problem unique to L.A. is that Angelenos are predisposed to having a pessimistic transit experience and greatly exxagerate the most minor service issues into major aggravations.
And Fred, I know civic penis envy exists, but as Angelenos we must not feed that beast. Most of it is from affectative New Yorkers who come here because in L.A. people hear their sniveling and set up support groups around it. Also, it’s condescending at best and racist at worst to declare 250,000 rail riders and the second-highest bus ridership in the nation as Los Angeles having no public transportation available.
And when we do try our efforts make L.A. beyond the caricature that outsiders have made us, we get ridiculed for trying.
And this goes beyond just transit. L.A. supposedly puts out low-grade art, music, architecture, food, etc., yet what L.A. needs to realize is that with “civic penis envy,” we are shooting craps with loaded dice.