German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Russian
ChineseThere’s Just A Short Time Left To Chime In On The Long Range Plan
This March Metro asked you to share with them what you Imagine for L.A.’s transportation future. In two days however, the 45-day public comment period will come to a close, meaning you’d better act fast if you want your input on the Long Range Transportation Plan to have an impact.
The last of the seven community meetings being held to discuss the plan is tonight starting at 6 PM at the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys. You may also email your comments to metroplan@metro.net or call Metro’s LRTP Hotline at 213-922-2833 to leave a voice comment.
Perhaps you need some inspiration to help gather your thoughts for your own comments. Check out Damien Newton’s testimony over at Street Heat LA. His comments focus on the idea of creating balanced streets where all transportation modes get equal access to our precious streets. Also have a look at the conversation on the MetroRiderLA forum, perhaps Dan Wentzel’s ideas for making the Valley/Westside transit connection a reality is more along the lines of what you’re thinking.
Our very own Wad (who unfortunately has been too busy with real life to write for us lately), sent me his comments on the Long Range Transportation Plan, and his letter, aside from the fact that it contains some of the best recommendations I’ve read, is laid out in a manner that I plan on emulating because it’s organized so logically.
Wad separates his ideas for the future into four sections: Urban Rail, Commuter Rail, Quality Bus (Rapid and Busway service), and Local Bus. Some of his recommendations for urban rail include: a Lincoln Boulevard light rail linking LAX and Santa Monica, a Vermont Avenue subway instead of the Crenshaw Corridor project, extending the Red Line into West Hollywood, and extending the Green Line east and south… among other ideas. For commuter rail Wad imagines clock headways on Metrolink, with hourly or better service on weekdays and two-hour service on weekends. He also evisions run-through tracks and the conversion of the Pacific Surfliner into a commuter service.
Some of Wad’s ideas for quality bus service include converting medians to bus lanes on wide boulevards, extending the Orange Line east to the San Gabriel Vally, creating a network for 15-minute all-day express buses running on the freeways, and creating a transitway on the 405 freeway. For local bus service, Wad proposes creating hub style bus stations at select destinations that offer off-bus fare collection, security and fare inspectors, and buses on 15-minute or more headways that run without a schedule. He also sets a few standards that Los Angeles should guarantee for bus service, including minimum 30-minute headways on off-peak hours and weekends.
Wad’s comments inspired me, and I will be posting my ideas soon, organized in a similar manner. I encourage anyone who has not to submitted comments yet to do so since this is the chance for our many voices to be heard and possibly mold our transit future in this city. We often complain that it seems like Metro doesn’t ride their own system. Well we do, and Metro is giving us a chance to speak, so let’s tell them how to build the transportation system we all dream of.
Share your comments and ideas over that the MetroRiderLA forum.
Elsewhere:
Discussion
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
Long Range Plane?
Best Freudian Slip in a long time.
Rob Dawg:
Goddamnit. I hate blogging.
I love blogging. If you were perfect like me it would be easier.
Seriously, for once I decided to proofread the whole post for spelling errors before I posted (a rare move indeed), but didn’t think to check the headline.
Thanks for the mention.
I just hope the LRTP includes some of the “imagined” ideas, even if in the unfunded portion, and that it wasn’t just an advertising campaign. I hope the public comments will matter. We all understand that there needs to be more funding for the MTA to build and operate what we would all love to see.
Here’s the note I received from the MTA via e-mail after posting comments on their Imagine blog:
One thing the MTA Representatives did say to me at a MTA Presentation of the draft LRTP is that the internet and e-mail have dramatically increased the number of responses they receive as compared to 2001.
As the billboard in the photo that accompanies this post requests, students, residents, business owners and elected officials are imagining more rail to more places in the San Gabriel Valley. The Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Montclair is so close to being completed it is befuddling that it is so low on Metro’s priority list that it was not included in the Draft Long-Range Transportation Plan. If Metro were to place the Gold Line Foothill Extension in the LRTP it could be completed in as little as four years – well ahead of other recently “imagined” rail projects that would take decades to complete.
We encourage supporters of the Gold Line Foothill Extension, which will expand service from Sierra Madre Villa Station in Pasadena to Montclair, to write to Metro in support for bringing critical transportation service to the San Gabriel Valley. For more information, click here.
-Commenting on behalf of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority
[...] Comments on Metro’s Draft Long Range Plan Due Tomorrow (Metro Rider) [...]
[...] Camino at MetroRiderLA reminds us that time is running out to comment on Metro’s plans for the future. This March Metro asked you to share with them [...]