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ChineseDaily Transit Links Roundup for 6/30/08
Contributed by Fred Camino on June 30th, 2008 at 9:14 am
- LA Weekly doesn’t mince words when it comes to the Westside vs. SGV transit funding debate.
- Goodbye Pam from Santa Monica, Hello Mayor Villaraigosa.
- Eric Garcetti wants to lift the rush hour ban of bikes on trains.
- Metro buses are late 40% of the time and the yellow shirts won’t let you forget it.
- We’ve heard this one before: Washington Post columnist George Will thinks the solution to America’s transportation woes is simple, build more roads!
Discussion
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Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
George Will is more proof the automobile entitled won’t die quietly.
Where are we supposed to put all these roads Will wants for Los Angeles? The car culture has reached its economic and environmental limit.
The greatest fear about public transit among conservatives is that they might actually have to sit next to someone of a different race, class, culture, sexual orientation, or ideology and find out that they are just like themselves.
Re: the LA Weekly rant.
The Gold Line is controversial.
There are two schools of thought.
(1) Bag the whole project and try and sell improved Metrolink service instead, possibly even an additional Metrolink rail for the 210.
(2) Recognize that the Gold Line, whatever its merits or flaws, is political inevitable, so use it to leverage financial support for the Expo and Purple Lines.
At this point, I admit I fall into the latter.
How can we get Henry Waxman from merely not opposing the Purple Line anymore (as if that was a big favor) to getting out actively in front trying to get money for it and other public transit projects?
People that aren’t from the Foothill Communities wouldn’t realize the benefit of this. There are tons of people who try to get to Pasadena or downtown from that area and the only option is to drive on the 210 which is backed up all the way to the San Dimas Curve every day (on the return commuter there is traffic all the way to Azusa Ave.). And on this freeway, the carpool lanes move slower than mixed flow traffic. The Gold Line would be great as light-rail that could move at high speeds. But it only needs to go to Azusa. There is no reason for it to go all the way to Montclair or even Ontario Airport. It’s cheap and would finally give people an option to congestion on the 210. Even to get to the Sierra Madre Station takes forever, and once you get to that point you may as well keep driving (especially since that parking structure is now reaching capacity). This extension would be great, and should be built in conjunction with the Purple Line. It may not be very dense, but the people have no choice from Pasadena to Azusa (Metrolink is very far south once you’re up there, and there is no station between Cal State LA and El Monte, making it even harder for them to take Metrolink).
Metro just needs to compromise. They want no extension, supporters want it all the way to Montclair. Take it to at least Azusa and at least make everyone somewhat happy.
Bikes on trains: Nice, but we’re running out of space for people. There’s no real easy solution to this, other than folding bikes (which some people don’t care for, but…)
How can we get Henry Waxman from merely not opposing the Purple Line anymore (as if that was a big favor) to getting out actively in front trying to get money for it and other public transit projects?
Vote that bald-headed, pig-nosed, buck-toothed sucka OUT!
Well, that’s impossible as he’ll be the only candidate on the ballot in November, as no other candidates filed for the election.
I’m surprised the Green Party never ran at least a protest campaign against Waxman because of his recalcitrance on public transit.
Of course, when Henry Waxman first went to Sacramento, Sam Yorty was still Mayor. When he was first elected to Congress, Tom Bradley has just started his FIRST of five terms. Someone needs to tell Waxman that Los Angeles has changed.
Waxman used to be a liberal by the standards of his day. Now he is a stubborn conservative. I would prefer he get voted out but he has strengths when it comes to his seniority in Congress, I just wish he had a clue when it comes to transit.