MetroRiderLA

There’s no better time than now to invest in Metro’s elevator maintenance company! Metro, having an enormous handicap in people moving capabilities must be paying top dollar for the transportation of its riders along the y-axis. If it’s not the escalators, which it by all means is, at least one broken at each station at all times of day, it’s the elevators.
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This Saturday welcome in the new season with a translucent experience… literally. As reported by the Downtown News, “the second annual Autumn Lights event takes place on the Eli and Edythe Broad Plaza at the Caltrans Building on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 7 p.m. to midnight. Curated by Lilli Muller, the event showcases the work of more than 30 artists, including Richard Ankrom, Emmeric James Konrad and Kim Koga. All of the participants have used light in their work, creating neon installations, multi-media projections and sculptures that glow. There also will be performances by local bands Skin, the Tawny Ellis Band, Roland Poetx and others. 100 S. Main St., (213) 624-4847.”

And since you’ll already be downtown for the CarFree Lifestyle Festival it’ll be an easy trip from Metro Gold Line’s Chinatown station to Metro Red Line’s Civic Center station. So bring a blanket, a lawn chair and wide eyes, and enjoy the flashes of magnificent color all those people in New England can’t stop bragging about this time of the year.

So whats the deal with parking at metro rail stations? As much as we all try to rid ourselves of the burden that is an automobile, sometimes occasions come up when such an option is thwarted. However, not thwarted entirely. I have a dilemma that needs some solving. How and when can you park at Metro Rail stations? Can you park there overnight? How much does it cost? Some have a “$” next to the “P” symbol, which seems to mean you have to pay on site (Hollywood/Vine). Others sites say you can buy a “Park and Ride” monthy pass, which reserves your spot each month. But what about just a day? Just a night? All night? I’ve looked all over Metro.net and can’t find the answer and the number given to call is the one for monthly permits, which is not what I’m looking for. It’s also on mountain time for some reason. Any answers?

I was sitting at the Sunset/Vermont red line station thinking about crazy earthquake survival scenarios earlier today. You know, going over in my mind where the best, the “safest”, cover would be. I was under one of the escalators leaning comfortably on those silver bars and decided I was probably pretty well off. If things started rumbling, if things started tumbling, I was sure the silver frame of the escalator would stay in tact, protecting me from ultimate doom. Then I thought about the escalator I just passed when I was descending to the platform, which was broke down and re-thought my stance. The escalators would be the first to go! (more…)

About two weeks ago I had a constant desire to race things. When I was walking somewhere and saw someone on the opposite side of the street I would race them to the next light. If I saw someone get on the elevator I would go to the stairs and try and get to the lobby before them. (The latter which caused me to be locked in a stairwell for about twenty-five minutes. Turns out the new building I’m working in hasn’t got its stairwell security stuff worked out.) Another thing that I started to race were Rapids against local busses. I had faith in the Rapids and have waited many a times for the Rapid to show up even if a local was sitting right there in front of me in all its orange glory, but I was starting to doubt that faith. So, with some third grade calculations and a couple opportune situations when both the Rapid and local showed up at about the same, I set forth in the name of science.

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Another day, another let down. But I can’t write another complaint; I don’t have it in me. This blog has to be informative as well. So here’s a short informative post on one of the many ways to beat the heat this summer while riding Metro or any of the other modes of public transit this wonderful city/county has to offer.

Step 1, lean against the bus sign and take in the constant entertainment around you because you just might witness this.

Though it was blistering outside, the wait seemed to pass in cool fashion. Perhaps it was the breeze from the gas burning Chevy Tahoe’s and Nissan Armada’s passing by that was cooling me. Or perhaps it was the ranting of two crazies yelling at each other from across Beverly Blvd.

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