MetroRiderLA

[tags]los angeles, gold line, lincoln heights, dwell magazine, transit oriented development[/tags]

Photo of the Fuller Lofts under construction.
Credit: Curbed LA

Fuller Lofts, an adaptive reuse project in Lincoln Heights, received mention in haute architecture mag Dwell. The concrete building, formerly Fuller Paints, is located a few blocks from the Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park Metro Gold Line station, and when completed in January 2008 will house 80 units. A few are to be set aside as “affordable” units, while market rate condos start in the mid-$200,000s.

The Fuller item is towards the end of the article, “The Condo Generation,” available online and in dead-tree form in the October 2007 issue. The article praises the Fuller architects, Pugh+Scarpa, for this project and an affordable-housing complex built in Santa Monica.

Curbed LA reports the drab concrete exterior has been sexied up with “a wall of colorful red, yellow and purple blocks.”

[tags]south pasadena, gold line, south pasadena farmers market, franklin avenue[/tags]

The South Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Market is child- and transit-friendly.
Credit: Franklin Avenue

Mike and Maria of Franklin Avenue give props to the South Pasadena Certified Farmers’ Market. It takes place on Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m. on Mission Street, right near the Metro Gold Line station. They say one of the virtues of this city’s particular farmer’s market is that it’s less crowded and is well-suited for little ‘uns to linger.

“People stroll from the restaurants to the market and back again; stores are open late; and the vibe is nice,” wrote Mike. “Plus, the food vendors are top-notch. There are a wide variety of produce, bread and baked goodies booths.”

For more farmer’s market fun, the Old L.A. Certified Farmers’ Market is at the parking lot across from the Highland Park station 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; and the Chinatown Farmers’ Market, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. also on Thursdays, one block south and west of the Chinatown Station. Metro has a press release and video of other farmers’ markets accessible by Metro Rail lines.

[tags]los angeles, downtown los angeles, pedicab, la downtown news[/tags]

Eric Green, profiled here for his fledgling pedicab service in downtown Los Angeles, had to temporarily shut down his business before it gained some momentum.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, which regulates forms of transportation competing with Green’s pedicabs — taxis and DASH buses — required Green to get “special permits,” although he has a business license and insurance.

“I’m in limbo,” Green told the LA Downtown News. “I haven’t been told I can’t operate this business but it will be a lengthy process. Several other agencies have to check me off and give me the okay.”

The Downtown News editorialized for the DOT to help Green get back in business, and for other pedicab operators to expand the enterprise.

See also:

• MetroRiderLA: A New Tranist [sic] Option In Downtown: Pedicabs
• Pedicab News, a blog about this novel mode
• Technorati search about Green and his pedicab

[tags]palm springs, sunline transit, coachella valley, indio, public transit[/tags]

 
Indio won’t just be a city trains pass through when the city’s transit center is completed.
Credit: Sonomabuzz via Flickr (Creative Commons license)

Indio, a city 20 miles southeast of Palm Springs, is breaking ground on a multimodal transportation hub at an old rail yard expected to open in about two years.

The city’s mayor, Ben Godfrey, is on a Napoleonic quest to make Indio another Oxnard or Oceanside, both of which have several modes at their transit centers. Here’s some of what Godfrey said to KESQ-Channel 3 that will serve Indio:

• Park-and-ride shuttles to Palm Springs and Los Angeles airports (!)
• Metrolink service to Los Angeles (!!)
• Bringing more Amtrak service into Indio (!!!)

Godfrey also said there are silent partners from the private sector who would pay for most of these improvements “who prefer to remain silent.” (!!!!) Yes, that’s a direct quote from the KESQ story.

Presently, Indio is served by four SunBus lines. Indio is the eastern terminal of Line 111, the backbone line of Coachella Valley. There are also three other bus lines: 80 and 90, loop routes with 30 minute service; and 91, a bus connecting with Thermal, Oasis and Mecca that runs every 70 minutes. One Amtrak Sunset Limited train passes through town three times a week, but stops in Palm Springs.

[tags]santa monica, big blue bus, bus stop[/tags]

Bus stop signage evolves, this time by Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus. The westbound Line 7/Super 7 stop at Pico Boulevard and Bundy Drive has three elements. At the top is the standard Big Blue Bus triangle stop sign. The bottom two rectangles are the map and schedules of the buses, found at busier stops. But what’s that large rectangle in the middle?

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[tags]los angeles, mta, big blue bus, mid-city, transit oriented development[/tags]

There’s going to be a useful mall around this useless transit center in Mid-City.
Credit: The Militant Angeleno

Pico and Pimpau boulevards may be more than just a place to unnecessarily transfer between Metro lines 30/31/330 and Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus lines 5, 7/Super 7 and 13.

The Los Angeles Times reports that construction is underway on a $70 million shopping center. Its anchor tenant is Lowe’s. The mall replaces land that has been blighted for decades. Immediately near Crackton was a Sears store, which shut down and became a failed hardware store. Another failed hardware store, Builders Emporium, was also at the site. Beyond that is a shopping center with a Ralphs and a swap meet that was once a prominent discount chain store.

Crackton has an interesting transit lineage. Before it became an agonizing and unnecessary transfer point between two bus services, Pico-Rimpau was an agonizing and unnecessary transfer point between the Los Angeles Railway P line and Santa Monica buses. The P was the last streetcar line to run in L.A. It shut down in 1963. A bus replaced the streetcar line, but Santa Monica did not pick up the remainder of Pico, so the transfer remains. For more on the history of Crackton, also known as Vineyard Junction, see the Militant Angeleno’s July 19 post, “Visiting … with the Militant Angeleno” and scroll down to the second item.

See also:

• Franklin Avenue: Embracing A Big-Box Home Improvement Store