MetroRiderLA

Metro has officially launched the first phase of what it calls its “interactive video wall”, or Metro Interactive. Currently the site features various videos intended to “help customers and visitors more easily navigate Los Angeles”. It is also the new home of Metro Board Chair Pam O’Connor’s infamous online chats. Future plans for the site include: blogs, polls, user uploads, and live streaming video. Metro views Metro Interactive as “a tool to help us reach out to our customers”. Let’s see how phase one fares with this discerning customer.

First Impressions

Thankfully, Metro decided to go with a unique domain (or at least a subdomain) with Metro Interactive. Unlike Miss Traffic, which was hidden three directories deep in the Metro site, Metro Interactive can be reach by simply typing multimedia.metro.net into your web browser. Doing so will lead you to a site with the clean visual design that has been successfully standardized throughout Metro. Bold colors and imagery on a clean grid are complimented with the serious but friendly Scala Sans font. The header pays homage to the silhouettes of th now iconic iPod advertisements, portraying an image of a person holding a video camera. The site seems a little barren, with a sizable chunk of empty space in the top right corner, but keep in mind that this is the first-phase. Plus, less-is-more is always a good philosophy when it comes to design. One strange visual flaw is an unnecessarily low resolution Metro logo at the top of the page.

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In a stunning attempt to steal MetroRiderLA’s thunder as the coolest transit blog in town, East Coast transplant and Street Heat blogger Damien Newton has brought Streetsblog to Los Angeles.  Yes, Streetsblog LA is open and accepting comments.  Streetsblog has done an amazing job covering what they call the “streets renaissance” in New York City with daily coverage that is unmatched.  Here’s what Damien has to say about Streetsblog LA:

“Streetsblog seeks to cover the news about life on L.A.’s streets in a way that emphasizes that our roads are a public good, not a means to moving as many cars through a community as quickly as possible.  L.A.’s transportation planning has revolved around its car culture for decades, but now that a streets revolution is coming, Streetsblog will be here to chronicle it all.”

Sounds excellent. I say the more transit oriented blogs in L.A., the better.

Eric over at blogdowntown has posted the various models for the Downtown Connector, as well as readable images.

Most alternatives run at grade through Downtown on 2nd Street, with 2 and a half of them largely or entirely subway operations. Metro says that a full subway route would require losing the Little Tokyo station, which seems to be somewhat deleterious. The “compromise” plan seems to be Alternative #5, which would run underground until the last moment at Alameda Street. It’s not perfect, but speaking personally and not for this site, I have to say that #5 is the best alternative, although Alternative #6 appears to create a “compromise” station near Astronaut Onizuka, which may be a suitable replacement. That, and my paycheck will suffer severely due to easy access to Kinokuniya, but thankfully Metro isn’t my accountant.Either way, it sounds like a fairly big mess.

(hat tip to Eric Richardson - thanks for posting this information for those of us who were/are unable to attend the meetings.)

A screenshot of the Headway blog, your portal to transit’s future.

A blog I’ve recently come to discover and enjoy, thanks in part to a recent interview with our very own Wad about his work on SoCalTIP, is Joe Hughes’s Headway blog. In many ways Headway has a similar mission to MetroRiderLA: improving transit through individual action. Headway smartly recognizes that attempting to navigate the massive political and monetary roadblocks in order to improve transit can often be difficult and fruitless, but that passionate individuals have the power to bypass the political machine and facilitate their own improvements without the bureaucracy. With the proliferation of the web this philosophy is more relevant than ever. Headway references sites like Seattle Bus Monster, Train Check, and events like the Toronto Transit Camp as evidence of the D.I.Y. transit movement at work. Joe himself has been involved in the third-party game, working on sites like Google Transit and buskarma, in addition to Headway.

The blog itself has been around for a year on this day (Happy Blog Birthday!) and has logged in over 40 posts in that time. Google Maps mash-ups, GPS hacks, and iPhone hints are just a few of the topics Headway looks at. Headway also offers it’s own innovation, the Headway Wiki, a user editable index of transit agencies, cities, software, and third-party sites. As of today there were 81 third-party transit sites listed.

Headway has really created an inspirational resource for all those interested in fixing transit but who don’t feel like waiting 5, 10, 15, or more years for the agencies to make a difference. Check it out and see if you’re inspired.

Image courtesy of Fire Monkey Fish via Flickr.

Kymberleigh Richards, webmaster of San Fernando Valley Transit Insider and Metro Governance Council member, offers an open letter on her site to valley transit users regarding the proposed bus service cuts to many lines that serve the region. In the letter Kymberleigh proposes alternatives for Lines 96, 154, and 155 which include:

• Operate Line 96 only between downtown Los Angeles and Burbank Transportation Center. This service can reasonably operate hourly through the Griffith Park area. Realign Line 96 via Alameda Ave. – Main St. – Victory Blvd. – Olive Ave. to continue service to shopping center near the intersection of Alameda & Main.
• Line 96 portion between Burbank Transportation Center and Universal City Station operated as extension of Line 292.
• Line 96 portion between Universal City Station and Sherman Oaks operated as new Line 162.
• Line 154 portion between Burbank Transportation Center and North Hollywood Station operated as new Line 293, as a branch route of Line 292.

For the proposed cancellation of the midday route for Line 237, Kymberleigh offers these alternatives:

• Operate Line 237 only between Granada Hills and Woodley Orange Line Station.
• Interline Line 237 with Line 239 at Rinaldi/Balboa.
• New weekday peak-hour Line 159 operates portion of Line 239 eliminated by interlining, continuing connectivity between Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station and Cal State Northridge.

StreetHeatLA also has coverage of Kymberleigh’s comments at the hearing on Wednesday, calling her “one of the more pragmatic board members”.

Central/South Los Angeles

WHAT: Workshop for Central/South Los Angeles residents to provide input on bicycle policies facility improvements and other issues relating to the 2008 Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update.
WHERE: Expo Center Swim Stadium, Community Room
WHEN: Saturday, February 16, 10am - 12pm
HOW TO GET THERE:

Expo Center Swim Stadium is located at 3980 S. Menlo Ave and is served by bus. Click the above map for nearby transit stops from Public Routes. You can also check the Metro Trip Planner for the best route from your location.

West Los Angeles

WHAT: Workshop for West Los Angeles residents to provide input on bicycle policies facility improvements and other issues relating to the 2008 Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update.
WHERE: Felicia Mahood Multi Purpose Center
WHEN: Wednesday February 20, 6:30pm-8:30pm
HOW TO GET THERE:

Felicia Mahood Multi Purpose Center is located at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd. and is served by bus. Click the above map for nearby transit stops from Public Routes. You can also check the Metro Trip Planner for the best route from your location.

Valley Area

WHAT: Workshop for Valley Area residents to provide input on bicycle policies facility improvements and other issues relating to the 2008 Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update.
WHERE: Marvin Braude-San Fernando Constituent Services Center, Conference Room1B
WHEN: Wednesday February 27, 6:30pm-8:30pm
HOW TO GET THERE:

Marvin Braude-San Fernando Constituent Services Center is located at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd. and is served by bus. Click the above map for nearby transit stops from Public Routes. You can also check the Metro Trip Planner for the best route from your location.

Harbor Area

WHAT: Workshop for Harbor Area residents to provide input on bicycle policies facility improvements and other issues relating to the 2008 Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update.
WHERE: Banning’s Landing Community Center
WHEN: Saturday March 1, 10am-12pm
HOW TO GET THERE:

Banning’s Landing Community Center is located at 100 E. Water Street and is served by bus. Click the above map for nearby transit stops from Public Routes. You can also check the Metro Trip Planner for the best route from your location.