MetroRiderLA

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.

Image courtesy of whalt via Flickr.

Although the presidential candidates don’t really have much to say when it comes to transit (you can check out Street Heat LA’s presidential round-up here), that doesn’t mean you can’t take transit to get the LAist’s Super Tuesday Celebration at Seven Grand in Downtown LA.

Starting at 7pm bloggers will congregate at the whiskey bar and discuss the presidential race and other issues facing our world today. Or they will just get wasted. The first 75 peeps who show up wearing their “I Voted” sticker will, unbelievably, receive a free drink! Sounds like a pretty good reason to vote, hell just Christmas Tree the ballot if you don’t care and grab some free booze (jk).

Seven Grand is located in the transit hub of Los Angeles meaning there’s no good reason to drive. Especially since drinking and driving is not only illegal, it’s dangerous as well. I know most of you bloggers are a bunch of pinko green libbed out Obama supporters anyways, so don’t let me catch you being hypocritical! In fact, MetroRiderLA will help you out with transit access info. See ya there!

Oh, yah: Sorry guys, Seven Grand is 21+. I know you’re legally allowed to vote and fight in wars, but you can’t have a sippy sip. Sowwy. And yes, we can blame the car-culture for this. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 held states hostage, like a dealer to a junkie, by withholding federal highway funds from states that did not enforce a minimum drinking age of 21. So although technically the drinking age is set by the states, it was actually coerced by the Feds! Go big gov! I often wonder why my fellow libertarians claim the car-culture offers freedom…

HOW TO GET THERE:

Seven Grand is located at 515 West 7th Street and is served by rail and bus. Click the above map for transit stops near Seven Grand from Public Routes. You can also check the Metro Trip Planner for the best route from your location.

From Metro:

Share your ideas for funding transit at the next live chat, noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23. Tell Metro Board Chair and Santa Monica City Council Member Pam O’Connor where you think the money should come from to pay for future transit projects and keep the system running. Should it be a half cent sales tax? Public/private partnerships? Parking fees? Toll roads? Or something entirely different? Talk to the Metro Board Chair live today by going to metro.net/chat.

South Park welcomes you this Sunday.

My neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles is called South Park. While South Park does have a great little park (Grand Hope Park), I think it really gets its name from the sheer amount of parking lots in the neighborhood. Of course as a MetroRider and an urban dweller, my opinion of parking lots is generally negative. Thus, I’m always happy when someone discovers a more interesting use for these otherwise lifeless expanses of concrete.

Phillip Dane, founder of the famous Melrose Trading Post, has done just such a thing with a massive parking lot sandwiched between Grand and Olive and just north of 8th Street on the far edge of South Park. This Sunday he is introducing the South Park Flea Market in the hopes of bringing the unique finds and bargains of the Melrose Trading Post to Downtown. Thanks to its Downtown location, this flea market is one of the most transit accessible yet.

I was so excited about the prospect of the flea market, I offered Phillip some free banner ads in MetroRider’s new Sponsor section on the sidebar. Unfortunately the South Park Flea Market website, in typical L.A. fashion, neglects to mention just how transit accessible the location is. Even the blog Angelenic noticed this missing element in its write up about the event. I took the liberty of adding the transit access to the banner ad (and to the end of this post), but I encourage you to contact Phillip yourself and let him know how important it is to include transit access information on the site.

On more shameless plug… occasional MetroRiderLA contributor and good friend, JustMyNipples, will have a booth at the flea market (you can also see his banner ad on the page… obviously sponsors will be freebies for the time being) selling all sorts of great records and handmade stuffed animals among other things.

So if you’re looking for something different to do this Sunday, hope on a bus or train and ride down to South Park and check out the new flea market.

Metro Access:

• Rail: Red, Purple, Blue Lines via 7th Metro Center
• Bus: 14, 27, 36, 38, 66, 70, 71, 76, 81, 96, 484, 485, 490
• Check out the Metro Trip Planner for specifics.

[tags]metro, los angeles, eastside, gold line, whittier, meetings[/tags]

Rendering of the Soto Station from Phase 1 of the Gold Line Eastside Extension. Courtesy of Metro.

Next up in the never ending flow of Metro expansion meetings comes the Eastside Transit Corrider Phase 2 Study Meetings. Try saying that five times fast. This time they’re looking into what’s next for the eastside, possibly a Gold Line extension from East L.A. to Whittier? As usual, you are encouraged to attend and let your opinion be heard.

The meetings are as follow:

• Thursday, November 8: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  Palm Park, 5703 Palm Avenue, Whittier
• Saturday, November 10: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  Senior Center at City Park, 115 South Taylor Avenue, Montebello
• Wednesday, November 14: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  Potrero Heights Elementary School, 8026 East Hill Drive, Rosemead
• Thursday, November 15: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  North Park Middle School/Cafeteria, 4450 Durfee Avenue, Pico Rivera

Those unable to attend the meetings may also submit their input by phone, fax, mail, or e-mail by contacting: Kimberly Yu, Project Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Mail Stop 99-22-02, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Phone: 213-922-7910, e-mail: yuki@metro.net Written comments may be submitted at the meeting or no later than November 30, 2007.

[tags]metro, los angeles, eastside, gold line, whittier, meetings[/tags]

Rendering of the Soto Station from Phase 1 of the Gold Line Eastside Extension. Courtesy of Metro.

Next up in the never ending flow of Metro expansion meetings comes the Eastside Transit Corrider Phase 2 Study Meetings. Try saying that five times fast. This time they’re looking into what’s next for the eastside, possibly a Gold Line extension from East L.A. to Whittier? As usual, you are encouraged to attend and let your opinion be heard.

The meetings are as follow:

• Thursday, November 8: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  Palm Park, 5703 Palm Avenue, Whittier
• Saturday, November 10: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  Senior Center at City Park, 115 South Taylor Avenue, Montebello
• Wednesday, November 14: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  Potrero Heights Elementary School, 8026 East Hill Drive, Rosemead
• Thursday, November 15: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  North Park Middle School/Cafeteria, 4450 Durfee Avenue, Pico Rivera

Those unable to attend the meetings may also submit their input by phone, fax, mail, or e-mail by contacting: Kimberly Yu, Project Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Mail Stop 99-22-02, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Phone: 213-922-7910, e-mail: yuki@metro.net Written comments may be submitted at the meeting or no later than November 30, 2007.