MetroRiderLA

Portland’s TriMet added its new Green Line to its light rail network. It opened Saturday.
Photo by Adron B. Hall / Transit Sleuth

It was never easier being green that this weekend. Two cities opened two new light rail lines — both of them happen to be their respective systems’ Green Lines — on the same day. Portland and Dallas both opened extensions this past weekend. And earlier in the summer, Seattle opened the first leg of its Link light rail line.

So when does L.A. get to join in on the party? For the Gold Line extension to East L.A., we don’t know. The construction is complete, but the line south of Union Station must first go through “stress tests,” then six weeks of simulated revenue service without passengers. We are already in September, and the chances are dwindling that the Gold Line extension may still open by the end of the year.

That’s not even the bad news. The bad news is for Expo Line riders. The line, already 50 weeks behind schedule, now will not open until 2011, the Los Angeles Times reports. Only part of it was because of the grade-crossing controversy near Foshay Middle School and Dorsey High. The other problems stem from sewer repair at La Brea Avenue and bridge work near National Boulevard and Ballona Creek.

It’ll be a long while before we could report on light rail parties like the ones in Portland and Dallas. Here’s selected blog coverage from Portland’s Green Line opening festivities:

• Seattle Transit Blog: Portland’s Green Line: The 5th [sic] line in the saga
• Transit Sleuth: The Green Line arrives in Portland
• The Transport Politic: Portland’s new light rail line is welcome news, but it’s not routed as it should be

And Dallas:

• Pegasus News: DART’s Green Line signals a new era for possibilities
• The Transport Politic: First phase of new Green Line expands service to south Dallas

They’ve finally done it.

My triumphant and exhausting return from Chicago yesterday morning was greeted with the new marvel of Metro—fare gates. Though second nature from the 1st and 3rd world it’s taken Los Angeles years to figure how to implement what would normally be an early step in the “we want a world class train system” process. Added to the years it took to finally employ TAP and we’re talking nearly a decade worth of failed planning, preparation, and implementation.

The fare gates in the dark and hastily taken image above are at the entrance to Union Station’s Metro Red/Purple Line. The girl in the photo is Elizabeth; the cop is Officer “Act a bit over dramatic and obnoxious to warrant the handling of a photo taking device all so I can look heroic to the girl who couldn’t care less she’s in the picture.” Thanks for signing off, Elizabeth, I couldn’t have had this grainy, barely recognizable photo without your laissez faire attitude towards free press.
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Another smaller Passport bus will run across Long Beach.
Photo by Fred Camino on Flickr‘s MetroRiderLA pool; used with a Creative Commons license

Long Beach Transit is planning service changes in February that include a third crosstown Passport route and realigning routes in downtown Long Beach.

Two community meetings will be held next week, and the formal public hearing will be held in late September. Next week’s meetings are 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at the First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave. It is about two blocks west and one block north of the Transit Mall. It’s served by all Long Beach Transit routes but 101/102/103, 131 and 171; Metro Blue Line and Express Line 577X; LADOT Line 142; and Torrance Transit Line 3. Also, for east Long Beach, there’s a meeting 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at the Whaley Park Community Center, 5620 Atherton Street. It is served by Long Beach Transit lines 91-96, 173 and Passport D. The official public hearing is from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in the Long Beach City Council chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. It is at the west end of the Transit Mall.

You can send comments by e-mail, by phone at (562) 489-8485, or by mail to:
Long Beach Transit
ATTN: Service Change
P.O. Box 731
Long Beach, CA 90801

The new routes can be seen in a PDF. The route descriptions are listed after the jump.

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Photos by Yours Truly. They can be seen on the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool.

The first of five scoping meetings for a Metro Purple Line westward extension kicked off Tuesday night with a small turnout of about 35 people that were mostly supportive in an area that had long been known as the subway’s hornets’ nest.

The meeting was held at the meeting hall of the Wilshire United Methodist Church in Windsor Square, and the reserved crowd could have passed for a church service — save for one speaker.

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Photos by Yours Truly. They can be seen on the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. The streetcar map illustrations are copyrighted but the conceptual maps are available in a 3-page PDF.

Los Angeles Streetcar Inc.‘s informational open house meeting Wednesday was well-attended, with roughly 75 to 100 people crammed into a small fifth floor meeting room at the exquisite Bradbury Building downtown.

Downtown council members Jan Perry and Jose Huizar both gave speeches and said they are working with all the city departments to help the process along. Also attending was Russell Brown, president of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, below left.

The meeting was a “thinking out loud” session, as the hosts stressed that there is no funding sources, no operations plan or any official commitment from either the city or L.A. Streetcar Inc. to hold to the project timeline. Despite this seeming like a daydream, the streetcar workshop was professional in its presentation material, above right, and the knowledge of the project’s leaders.

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A Santa Clarita Transit motorcoach used for commuter service.
Photos by Yours Truly. They can be seen on the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool.

First the good news. Getting to Santa Clarita conveniently no longer means relying on Metrolink. Starting Sunday, August 2, Santa Clarita Transit launches a new regional express line, 757, that runs between Newhall and Santa Clarita and the North Hollywood Red Line and Orange Line station.

Line 757 will run between the Valley and Santa Clarita every day, but service runs less than every 60 minutes outside of rush hours. During its first two weeks, the bus will be free. After that, a one-way fare is $2.50.

The bad news is that 757 came about because Santa Clarita Transit is canceling another Valley-to-Valley service: Line 8, which ran between Santa Clarita and Sylmar. Transit officials had said the route wasn’t eliminated because it wasn’t used; it said the grant that funded the line’s operations had expired. Local riders complained that they need bus connections in the North San Fernando Valley that 757 will miss. The new NoHo-SaCla bus also replaced two underused commuter lines that served Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks. Santa Clarita Transit figures riders can still get to where they’re going by transferring to the Orange Line.

Santa Clarita is also eliminating two Metrolink feeder buses and 747, a single mid-day trip between downtown L.A. and Santa Clarita.

If anyone is likely to ask, here’s the answer to the age-old question: No, 757 will not go directly to Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor. You ride to McBean Transit Center (outside Westfield Valencia Town Center) and transfer to Line 3 or 7 .