Contributed by
Fred Camino on June 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Image courtesy of machoroboraza.
Contributed by
tykejohnson on June 11th, 2008 at 1:23 am
It’s a rare occurrence to find a bus stop with a bench and rarer still to find one with a shelter so when one no longer exists the mourning is all the worse. Like losing a baby panda or white Bengal Tiger, the community can’t help but be taken aback by such a tragedy. First there’s the confusion, then there’s the depression and soon after the anger. Right now I’m currently in the anger phase.
Last week as I strolled to my bus stop I noticed yellow tape all over the place. Some people were hanging out dissecting in Spanish the reason and though I speak Spanish about as well as a first year student—I can name all things kitchen related—I didn’t need much to figure it out. The east end of the shelter was destuctibled and the old bus sign had been replaced
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Contributed by
aaron on June 8th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I’ll never understand LA. Not that it’s a bad thing - there’s a lot of things I’ll never understand, like why Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food is just that good. But really, some things just don’t make sense. The big “this makes no sense” in LA is the fact that people seem to forget that this is a major city. I’m sorry, guys, this ain’t Des Moines. With all apologies to Des Moines.
The LA Times this weekend had a couple of articles that you could only describe as “idiotic.” The best one: Letting Gridlock Loose on LA. Money quote:
During the hour-and-20-minute ride, she reads, sleeps or stares out the window, watching miles of motorists stuck on the freeway. Then, she becomes one of them.
At Union Station, Reliford heads for a parking lot where she has left a second car. She ventures onto the freeways for the final 15-mile, hourlong journey to Santa Monica, where she manages library services for MTV Networks.
My first response: What the fuck?! Why not take the BBB#10?! The fare would HAVE to be cheaper than keeping a second car at Union Station! I’m stunned!. And even if she’s going to respond “The #10 doesn’t run late,” well, the #720 runs until after your last Metrolink train, no matter what line you’re on!
My second response: Live closer to your job, for chrissakes!
My third response: This is the only city that I’ve lived in that is consistently opposed to economic development! Anywhere else would be happy to have more jobs, more opportunities, more revenue, a more prosperous city. But in LA, because people are obsessed with being able to drive their car at all times, at any speed, at no cost, we strangle our own economy.
It’s crazy and infuriating. Honestly, I sometimes think that SoCal voters are, on the whole, idiots. Between Proposition 13 and preventing money from being spent on subway construction, people seem to think they can have it all - they can have good jobs, a good economy, a major city with all of its benefits, and yet have no traffic and perpetually subsidized highways, all while refusing to tax themselves. Frankly, you get what you pay for, and SoCal, up until recently, has chosen to pay nothing - in response, we get nothing.
If you want to have a major urban city, be prepared to pay for it, to pay for transit improvements, to deal with non-stop construction, to deal with traffic, to pay to live closer to your job. On the other hand, if all of that annoys you, well, I hear Des Moines is nice
Contributed by
tykejohnson on June 5th, 2008 at 11:48 am
When it’s been 40 minutes do you hold your breath and go against all your low expectations of Metro to wait it out for that next Rapid? Or do you give in to failure and hop on the local? This question as old as time was posed this very morning while I fruitlessly waited on the often-maligned 714.
I only have to take this bus once a week but even that little bit gets under my skin. The true problem of the 714 lies in the fact that it only runs during “rush hour” which, according to Metro, stops at about 8:30am and 5:30pm. Now Metro may not say that but if one were to look at their “rush hour only” service they would see that the last busses during that period run much of their line well before rush hour is even close to being over. The 714 is no different. West bound or east bound, stops are past for the last time at 5:15pm and its no different in the morning. Busses are non existent after 8:45am and the only thing you can hope for is that the bus is running late, an insane proposition for fellow Metroriders but true all the same.
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