MetroRiderLA

• Gold Line continues its easterly expansion as construction begins on the Pico Aliso station.
• The free market and transportation: is it possible to privatize a socialized transportation system? Is it desirable?
• $300-million streetcar proposed to connect Metrolink station with downtown Santa Ana.
• Metrolink considering 7.5% fare increase in 2009.
• Down south, the new Sprinter nabs 13,000 riders on its first day, and an average of 7,000 people per day through the week.

Last week I asked you guys “What Should The Next Theme Be“? The people spoke, and the resounding answer was “the Gold Line”! Everyone’s favorite light rail line beat out the Blue Line by 7 votes, the Purple Line by 12, and the Green Line by 15. So, in response to popular demand, I introduce to you the MetroRiderLA Gold Line Theme! This one features a whopping 39 photos of the sights of and around the Gold Line taken by yours truly. I think the Gold Line offers some of the prettiest sights in all of L.A. - be it the majestic San Gabriel Mountains, the Main Street USA vibe of South Pasadena, or the architectural and artistic delights that each station has to offer. The Gold Line is L.A.’s best case for light rail, and this theme celebrates that fact.

Enjoy!

• Mega conservative Paul Weyrich has his pro-transit thoughts censored from Commission Study
• According to scientists, when waiting for the bus, it’s best to be lazy
• Gold Line extension from Pasadena snubbed by Metro (phew!)
• Viability of Metro turnstile plan questioned

This picture is not from today’s wreck, but one in 2007. Courtesy of waltarrrrr via Flickr.

Imagine, if you will, a traffic signal. Now imagine that the red light is lit. What do you do? You stop. Why? Because it means that cars are crossing in front of you and if you were to not heed the red light, your would be struck by the passing cars. Now imagine a traffic signal, lit red, with a gate in front of it physically blocking the intersection and bells clanging loudly. The point cannot be driven home any further.

Yet, time and time again it seems that people, from the same species that invented the traffic signal and the crossing gate and the cars and trains and city that they reside in, cannot for the life of them manage to comprehend these direct messages that clearly imply “do not cross”. And so they do cross, which invariably leads to them being hit by a Gold Line train or a Metrolink train.

Such incidents happened on this very day. According to CBS2. com, two people were taken to the hospital today after a 73- year old driver decided to ignore that which she’s had 73 years to learn, and drove under a lowered gate crossing arm only to be hit by the coming train. Luckily it seems no one was seriously injured, the driver and a train passenger were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, but her Lexus suffered major damage and the train suffered moderate damage. While we wish the driver a swift recovery, we do hope someone gives her a remedial lesson in the children’s game “red light, green light”.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune presents us with another tale of train vs. car, this time with a Metrolink slamming into a big-rig trailer that was conveniently backed through the crossing gates and onto the tracks. Only one of the 500 passengers on board the train was injured, and the train suffered minor damage. The trailer hit a nearby storage company resulting in damage to several of the storage units. In addition to taking out the crossing gate, the trailer also took out the traffic signals… but is seems that people don’t pay much attention to those things anyway.