MetroRiderLA

• The high price of gas has to be the fault of some greedy corporation or overzealous government, right?
• The United States is stuck in oil based stasis as the rest of the world moves on.
• Transit agencies face increased ridership and increased fuel costs.
• Planners transforming Sepulveda and Lincoln Boulevard in Westchester into pedestrian friendly thoroughfares.
• Starting in July, it may be a lot easier to catch a cab in Downtown and Hollywood.
• Questioning the solvency of the Gold Line in spite of increased ridership.

Image courtesy of igetrad.

• Los Angeles has a small carbon footprint compared to other American cities… with some caveats.
• Another day, another story about Americans trading in their car keys for bus passes because of rising gas prices.
• It’s not over until it’s under… City Beat looks at the Expo Line’s arduous battle.
• Libertarian think tank wants an end to long range transportation planning because it creates congestion.
• Airports across the country are creating rail links to ease mobility woes.
• ABC7 looks at a local phenomenon with national implications, Angelenos giving up their cars for mass transit.

• Pasadena rules when it comes to smart growth planning.
• Transit advocates storm Sacramento looking for some respect, or at least money.
• Pam chat aftermath: O’Connor wants to end the free ride for low-emission vehicles.
• Metrolink is a bit overzealous when it comes to protecting its “brand”.
• The L.A. Underground as seen from the BBC.
• Pleasure in pain, high gas prices put smiles on the faces of environmentalists

Jeff Kenworthy, co-author of Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence and professor of Sustainable Cities at Curtin University (Australia), will be speaking tomorrow (Wed. April 30th) at noon in the Metro Board Room at One Gateway Plaza (the Taj Mahal).

This special talk is sponsored by the L.A. Eco-Village, CRSP Institute for Urban Ecovillages, Sierra Club, Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust, and So.CA.TA.

He’ll bring us up to date on all the latest research on rail in the major cities of North America, Australia, Europe and Asia comparing high, median and low rail cities with respect to a variety of quality of life issues, competitiveness with cars, comparative urban form, and economics. Lots of inspiring pictures on how to do things differently in Los Angeles. The presentation will help us see that urban rail systems are a critical element in building effective multi-modal public transport systems that create a ‘virtuous circle’ in public transport and compete more successfully with the car.

The talk also shows that cities that are more rail-oriented tend to develop better qualitative features of the urban environment such as more livable, attractive and congenial people-oriented public spaces.

This sounds like a very interesting event for those interested in urban planning, automobile dependency, and the future of rail in Los Angeles.

Elsewhere:

• The Ten Myths About Automobile Dependency by Peter Newman & Jeff Kenworthy [PDF]

• “God, deliver us from these high gas prices,” Twyman said.
• L.A. transit doesn’t have what it takes to attract wi-fi service providers.
• Take a look at the Coachella Express and its temporary platform in Indio.
• OMG this traffic totally sux! A native Valley Girl speaks out against L.A.’s car-culture.
• Diehard Metrolink riders just want some basic amenities.
• Plan transit with the future in mind to avoid the mistakes of the past.
• Is congestion pricing a gift to the rich?

Steve Boland is a Northern California based transit planner who spends a fair share of his time in our fine city. He runs the website San Francisco Cityscape, which used to be a blog, but is now a repository for beautiful high resolution desktop wallpapers of the Bay Area and even more beautiful high resolution transit maps. These are basically the best non-agency transit maps I’ve ever seen. They are simply stunning.

Steve’s most recent creation is a map of what he imagines to be a realistic portrayal of the Los Angeles rail system in 2030. Subway, light rail, high speed rail, and busways are all included in his fantastic map. He developed the map before the release of the 2008 Long Range Plan, but I think it seems pretty accurate. What’s more I think the design of a map is an improvement over the current Metro Rail map, because as Steve notes, simplified Tube-style maps make sense for complex systems but not so much for our rather sparse and spread out system.

What do you think?