August « 2009 « The Transport Politic

Villaraigosa Campaigns for Westside Subway’s Completion in Ten Years

August 21st, 2009 |

Proposed 2036 completion date — without extension to Santa Monica — worries the Los Angeles mayor.

Last November, Los Angeles County voters agreed to increase sales taxes by a 1/2¢ with the passage of Measure R, which will fund new transit projects throughout the region. One of the primary benefits of the new revenue is the ability to fund the construction of a “subway to the sea,” which will extend the existing Red and Purple heavy rail lines to Santa Monica. But the large number of projects on the drawing board have slowed down this west side corridor significantly; partial completion, along

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Los Angeles Regional Connector Stirs Controversy in Little Tokyo

August 20th, 2009 |

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Project would link the city’s light rail lines, bypassing need for Red or Purple lines transfer.

Despite decades of plans to connect light rail lines through the city center, Los Angeles’ Blue and Gold lines remain about a mile and a half apart, forcing riders who want to get from South Los Angeles to Pasadena to transfer, using the heavy rail Red and Purple Lines. This double connection adds more than an hour to transit users’ weekly commutes and constitutes a serious disincentive to using public transportation on trips not bound for downtown. With the completion of the East L.A.

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The Transport Index 2009

August 19th, 2009 |

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» While a majority of Senate members voice their support for transportation spending, a significant minority may stand in the way of big advances.

In response to the President’s State of the Union Address in February, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) criticized the stimulus, arguing that it was “larded with wasteful spending.” He pointed to the $8 billion devoted to high-speed rail as a specifically unnecessary expenditure. It became clear at that moment that the road to an improved American transportation system would not be a straight shot. How will the members of the Senate react when they are forced

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Are Turnstiles Worth Their Cost?

August 17th, 2009 |

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As Los Angeles installs its first devices, their value is worth considering.

At four of Los Angeles’ subway stations, Metro has installed turnstiles at entrances in a demonstration project. The gates are intended to ward off fare evaders and enhance the safety of the system, and if they prove valuable, they will be installed elsewhere in the network. Putting in the devices will require a significant expenditure on the part of Metro, but with millions lost annually to non-paying riders on the relatively high-ridership system, the price is right, since the machines will last for decades and the transit agency will save

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