Art of Transit:
Nice video and music by Ms. Maura & Lynz Floren (voice and guitar, respectively). More of their music is here.
Metro CEO on his plan to transform transportation in Los Angeles (KPCC AirTalk)
AirTalk host Larry Mantle interviews Phil Washington about Metro’s potential sales tax ballot measure with Phil also taking questions from readers. One interesting stat from Phil: 71 percent of the riders on the new Gold Line extension to Azusa are new riders. Click the link above to listen.
West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath also guests with Phil. She says that WeHo is hoping that a northern extension of the Crenshaw/LAX Line can be completed sooner than the plan’s date of the 2050s. Phil responds that it’s possible that the project could be phased and that Metro is looking at project acceleration scenarios. The Metro Board will vote on the draft spending plan and whether to take a sales tax increase to voters at their June 23 meeting.
Michael Weinstein might have diagnosed what’s wrong with L.A. But can he fix it? (LA Weekly)
The lede of this article by Hillel Aron is a jewel: the head of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation sits in his 21st story office in Hollywood complaining about the new big buildings rising nearby. The implication is clear: his tower was here first so it’s okay. New density? Not so much, says Weinstein, who suggests that the L.A. lifestyle is succumbing to planners who want L.A. to be more like New York.
The rest of this very smart and well constructed article looks at issues pertinent to transportation. Why is a the head of a healthcare nonprofit using that nonprofit to push a citywide ballot measure to slow big developments? And does he have a point that the new developments are putting the squeeze on affordable housing in some parts of the city?
Good story that isn’t afraid of the many shades of gray in urban planning issues. Read it.
Equity, saving lives and tasty pies: takeaway from meeting on Metro’s potential ballot measure (Investing in Place)
The meeting last week included more than 80 stakeholders, as well as officials from Metro who explained the draft spending plan released in March.
Investing in Place’s takeaway: 10 percent of the funding needs to be set aside for walking and biking (i.e. active transportation) and less for highway. The group also argues that economic equity is as important as geographic equity, meaning the plan shouldn’t just sprinkle projects around L.A. County but target those who need the most help getting around.
Chris Campbell: LA Metro should focus on millennials in expanding public transit (Daily Bruin)
Chris pretty much agrees with Investing in Place: millennials, he argues, want a fast and seamless transpo system with a lot of choices, including more walking and bike lane options. Such a system, he writes, will keep the millennial generation riding Metro for years to come.
Students react to possible tax hike for Metro (Daily Trojan)
A more accurate headline would have been “two students react to possible tax hike for Metro.” Neither reaction is entirely positive, btw, with one student saying the funds should be better used for “social change.” In my book, expanding transit is social change. Then again, it has been years since I went back to school.
Sky taxis are about to become a reality (CNN)
Rendering: skyTran.
For those who can’t get enough of monorails and pod cars. Looks like a system that might help people get around a small area or perhaps a So Cal shopping mall. Doesn’t look like a system that’s a substitute for high-capacity systems (such as a subway).
