As we think about California high-speed rail, it can be useful to look at other systems already out there in the world. If you’ve never been to Europe and taken their high-speed trains, check out this video.
The European Commission produced this mini Documentary (<13minutes) called High-speed lines. A journey through Europe, which they describe thusly:
“High-speed Lines” is a human-orientated documentary about the growing success of high-speed trains and its extending network throughout Europe. Listen to the stories of train passengers and train professionals: stories about speed, comfort, punctuality, new technology and environmental-friendly solutions. The continuously expanding network of high-speed trains is a key element to establish an efficient Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T). A whole new industry has been emerging which will give the economy, employment, competitiveness, technological development and further unification of Europe a tremendous boost.”
The San Fernando Valley Council of Governments is hosting a Valley Mobility Summit on Thursday at the Airtel Plaza Hotel at Van Nuys Airport. Click here to register. Tickets are very affordable.
Will the next owner of the Dodgers be more transit-friendly?
Here’s hoping the next owner of the Dodgers will be more transit friendly.
Frank McCourt was a parking tycoon. I hope the new owner is much transit-friendlier and pays for (or helps pay for) Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express shuttle, as a starting point. Currently, funding has had to come from Air Quality Management District funds and I strongly hope the new owner steps up to the plate in a more responsible way. Of course, the bus shuttles are an imperfect solution, and still more needs to be done. —David Murphy, President, Angelenos Against Gridlock
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Making the Metro Experience More Efficient: Little Behaviors Add Up
As a native Washingtonian, where the “stand on the right” code is much more deeply ingrained in the culture there — it’s an official Metro rule there — I’ll admit it does bug me that there’s not really much adherence to this idea here in Los Angeles. It’d be great to see signs or announcements here, to help make it a part of our local transit culture.
That has been the eternal plea — grumbled, spoken, yelled and otherwise communicated — of impatient Metro commuters stuck on escalators because tourists don’t realize that in big, important Washington, you stand to the right so all the Type A people can hurry past on the left.
For the first time in its history, Metro has started telling them.
“Hi. Welcome to Metro,” the station announcement begins. “We have a lot of escalators in our system. You’ll notice that most people stand on the right side. And while you’re riding, hold the handrail for your safety. Enjoy your trip, and thank you for riding Metro.”
That said, practically speaking, one area where Los Angeles actually has a big advantage over DC: the escalators actually work here.
On the topic of making riding the Metro more time-efficient and appealing to Type-A personalities and professionals in a hurry, I’d love to see announcements/signs telling boarding passengers to step back and let exiting passengers get off the train first. (Unless I’m forgetting, I don’t think I’ve heard reminders about this here in LA.) In Washington, the crowd waiting to board knows to part as the door opens (picture Moses parting the water — people make a path between them). In LA, it’s more a block the exit and slow down the process tradition, in my experience.
But in DC, there’s actually an announcement from the train (broadcast on speakers outside the car, too) every time the door opens:
Wouldn’t it be great to see both of these efficiency measures adopted here in LA, too?
—David
Photos: Santa Monica Bike Center - Opening Nov. 18
Exciting news: we hear that Santa Monica’s new Bike Center on the SW corner of 2nd and Colorado (215 Colorado), adjacent to the Santa Monica Place mall. We hear the Bike Center will open November 18. If you haven’t already been eagerly awaiting the Bike Center as we have, here’s a refresher on what the City of Santa Monica says to expect:
To promote the use of non-auto transportation, and bicycling in particular, the City is building a Bike Transit Center in its downtown core near the future terminus of the Exposition Light Rail Line. Consisting of facilities located in two Agency-owned parking structures (Parking Structure 7 at 320 Broadway and Parking Structure 8 at 215 Colorado). The Center is intended to provide secure bike parking and a variety of mobility services, including retail, bike repair, bike rental, attended bike parking, public information on alternative transportation, and additional related services. The Center will be operated by an independent contractor. Check out the Bike Center web site athttp://www.bikesm.com/
While construction is still going on, we snapped a few preview pictures. Santa Monica is doing a good job of putting wayfaring signs up around town — there are a couple signs near City Hall, for example. This Flickr slideshow aslso has some shots of Santa Monica’s traffic light bike sensors embedded in the streets, so bikers can trigger traffic lights to change, not just cars. (Gary Kavanagh, over at the Gary Rides Bikes blog has some comments pro & con about the specifics of the new street infrastructure.)
(The City website has some more preview pics of inside of the Bike Centers on their site.)
The main Bike Center at 2nd & Colorado will over these services:
Opening weekend, the hours will be 11 am - 5 pm, according to Santa Monica Spoke. According to the Bike and Park website, the eventual staffed hours there may be pretty generous — til 10 pm Mon-Thurs, midnight Friday and Saturday, and 8 pm Sundays. Self service parking (with membership) will be 24 hours.
A Satellite Location at 4th and Broadway will be 24/7 self service and will offer these options:
Here at Angelenos Against Gridlock, we’re big fans of Streetsblog Los Angeles. Editor Damien Newton works hard to provide inspiration and news coverage to the SoCal transportation community through his dedicated reporting. (He’s even been kind enough to offer some inspiration and advice to Angelenos Against Gridlock on the side—what a guy.) Damien has some interesting things in the works at Streetsblog LA to expand what they’ve been doing, too.
And that’s why we want YOU, dear reader, to buy a ticket today to Saturday’s fundraiser for Streetsblog — at the Brentwood home of the Joel Epstein, transit op-ed writer extraordinaire.
From editor Damien Newton’s invitation:
So, Please join Joel Epstein, Karen Sarachik, Damien Newton, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Friends 4 Expo Transit Founder Darrell Clarke and the Board of Los Angeles Streetsblog for a casual dinner reception in support of Los Angeles Streetsblog. The event begins at 6:30 at Joel and Karen’s house (I’ll send you the address and transportation instructions to those that RSVP). RSVP by emailing me: damien at streetsblog dot org.
Suggested contribution of $100 but even if you can’t donate or donate at that level, please attend to hear about the good work Los Angeles Streetsblog is doing to keep Angelenos abreast of critical developments in public transportation, biking and public space in Los Angeles.
Join Angelenos Against Gridlock in envisioning a future with a fully built out mass transit system, improvements in bike commuter infrastructure, fixes to gridlocked freeways and roads, and other solutions to Los Angeles' infamous and crippling traffic gridlock.
Here at Angelenos Against Gridlock, we’re big fans of 
