From LA times Blog: MTA puts off discussion of transportation, Measure R projects

Link: MTA puts off discussion of transportation, Measure R projects | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times

MTA puts off discussion of transportation, Measure R projects
4:27 PM | June 11, 2009

A decision on whether to adopt a $271-billion spending package that will shape the transportation future of Los Angeles County over the next 30 years was postponed today by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The agency’s board delayed a vote on its Long Range Transportation Plan until July 23 to give local governments and the public more time to study it and comment. Board members also wanted more time to resolve several issues, including whether timelines for projects could be accelerated.

The long-range plan includes scores of highway and transit projects that would be built using state and federal money, as well as proceeds from county sales taxes for transportation such as Measure R.

The listed projects include the Westside subway, light rail lines, bus rapid transit systems and freeway improvements. Here's the report that board members considered today. A draft of the spending package will be available online at a later date.

-- Dan Weikel

From "I Will Ride" Blog: Covering Tomorrow’s Long Range Transportation Plan Workshop (and a Preview of the Unexpected)

Link: Covering Tomorrow’s Long Range Transportation Plan Workshop (and a Preview of the Unexpected) « I Will Ride Blog

Covering Tomorrow’s Long Range Transportation Plan Workshop (and a Preview of the Unexpected)
Posted by Albert

The third time may be the charm, as we’re finally headed for the Metro Board of Directors’ Special Meeting to discuss the Long Range Transportation Plan, which will outline how construction of the Foothill Extension will be funded. We had two previous false calls in the past few months about this elusive meeting (you didn’t hear about it because we removed all references to it – twice). It’s here and is set to take place at the usual Metro Board Room inside the MTA building at 1 PM tomorrow.

While we reported last week that the workshop was going to be a public comment and discussion forum for what projects should be included into the Long Range Transportation Plan, it turns out that may no longer be the only thing happening for that meeting. It is very possible that the board will vote to adopt the plan at the meeting, rather than listen to public comment tomorrow and vote on the plan June 25th.

The problem is that none of the information was made public until late Wednesday afternoon, when Metro posted the staff report on its website here.

For San Gabriel Valley residents, it is important to remember what’s at stake in the plan. Metro has allocated $743 million for the Foothill Extension — $10.3 million in the coming fiscal year that begins July 1, which Metro approved last month. The allocation is larger than what Measure R afforded but it does not account for getting the line open to Azusa in 2013. Metro still needs to fund the operation of the line. That’s a fight for another day.

If you can make the meeting, that would be great, but because Metro was coy about the plan and potential of a vote we understand if you can’t attend. Of course, for those not attending, we’ll be covering the meeting live on our Twitter feed @iwillride. You can also

From Curbed LA: Gold Line Set to Flatten You in August?

Link: Curbed LA: Gold Line Set to Flatten You in August?

Gold Line Set to Flatten You in August?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009, by Dakota



Politicians and MTA officials came out yesterday to go over a safety walk-through at the Metro Gold Line Little Tokyo / Arts District Station, reports the Little Tokyo Blog, noting that the line is now set "for full operation sometime in August." That's the second mention of an August opening in 24 hours. Meanwhile, there is some concern that someone will be run over at this station, according to the Little Tokyo Blog. Fearmongering alert: "Upon walking up to the track crossing at the NE corner of 1st and Alameda, one is immediately struck at how "open" the crossing is, with little to keep a pedestrian from accidentally walking or falling over the tracks at an oncoming train...Many in the group were equally dismayed at the lack of barriers or gates to prevent an accident." Last month, similar complaints were made about this under-construction line and the Blue Line, and here's what Metro spokesman Rick Jager told an NBC reporter: "It's really been an evolving process over the last 20 years. We need a partner here and that partner is the public. They need to be aware that trains have the right of way and they need to stop, look and listen."

From LAist: Metro on the Gold Line Opening: Ignore the Rumors

Metro on the Gold Line Opening: Ignore the Rumors - LAist

Metro on the Gold Line Opening: Ignore the Rumors


It's been heard on the streets, but Metro says no date has officially been set. That's not to say August will end up being the opening date, as rumored, but there's no telling when it will really open, says Marc Littman of Metro in an e-mail: "Ignore the rumors. No official opening date has been announced and won’t be finalized and announced until we complete critical testing of tunnel ventilation and other safety systems and components. The PUC also must give us approval to begin revenue operations. We also need at least a month to do pre-revenue service so our operators and control staff become familiar with the alignment and the eight new stations. We’re still ahead of schedule, within budget and construction has achieved an unparalleled safety record - 4 million hours without a lost time work injury. So stay tuned. If all goes well, we should announce an opening date soon but, again, we need to go through the testing phase first."

By Zach Behrens in News on June 10, 2009 3:29 PM

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From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Our View: Gold Line is shovel ready

Link: Our View: Gold Line is shovel ready - SGVTribune.com

Our View: Gold Line is shovel ready

Posted: 06/10/2009 04:52:44 PM PDT

Once again, the Gold Line Foothill Extension faces a critical vote today to keep it on track toward crucial commuter service for the San Gabriel Valley.

In that vote, we urge the Metro board of directors to put the extension, or at least its phase 1 from East Pasadena to Azusa, into its Long Range Transportation Plan.

The efficient Gold Line staff has lined up public-private partnerships ready to begin the work by next spring. If we can help secure the long-promised financing to do so, the contracts can be let and service can be opened to the Azusa/Glendora stop, including service to Citrus College and Azusa Pacific College, by 2013, not by 2017, as the MTA's current plans are.

That's a huge time difference in reducing the 210 Freeway gridlock in our time.

In order for that to be accomplished, the Metro board should attach funding from the recently passed Measure R.

This is a classically shovel-ready project that can help relieve congestion and create jobs. And those jobs are not just on the tracks. A number of our cities have station-adjacent development projects hanging fire until the rail line is sure to come to town. Once the commitment is there, credit will loosen up and we'll witness a healthy boost of commerce and housing in the region as well.

We love and share the energy of the citizen Gold Liners who go to iwillride.org and post enthusiastic comments such as: "This would be so useful to those of us living in


the east end of L.A. County. My family travels often to Pasadena, and an extension would be immensely useful to us."

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who serves on the Metro board, recently told the paper, "I have to give credit to the San Gabriel Valley people who kept showing up to meetings to lobby for this."

Supporters can continue to show that enthusiasm by showing up at today's Metro meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Easy to get to the MTA headquarters, too - just take the Gold Line from Pasadena to those Union Station-adjacent offices.

Recently, Metro's Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved a motion by Antonovich to add $10 million in Measure R funding to the Foothill Extension's budget for Fiscal Year 2010. Now, we need to keep that momentum going. As Supervisor Gloria Molina asked Metro CEO Art Leahy: "Why would you allocate more money for (projects with) later start dates and less money for those that have earlier start dates?"

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Claremont City Councilman Sam Pedroza and San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership President Cynthia Kurtz have all testified recently in favor of funding the Gold Line.

Bogaard said: "The Foothill Extension is the only rail project in the county ready to go and it can provide an early success story for the new sales tax under Measure R."

The trains are ready to roll, and so are we, if the Metro board does the right thing for streamlining transit in Los Angeles County today.

From the Las Vegas Sun: Sen. Harry Reid supports conventional high-speed train over maglev train for Anaheim/Victorville, CA to Vegas line.

Link: Maglev train to press on without Reid - Las Vegas Sun

Maglev train to press on without Reid
Planners ‘moving ahead’ despite senator’s defection to rival project
Image

Tiffany Brown

Organizers of a maglev train system linking Las Vegas and Southern California say they are undeterred by the loss of Sen. Harry Reid’s support. From left are Neil Cummings, American Magline Group president; transportation consultant Kevin Coates; and Bruce Aguilera, chairman of a maglev train commission.

By Lisa Mascaro (contact)

Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (2 a.m.)

Washington — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to support construction of a conventional high-speed rail link to California is just a “bump in the road,” promoters of the rival maglev rail line said Tuesday. They vowed to push ahead on a proposal that has existed for years on, if anything, optimism.

Reid’s office disclosed Tuesday that he had thrown his support to the DesertXpress high-speed rail link between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif. For years, Reid had been a major supporter of a competing proposal to build a magnetic levitation train between Las Vegas and Anaheim.

The privately backed DesertXpress is just months away from seeking financing from Wall Street, its backers say. Reid’s support will help in that effort, and with attempts to gain federal funding and low-interest government loans to aid in construction.

According to DesertXpress estimates, the cost of linking Las Vegas to Victorville would be $4 billion, or one-third the cost of building a maglev line from Las Vegas to Anaheim.

The Obama administration has committed to invest an unprecedented $8 billion in high-speed rail nationwide as part of a federal economic recovery package. The guidelines for applying for money will be released next week.

Organizers of the maglev project are requesting $1.8 billion to build the first leg, a 40-mile path from Las Vegas to the state line at Primm, and to plan the rest of the route.

Bruce Aguilera, a casino executive of the Bellagio and chairman of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, told the Las Vegas Sun editorial board Tuesday that the maglev group will press forward, seeking support from allies in the White House.

“We’re moving ahead,” agreed Neil Cummings, president of the American Magline Group, the consortium that would build the line. He said backers would complete a required environmental review of the proposed link “and get it built.”

Cummings thinks the two projects can coexist. He said existing rights of way along the I-15 corridor to Southern California provide enough room for tracks for both trains.

The maglev train had been seen as such a front-runner that when Reid shepherded the recovery package through Congress this year, critics denounced the increased rail funds as pork for Nevada. They derisively called the maglev train Sin City Express.

But the DesertXpress project had been quietly gaining traction as a privately funded, lower-cost alternative. DesertXpress is backed by political mogul Sig Rogich, among the Republicans in Nevada who have announced their support for Reid’s reelection.

Aguilera said of Rogich, “He’s got clout. He’s got the ear of a lot of people. He’s been helpful for the DesertXpress, no doubt about it.

Aguilera said he understood Reid has been frustrated with the pace of progress on maglev, noting the senator is up for reelection next year. “He wants to get something done for Nevada and the voters.”

Neither project is ideal.

For all the allure of 300 mph maglev trains, the technology remains controversial among rail enthusiasts and is untried in this country.

Likewise, the main criticism of DesertXpress is its map: The train would run only as far as Victorville, a high-desert outpost more than an hour’s drive north of the Southern California basin.

Last year, Reid sought an independent assessment from the Government Accountability Office that compares systems the world over. A Reid spokesman said Tuesday that after “weighing the two, this is where he landed.”

The senator thinks DesertXpress is much closer to reality and he became less interested in the maglev project because of its heavy reliance on public funding, spokesman Jon Summers said.

DesertXpress has “made more progress in the last couple of years than maglev has made in the past 30,” Summers said. “He wants to see something done.”

Reid’s position was a shift from just last year, when he helped secure $45 million in federal funding for planning the maglev route — money that remains largely untouched because the maglev group has only recently secured necessary matching funds.

At that time, Reid scoffed at a private train whose route to Las Vegas would begin 85 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Reid questioned whether visitors would drive through L.A. traffic to take a train the last 200 miles to Vegas.

“If it’s going to be really done in a big way, a Las Vegas way, the magnetic levitation would be the way to do it,” Reid said at the time. “If we can get this done, it will be the showboat of the world.”

More recently, Reid had been agnostic on the technology, saying he supports whatever line can be completed first.

Tom Stone, an executive with DesertXpress, saw immediate value in the senator’s position.

“We’re pleased the project has gained momentum, no question,” Stone said.

Since the president signed the recovery bill into law in February, Reid has been in contact multiple times with President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about the importance of establishing a high-speed route between Las Vegas and Southern California.

Already, 10 high-speed rail corridors established during the Clinton administration are eligible for a portion of recovery money. These corridors connect major cities across the United States.

Reid has talked to both Obama and LaHood about establishing a Las Vegas-Southern California route as a corridor. The Transportation secretary has the authority under existing law to designate an 11th corridor.

Maglev supporters, who met recently with LaHood, have sought a corridor designation specifically for the Vegas-to-Anaheim route.

From WNYC Blog: BRT in L.A.: “The Valley’s New Shortcut”

Link: WNYC - WNYC News Blog » BRT in L.A.: “The Valley’s New Shortcut”

WNYC News Blog
BRT in L.A.: “The Valley’s New Shortcut”
By Andrea Bernstein
June 9, 2009



The orange bus rapid transit line in Los Angeles has been running since 2005. The BRT — as it’s called — runs 14 miles along the San Fernando Valley on abandoned train line. It imitates a train — with station stops, pre-paid boarding, and signal priority at red lights. This month, it will see its 25 millionth rider. Joyce Green and Richard Freelzin are two of them:

Green: “It’s much better than stressing about traffic on the freeway.”

Freelzin: “It’s easier than trying to spend $200-300 a month plus wear and tear on the car.”

But, despite slashing the route from well over an hour to about to 45 minutes, the orange line is still struggling to convince Angelenos to get out of their cars and onto mass transit. WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein spoke with Richard Hunt , who oversees buses for the L.A. MTA.

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From Streetsblog: City council shifts

Streetsblog Los Angeles » Council Tips Its Hand on Transit Priorities

Council Tips Its Hand on Transit Priorities

by Damien Newton on June 9, 2009

Sketch of the future Broadway after a streetcar arrives via Bringing Broadway Back.

In addition to discussing Measure R, tomorrow's L.A. City Council Transportation Committee also features a couple of motions that spell out the top priorities for the city's transportation planning in the 2010 Fiscal Year.

The three motions would move just over sixteen and a half million dollars from the city's general transportation funds to advance the Green Line Extension direct to LAX, the downtown Streetcar project for Broadway and pedestrian safety improvements for the Foshay Learning Center after the Expo Line is completed.

None of the new funds will result in project construction in the next fiscal year, but they could help insure that all of these projects move forward and could be part of changing the transit culture in Los Angeles. In the case of the Green Line Extension and the streetcar, the funds will be used for needed environmental and planning documents. For the pedestrian improvements around the Foshay Learning Center, the funds will pay for land acquisition needed to build a pedestrian bridge required by court orders. build a pedestrian tunnel and for other pedestrian improvements.

While it's not a surprise that these projects are moving forward, after all they've been talked to death at City Council hearings; it's always good news to see the city moving forward on transit funds. If there's any major changes to these motions, we'll be sure to let you know.

From LAist.com: Feds Give LA Millions in Transit Money

Link: Feds Give LA Millions in Transit Money - LAist

Feds Give LA Millions in Transit Money


If it hasn't already (photo taken in 2007), this bus stop at Jefferson and La Cienega could use some improvements | Photo by Fred Camino via Flickr

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that $400 million from the economic recovery package is headed to make capital investments in transit throughout California. It's not going to build us the Subway to the Sea or anything sexy like that, but is headed to more functional improvements, such as seen in the above photo:

* $1,030,644 to Metro for Bus Stations/Stops Improvements
* $225,085,056 to Metro to purchase replacement buses, perform bus overhaul, widen Red Line rail stations egress, replace fiber optic equipment for train stations, replace Metro Blue Line TPSS
* $8,185,197 to Metro for Traction Power Substation Replacements Along the Metro Blue Line
* $4,522,269 to the city of Torrance for the Purchase of 8 Replacement 40-foot Alternative-Fueled Buses

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By Zach Behrens in News on June 10, 2009 10:30 AM

From LA StreetBlog: Metro Board Plans Hearing Tomorrow on 2009 Long Range Plan

Link:  Streetsblog Los Angeles » Metro Board Plans Hearing Tomorrow on 2009 Long Range Plan

Metro Board Plans Hearing Tomorrow on 2009 Long Range Plan

by Damien Newton on June 10, 2009


Tomorrow, the Metro Board will have a special meeting at 1 P.M. to hear public feedback on the yet-to-be-released Long Range Transportation Plan. While it's true that the 2008 draft of the plan is available, a lot has happened since then. Let's take a quick walk down memory lane before tomorrow's meeting.

In February of 2008, ironically around the same time that the City of Los Angeles held hearings on the Bike Master Plan, Metro announced an innovative campaign to receive feedback and opinions on its upcoming Long Range Transportation Campaign, the Imagine Campaign. The message was for Angelenos to think big about what they wanted to see in the future of Los Angeles transportation. They advertised the campaign on billboards, on buses and even on the radio and accepted feedback in person at public meetings, on their website or even on the infrequently updated Imagine Blog. I have to admit that while I was impressed that they were thinking outside the box, I was also miffed that none of their promotional materials encouraged people to think about walking or cycling.

Nevertheless, the campaign helped produce a Draft Long Range Transportation Plan that seemed more about laying the groundwork for what would become known as Measure R than it was about laying out a firm vision for the future. The Draft 2008 LRTP, which is still the most recent draft available to the public and available here, spelled out two visions for LA County, one with new funding and one without.

When it was time for the Metro Board to vote on the plan, they were in the midst of the funding debates over how to allocate potential Measure R funds, should the voters pass the measure. Not wanting to alienate anyone, the Board voted to hold off on placing transit projects in any sort of tier system. However they did manage to pass an amendment to the 2001 LRTP that allowed them to apply for funds for their "Congestion Pricing that isn't in effect during rush hour" plan.

Then, Measure R passed and the project delivery time line was set for them. With cash in hand, the Metro Board now had the framework for its Long Range Transportation Plan. That was over six months ago, and we still don't have a finalized LRTP that the Board can vote on. Heck, the most recent draft plan on the website is still dated 2008 and hasn't been touched since Measure R has passed.

In April of this year, the Metro Board had a discussion of the LRTP on the agenda, but sadly it was discussing more amendments to the 2001 plan. Last month, the Board was stopped from changing its plan on how it was going to spend Measure R, apparently it's against the law to change a timetable approved by voters; but it still advanced various project time lines, including the Gold Line Foothill Extension, without a funding source identified to fund them. Apparently those sources will be identified before the LRTP is passed.

So what do we know for sure about the plan that Metro is holding a hearing on tomorrow? Well, the time line for Measure R projects is set. The 2010 budget is passed. There aren't proposed changes to bicycle or pedestrian funding despite the $40 billion in Measure R revenue and the lofty language in the draft LRTP. Of course, none of that information is compiled in one place as of yet, maybe they'll have a draft plan available at the hearing tomorrow?

Tomorrow's hearing on the now 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan is set to begin at 1 P.M. Metro Standard Time, meaning anytime between 1 P.M. and 1:30 P.M. Pacific, but given the warnings at last week's Metro Board meeting about being on time or not getting to submit public comments (which is also a violation of state law, but we'll save that for another time), I would get there early or on time.

I expect that tomorrow we're going to see contingents from the bicycling community join the "Metro Regulars" of the BRU, Transit Coalition, SoCATA, I Will Ride, Fix Expo and others. I'll actually be live tweeting the meeting for the first time tomorrow, so make sure to follow at twitter.com/lastreetsblog.

From LA subway blog: Metro Board meeting on Long Range Transportation Plan this Thursday

The LA Subway Blog: Metro Board meeting on Long Range Transportation Plan this Thursday

Juan and Sirinya talk about what happened on the way to the Subway to the Sea and other things

Metro Board meeting on Long Range Transportation Plan this Thursday
Monday, June 8, 2009

Thursday is a crucial step in making sure the Wilshire Subway is funded. Measure R provided the funds for additional transit projects like the Subway to UCLA. The Wilshire Subway is currently in second place on a long list of projects to be funded with Measure R funds. On Thursday, the board will finalize which projects make the cut, and how they are prioritized. Having Wilshire Subway supporters will help the politicians make the right decision - to fund the Wilshire Subway, which will have the maximum benefit not only for UCLA and the Westside but all of Los Angeles.

Join Bruins for Traffic Relief on Thursday at 1pm at the Metro Board Meeting adjacent to Union Station. You can take the bus or subway to Union Station. Check Metro's Trip Planner for instructions on how to get there on transit. Just remember that the subway will bring the trip time from Westwood to Union station to around 30 minutes, and enable you to take subway transit to go downtown, Hollywood, and many other places giving you a more holistic experience of Los Angeles and all the things it has to offer.

If you are a UCLA student, staff, faculty, or affiliate, please wear school colors to show your support.

From LA Times blog: Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas

Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times

Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas
5:48 PM | June 8, 2009

Lanowtrain

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader and an ardent supporter of high speed rail systems, said today he no longer favors construction of a maglev -- or magnetic levitation -- train between Anaheim and Las Vegas.

Instead, the Nevada Democrat said he now favors a conventional high speed train between Victorville and Las Vegas -- a privately funded venture that is farther along in the planning process and cheaper to build than the maglev proposal, which has been studied for almost three decades.

“I”ve been working on this for 30 years," Reid said. "We’ve gotten nowhere. Maglev projects have been abandoned around the world. It’s time to stop talking and start doing something.”

The proposed DesertXpress is a steel-wheeled train that would travel up to 150 mph along the heavily traveled I-15 corridor. It would provide an alternative to motorists who often drive more than six hours one way during weekends to reach Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area. The 183-mile system is estimated to cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion.

In contrast, the system proposed by the American Maglev Group, which would rely on government funding and bonds sold to investors, would run 270 miles and cost at least $12 billion to build. A first leg is planned for Las Vegas to Primm on the Nevada-California line.

Maglev technology uses magnetic force to propel trains on a cushion of air down a guideway at speeds of more than 300 mph.

Citing a recent Government Accountability Office study, Reid said he had lost confidence in the maglev project, which the report stated could cost up to $40 billion -- far more than originally estimated.

“Maglev is not a priority for me anymore,” Reid said. “We need to get people moving. The I-15 is not working.”

-- Dan Weikel

Photo: A prototype magnetically levitated train, or maglev, travels over a bridge at a test center in Tsuru in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in late 1997. Credit: Kyodo News via Associated Press

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Comments

Someone explain how this LA-Vegas Hi-greed...er...Hi-speed rail system is a benefit for California. 90+% of the traffic will be Californians heading to Vegas to gamble away their money. Aside from hotels and casinos what else does Vegas have to offer? Win-win for state of Nevada, Not So much for CA.

Posted by: Warren | June 08, 2009 at 10:10 PM

Yay! Now, spend another $2-4 billion of government money to build it to CAHSR system specs and drag the line to the CAHSR station in palmdale and you've got the ability to go from Irvine/LA/Bakersfield/Sacramento/San Francisco without switching trains.

Posted by: KinOfCain | June 08, 2009 at 06:02 PM

Update on Gold Line

From laist.com:
Gold Line Not Open Yet, but Sheriff's Ready to Ticket Drivers - LAist

Gold Line Not Open Yet, but Sheriff's Ready to Ticket Drivers


On a bridge

When the Orange Line opened in the Valley, there was crash after crash. So many, in fact, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa assigned traffic officers to major intersections during rush hour for a time.

Now, as test trains perform along the new Gold Line extension into East LA, Metro is warning that officers from the Sheriff's Department will be keep an extra careful eye out for motorist not following the new traffic patterns along the six-mile route. “These trains can’t stop on a dime," said Villaraigosa. "Look and listen. Pay attention to the signage and be safe.”

And as for its opening day, not yet, says Metro. "Following successful testing and pre-revenue service to familiarize Metro operators with the new service, the line will open but an opening date has not yet been determined," a statement reads.
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By Zach Behrens in News on June 5, 2009 3:30 PM

Dan Evans, LA times editor, uses buses to get to work.

From the Glendale New Press:
Link: Glendale News Press > Archives > Columns > START THE PRESSES:
It was a short, strange trip

START THE PRESSES:
It was a short, strange trip

By DAN EVANS
Published: Last Updated Sunday, June 7, 2009 8:19 PM PDT
I left my house a little past 7 a.m. last week, enjoying the air on my mile-and-a-half bicycle jaunt to the Burbank Metrolink station. I waved to an old man in a Miami Dolphins cap, apparently startled by a business-wear and briefcase-clad man whizzing by before breakfast.

Distracted and sleepy, I nearly rammed into a woman in a red Volvo yammering into her Bluetooth. Oops. Need to remember the helmet.

It is six miles by car from my front door to the office. This is an intense blessing in an era of 90-minute, teeth-gnashing, oh-dear-god-the-101-is-backed-up-again commutes.

On an average day, it takes me about 15 minutes to get from Burbank to Brand Boulevard, and about 20 minutes to get home. If traffic is heavy, it may take a half-hour. Excepting when I lived six blocks from the newspaper where I worked, this is the best commute I’ve ever had.

But, due to the curiosity and masochism that comes with being a journalist, I wanted to see how easy it would be to take public transit.

Both Burbank and Glendale have bus systems, and both cities have made a concerted effort to attract riders. In addition, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority has literally hundreds of bus and subways lines. It’s a dead certainty that some combination of the three will take me where I need to go.

So I started my research. Transit schedules and bus maps cluttered my desk at work, mixed in with the letters, story pitches, freelancer invoices and empty coffee cups that form the detritus of my daily life.

Bus schedules are nearly impossible for the uninitiated, and I went cross-eyed trying to figure it all out. After a bit, I determined two ways to get from my home in Burbank to the world headquarters of the Burbank Leader and Glendale News-Press: One solely utilizes the Glendale Beeline, while the other uses an MTA bus.

There is a way to get between Glendale and Burbank using Metrolink. However, as it costs more than three times as much as any other method — $8.25 for a round-trip — I did not seriously consider it. Additionally, as the Burbank bus does not go into Glendale, I could not use it as part of the experiment.

 

The Glendale Beeline — Bikes, Buses and Blisters

Cost: $1 one way; $2 round trip

Travel time: 62 minutes

Total mileage via public transit: 3.5 miles

Mileage by foot/bike: 2.7

Ouch. I guess business wear isn’t the best for treks down Burbank and Glendale streets. By the time I got to the office, I had biked or walked nearly as far as I had traveled by bus. My choice of footwear was poor, I’ll admit, as office-type shoes are nearly guaranteed to cause blisters after about a mile.

I left my house at 7:15 a.m., jumping on my bike for a pleasant mile-and-a-half jaunt down Victory Boulevard. I got to the Burbank Metrolink station about 10 minutes later, in plenty of time to catch the 7:35 a.m. Glendale Beeline. The line I took, Route 12, waits for passengers from the Metrolink 104 train to arrive before taking off. That train is supposed to arrive at 7:30 a.m., but if it’s late, the Beeline waits.

The day I took it, however, Metrolink was on time, and the Beeline took off on schedule. The Beeline is free with a Metrolink pass. Since I biked to the station, however, I had to pay the $1 fare. The bus dropped me off at San Fernando and Broadway at 7:50 a.m., and it took me 27 minutes to walk the 1.2 miles to the office.

Though this line is convenient for Metrolink users who work along the San Fernando corridor, it’s not especially practical for anyone else.

 

MTA Bus 183 — Going Metro

Cost: $1.25 one way; $2.50 round trip

Travel time: 45 minutes

Total mileage via public transit: 8.1 miles

Mileage by foot/bike: 0.5 miles

This is the winner by quite a bit. The nearest bus stop is less than a 10-minute walk from my front door, and drops me off two blocks from the office. The bus is comfortable and not especially crowded. Amazingly, the bus driver appeared to know all of her regulars by name, something that seems almost anachronistic in a county of 13 million souls.

Now, the downside: The bus runs only once an hour. For me, this means getting to work 15 minutes early or 45 minutes late. And, on the way home, it means sticking around for an additional hour if things run long. Also, the bus runs a weirdly circuitous route in the neighborhoods above Glenoaks Boulevard, adding 20 minutes to what would be a nearly perfect commute for me.

But of course, that’s the point. The bus route is for the public, not for me specifically. If you are willing — or required — to take public transit, you take that as part of the deal.

Looking at the routes of the three systems, it seems fairly clear that the MTA is for travel between cities, while the Glendale and Burbank systems are for intra-city travel. Because of this, I’m not surprised that the MTA turned out to be the best for me.

However, two problems will continue to plague all bus systems: time and convenience. The fastest method I could take via public transit takes three times as long as it would by car. And, since I’m driving only six miles, it’s hard to see how I’m saving much in the way of gas and wear on my car by not driving.

I would love to take public transit more, but right now it seems like it’s still too much to give up. It may make more sense, and certainly fewer blisters, to just take my bike to work. I’ll let you know how that works out.

Former FRA Chief Urges High-Speed Push for Rail Plan

From The Journal of Commerce Online:

Former FRA Chief Urges High-Speed Push for Rail Plan | Journal of Commerce

Former FRA Chief Urges High-Speed Push for Rail Plan
By John D. Boyd | Jun 5, 2009 11:41AM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

Freight must figure in high-speed rail initiatives, Carmichael says

The United States should quickly begin building high-speed rail systems for both passenger and freight systems, says a former head of the Federal Railroad Administration.

Gilbert E. Carmichael, who was the FRA administrator under President George H.W. Bush and is now founding chairman of the University of Denver’s Intermodal Transportation Institute, said states should take advantage of President Obama’s offer of $14 billion in startup funds.

He said HSR can be a major advance over the biggest public works project of the 20th Century, building the Interstate Highway System. Carmichael said that built a huge transportation system for cars and trucks and linked them with airports.

But he dubbed that massive road system as “Interstate 1” and said Obama’s plan "is a logical and necessary next step forward” to a high-technology version, what Carmichael calls “Interstate 2.0.”

If done right, he said it can produce much higher average speeds for both Amtrak passenger service and intermodal container-hauling trains, drawing more freight and people off highways and saving large amounts of fuel. Carmichael said the system can also be electrified in coming decades for much greater fuel savings.

He made the remarks at the university’s National Transportation Infrastructure & Regulatory Policy Forum.

Carmichael called for Congress to approve large railroads’ request for a 25 percent tax credit applied to new capacity “to encourage them to upgrade and double- and triple-track their main lines to increase speeds and double (their) freight capacity.”

States, he said, should build or lease high-speed track on their highway rights of way “to run new, modern, intermodal freight and passenger trains. These high-speed tracks should be grade separated just as were the interstate highways” so that lanes are kept separate for different types of surface traffic.

He also said equipping those trains with up to date locator and safety technology can make the rail system safer, while taking significant amounts of traffic off roads “will cut highway fatalities at least 50 percent and drastically reduce the wear and tear and cost of maintaining the highways.”

Carmichael also thinks the administration is taking steps that can move the country toward rail electrification for freight systems as well as passenger lines. True high-speed trains that travel perhaps 200 mph need to be electrified, and to the extent they operate in freight rail corridors the power could be shared with freight trains on nearby tracks.

He earlier told Journal of Commerce that Obama’s plans to upgrade the energy grid and develop more alternative energy sources and greener transportation systems all fit with the HSR plans, and could help move the diesel-power freight railroads toward electric systems.

Some railroad officials have begun to explore the potential as well. For more on this, see: “Special Report: Electrifying Freight Rail”

Contact John Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.