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Post by simonla on Dec 30, 2011 13:40:45 GMT -8
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Post by Philip on Jan 22, 2012 12:51:19 GMT -8
I'm going to throw my two cents in here.
Considering the present pace of the construction and what remains to be done, I'm guessing an opening date of August 15, 2012.
I also think it's safe to say that any opening date before April is all but impossible now.
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Post by transitfan on Jan 23, 2012 7:47:51 GMT -8
Just as well that I cancelled my plans to come out to L. A. this April (I was coming for other reasons, but I was going to try to ride the Expo Line while I was there). Maybe I'll plan a trip for 2015 ;D
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Post by bobdavis on Jan 23, 2012 14:35:07 GMT -8
By 2015, not only should Expo Part One be running, but Metrolink service to Perris should be a reality, and you can probably come out to the San Gabriel Valley to watch construction of the Gold Line Foothill Extension (I'll even loan you a "sidewalk superintendant" hard hat and safety vest)
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Post by rajacobs on Jan 23, 2012 16:16:19 GMT -8
It really irks me that the Foothill Extension is doing such a great job of keeping the public informed of its progress and there is so little coming from Metro or the Expo Authority ... youtu.be/LmyUI0kS3Lw
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Post by James Fujita on Jan 24, 2012 15:31:08 GMT -8
I'm going to throw my two cents in here. Considering the present pace of the construction and what remains to be done, I'm guessing an opening date of August 15, 2012. I also think it's safe to say that any opening date before April is all but impossible now. I know progress has been slow, but I'm really hoping that it's up and running before August. We're not even into February yet... I've already been telling people my annual "take Metro Rail to AX" reminders and " Anime Expo Rail[/b]" has a nice ring to it
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Post by jamesinclair on Jan 27, 2012 0:49:30 GMT -8
Another month has come and gone!
The only remaining on-time guesses are
March 10 - RMoses April 1 - LAofAnaheim
Late guesses are penalized because obviously guessing later means more information is on hand. A late-winning guess will have an asterisk.
March 23 - roadtrainer* April 15 - Gokhan*
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Post by metrocenter on Jan 27, 2012 9:56:27 GMT -8
...and my guess was March 22. (Yes that's right, a Thursday. It could happen! ) ^ You mean my birthday, March 22, 201?!!! LOL
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Post by erict on Jan 27, 2012 13:43:21 GMT -8
March 29th is my guess.
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Post by bzcat on Feb 1, 2012 15:09:13 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 4, 2012 13:08:52 GMT -8
New guess: May 20 to Culver City
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Post by simonla on Mar 4, 2012 18:07:38 GMT -8
So Gokhan, you believe the junction will be fixed by May (or sooner)? Do you really think they actually know how to fix it and are simply using it as an excuse? Not being snarky, just trying to find out more of your rationale.
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Post by bobdavis on Mar 4, 2012 20:43:10 GMT -8
I went over to Culver city Friday night for a musical event and observed the lights on at the temporary terminal station (going by on Venice Blvd.). A good sign! I remember how elated I was back in 2002, seeing the lights on at the Gold Line Sierra Madre Villa station while coming home from Orange Empire.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 4, 2012 21:09:39 GMT -8
So Gokhan, you believe the junction will be fixed by May (or sooner)? Do you really think they actually know how to fix it and are simply using it as an excuse? Not being snarky, just trying to find out more of your rationale. Well, I am hoping that the junction will be fixed. I don't know why they are having so much problem with it. As far as I understand, it has to do with the equipment on the Blue Line trains -- a hardware problem. The Blue Line trains are sometimes not being picked up by the detection circuit apparently. They have two months to fix it until May. If only they had built the nonrevenue connector east of USC on the abandoned Santa Monica branch (Air Line) tracks... They could have used it both for the Expo and Blue Line trains until they fixed the junction. NIMBYs killed it unfortunately.
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Post by erict on Mar 5, 2012 6:56:29 GMT -8
I just hope we are not still having this conversation ( phase I opening) in December.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 5, 2012 8:26:02 GMT -8
I just hope we are not still having this conversation ( phase I opening) in December. Yes, any opening date after July would be as bad as opening in 2013.
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Post by jamesinclair on Mar 5, 2012 15:30:05 GMT -8
I just hope we are not still having this conversation ( phase I opening) in December. Yes, any opening date after July would be as bad as opening in 2013. Do you think Metro understands it though? They havent shown a hint of being able to understand that transit planning is a huge part of how people decide where to live and work. When does USC require their students and staff to finalize their parking pass plans? Thats the key date to hit.
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Post by davebowman on Mar 5, 2012 16:06:32 GMT -8
USC staff parking permits are renewed annually at the end of June, but I think if anyone decides to give theirs up after the Expo Line opens they could get a prorated refund and not have to wait until the following June. Students can buy monthly permits.
For USC students, I think the major impact of the Expo Line will be enabling students without cars who live on or near campus to travel to downtown, Culver City. Hollywood, and Universal City quickly and cheaply. USC has the highest enrollment of international students of any U.S. college, and I assume most of them don't have cars and are used to using mass transit. USC has become much more of a residential college in the last few years, and actually has a serious problem with bicyclists and skateboarders endangering pedestrians on-campus. There will probably be a major initiative to regulate bicycle traffic on campus announced in the coming months.
The Expo Line will be an enormous asset to USC, and extending the line to Santa Monica and completing the downtown connector will be crucial in establishing USC as a cultural destination in Los Angeles.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 5, 2012 16:09:05 GMT -8
Yes, any opening date after July would be as bad as opening in 2013. Do you think Metro understands it though? They havent shown a hint of being able to understand that transit planning is a huge part of how people decide where to live and work. When does USC require their students and staff to finalize their parking pass plans? Thats the key date to hit. I don't think there is a deadline. The problem is that people start coming back in August and that's when the orientations take place. The Fall-semester classes start on August 20. If the line is not already open in July, they will lose a lot of USC riders. I say July 29 is the latest this line should open for it to catch the ridership in 2012.
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Post by tobias087 on Mar 5, 2012 16:22:42 GMT -8
As a current USC student who is deciding whether or not to live downtown for next year, this is extremely irritating. On the one hand, I don't see how things could possibly delay the line any longer than this. On the other hand, we've all said that before, and as another member of this board, Justin Walker, can tell you, making housing decisions based on the Expo Line has certainly not worked in the past.
This line had better open in time for classes next fall. (Or more preferably, in time for band camp).
And I have to disagree with some of the posters above: depending on the dates, I'd gladly take a partial opening to La Cienega in time for next semester then a full opening to Culver City a month into the school year. Not that those are the actual dates, but not all of the ridership needs that last station, some of us will be well served without it, and the media already has enough to write about with this line being a boondoggle, one more thing isn't going to make a difference. Nobody remembers that the Blue line didn't open all the way, or that the Red line opened in phases, and nobody will care in a year that there was one less station for a month.
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Post by masonite on Mar 5, 2012 17:58:13 GMT -8
As a current USC student who is deciding whether or not to live downtown for next year, this is extremely irritating. On the one hand, I don't see how things could possibly delay the line any longer than this. On the other hand, we've all said that before, and as another member of this board, Justin Walker, can tell you, making housing decisions based on the Expo Line has certainly not worked in the past. This line had better open in time for classes next fall. (Or more preferably, in time for band camp). And I have to disagree with some of the posters above: depending on the dates, I'd gladly take a partial opening to La Cienega in time for next semester then a full opening to Culver City a month into the school year. Not that those are the actual dates, but not all of the ridership needs that last station, some of us will be well served without it, and the media already has enough to write about with this line being a boondoggle, one more thing isn't going to make a difference. Nobody remembers that the Blue line didn't open all the way, or that the Red line opened in phases, and nobody will care in a year that there was one less station for a month. Very true. While it is good news that Culver City may be ready by May or June, it would be foolish to wait for this station assuming everything else is ready to go. Culver City is only estimated to be ready for testing in a couple of weeks and possibly ready in May if everything goes perfectly, which certainly hasn't been the case with this project. Remember just a month or so ago, people on this board were saying they didn't expect Culver City to open until the Fall. If the line were actually open before this semester were over and people had a chance to use the line before making their decision about parking, ridership would be higher. People are less likely to not renew their parking for a line they haven't yet kicked the tires on. Also, if the line were somehow to open in April, some big events are happening that could attract some new riders (Festival of Books, Springsteen concerts at the Sports Arena where parking is a mess, USC graduation in early May, Ciclovia, NBA Playoffs). On an earlier post, I was defending Expo Authority, but based on the last call and what they disclose to the Board, I think a lot of criticism is in order. Every month they say substantial completion is expected in the current month, but never really get into the details as to what that entails and it has come back to bite them. On their update for Phase II, they really said nothing as to what is going on or why next to nothing is going on. It is a lot more informative to have Rick Thorpe explain things to the Transit Coalition Meeting if some real information is to be noted.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Mar 5, 2012 21:01:59 GMT -8
Until I see the truck with the rails finally move from its current position at the base of the Culver City structure, THEN I will believe Culver City station will be ready for train service in 2 weeks. That truck has been sitting there for months! Based on our latest reports from the Expo Authority, I wouldn't be surprised if Culver City station is still not in testing phase next month.
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Post by tonyw79sfv on Mar 5, 2012 21:32:05 GMT -8
Carmegeddon 2 may also provide exposure for the Expo Line in one way that other events don't (other than opening weekend) - system-wide free rides!
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Post by davebowman on Mar 6, 2012 10:14:11 GMT -8
The fall semester at USC begins on Monday, August 27. USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles, so if Phase 1 completion keeps getting delayed an initial opening of the Expo Line from 7th St./Metro to USC/Expo Park before the fall semester starts would probably be worthwhile by virtue of connecting USC to the rest of the Metro rail system.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 6, 2012 12:10:59 GMT -8
The fall semester at USC begins on Monday, August 27. USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles, so if Phase 1 completion keeps getting delayed an initial opening of the Expo Line from 7th St./Metro to USC/Expo Park before the fall semester starts would probably be worthwhile by virtue of connecting USC to the rest of the Metro rail system. I say if the line is not open well before the orientations, it will be too late. July 29 is the latest it should open.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 6, 2012 12:31:30 GMT -8
Until I see the truck with the rails finally move from its current position at the base of the Culver City structure, THEN I will believe Culver City station will be ready for train service in 2 weeks. That truck has been sitting there for months! Based on our latest reports from the Expo Authority, I wouldn't be surprised if Culver City station is still not in testing phase next month. I think you're being pessimistic. The truck sitting there doesn't mean anything. They have finished all the rails and OCS and hooked up the TPSS. There are probably only a few minor things left. I think March 15 is probably accurate within a few days. It's not a made-up date -- it was given by Rick Thorpe at the last board meeting. Where did you see that Expo Authority reported start of the train test being expected next month or later? You should listen to the audio I recorded.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Mar 6, 2012 15:17:52 GMT -8
I think you're being pessimistic. The truck sitting there doesn't mean anything. They have finished all the rails and OCS and hooked up the TPSS. There are probably only a few minor things left. I think March 15 is probably accurate within a few days. It's not a made-up date -- it was given by Rick Thorpe at the last board meeting. Where did you see that Expo Authority reported start of the train test being expected next month or later? You should listen to the audio I recorded. I swear we've been hearing "substantial completion" and "Culver City station should be ready by December 2011" nearly every month on the Expo Board meetings in 2011. Basically, as everybody is alluding to on this message board and elsewhere, the Expo Authority has not been honest with its timelines and delays. So I'm taking their statements with a grain of salt (do you guys remember summer 2011 updates when they said the Expo Line should be operational by November 2011 and Culver City station just until early 2012?). So until we see trains on March 15th...........I'm calling "BS" on the Expo Authority. Nearly all their deadlines they told us have kinda been lies. They should be more honest about the real expectations of Metro operations.
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Post by rajacobs on Mar 6, 2012 15:40:09 GMT -8
Expo Authority's communication with not only the public, but also with city officials has been inadequate and incomplete. I am guessing that Expo Authority management believes it's better to say less and not get themselves into trouble, but when I compare their communications to those of the Gold Line Foothills Extension Authority--I find the Foothil Ext. Authority better anticipates the public's questions and better manages the message.
When the Culver City mayor says Expo Authority's completion projection leaves him "embarrassed," it's crystal clear there's a communications problem. I can't understand why Rick Thorpe and his team are obsessed with saying as little as possible given the fiasco that non-communication of issues has created. Sometimes you just need to "risk" a different strategy when you see that the one you've been using has failed (miserably).
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 6, 2012 17:31:30 GMT -8
I think you're being pessimistic. The truck sitting there doesn't mean anything. They have finished all the rails and OCS and hooked up the TPSS. There are probably only a few minor things left. I think March 15 is probably accurate within a few days. It's not a made-up date -- it was given by Rick Thorpe at the last board meeting. Where did you see that Expo Authority reported start of the train test being expected next month or later? You should listen to the audio I recorded. I swear we've been hearing "substantial completion" and "Culver City station should be ready by December 2011" nearly every month on the Expo Board meetings in 2011. Basically, as everybody is alluding to on this message board and elsewhere, the Expo Authority has not been honest with its timelines and delays. So I'm taking their statements with a grain of salt (do you guys remember summer 2011 updates when they said the Expo Line should be operational by November 2011 and Culver City station just until early 2012?). So until we see trains on March 15th...........I'm calling "BS" on the Expo Authority. Nearly all their deadlines they told us have kinda been lies. They should be more honest about the real expectations of Metro operations. True but the situation is different now -- Culver City Station virtually complete (at least the train part) and the only problem is (was?) the fire alarm. The situation is much easier to judge now. I think train testing will start around March 15 but we will see.
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Post by ieko on Mar 9, 2012 13:01:48 GMT -8
April 15th, to La Cienega.
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