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Post by darrell on Apr 14, 2016 8:17:28 GMT -8
Beautiful - thanks !! And it shows how far digital photography has come.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 18, 2016 15:27:53 GMT -8
There's a fairly balanced article out about why the Expo Line to Santa Monica could be faster featuring Gokhan [ LA Weekly] Spoilers: LADOT aversion to preempt traffic lights for trains It would seem that LA Weekly has given up on its character assassination of LA County Metro, or they got a new editor who isn't a fan of anti-transit hit pieces, whatever the case, good for us all.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 18, 2016 16:34:24 GMT -8
LADOT is not being truthful on signal preemption. They told the reporter that expensive and difficult-to-implement gates would be needed. This is not the case and Santa Monica has signal preemption on Colorado Avenue without gates. All they have to do is to extend the green cycle when a train is approaching.
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Apr 18, 2016 19:41:21 GMT -8
I was under the impression that the City of Santa Monica had signal preemption on Colorado but then I witnessed trains routinely stopping for the light at 4th and 5th street to allow traffic to pass.
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Post by masonite on Apr 18, 2016 20:13:18 GMT -8
There's a fairly balanced article out about why the Expo Line to Santa Monica could be faster featuring Gokhan [ LA Weekly] Spoilers: LADOT aversion to preempt traffic lights for trains It would seem that LA Weekly has given up on its character assassination of LA County Metro, or they got a new editor who isn't a fan of anti-transit hit pieces, whatever the case, good for us all. I'd like to see somebody more senior than an engineer at LADOT comment on this. Say somebody like Mike Bonin, Eric Garcetti or Seleta Reynolds. Otherwise an interesting article from LA Weekly. Last time I went Downtown on Expo, the train sat for a full 7 minutes just before the Washington junction. Trip took 37 minutes from Culver City during rush hour.
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Post by joshuanickel on Apr 18, 2016 20:24:25 GMT -8
I was under the impression that the City of Santa Monica had signal preemption on Colorado but then I witnessed trains routinely stopping for the light at 4th and 5th street to allow traffic to pass. The agreement was set up so that there is signal preemption between 17th and Lincoln. Between Lincoln and the station, it gives the option of signal preemption or signal priority depending on what is needed to maintain 5 minute headways. Here is the agreement: Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority for operation of a light rail transit system within the City of Santa MonicaThere is signal preemption along a majority of Colorado. There are a few spots where you do sometimes get a red light, such as 7th street going west before the crossover. 5th street going west is also another place, though even if you had a green light, you have to slow to 10 mph anyways to pull into the station. Today I was driving along 14th Street going northbound and had to stop at a red light at Colorado. There was one car ahead of me. We got a green light to proceed north and then the LED train sign started flashing. The car ahead of me was the only one to be able to get through before the light changed red again and the train came speeding pass going west towards the 4th street station. So, the signal preemption is working, there are just a few outliers.
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Post by RMoses on Apr 19, 2016 10:00:59 GMT -8
The signal preemption is contributing to traffic congestion on Lincoln northbound and during peak evenings will be impacting the freeway off ramp from the 10.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 19, 2016 13:08:02 GMT -8
The signal preemption is contributing to traffic congestion on Lincoln northbound and during peak evenings will be impacting the freeway off ramp from the 10. That's really hard to say because Lincoln Blvd has always had congested traffic.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 19, 2016 17:18:12 GMT -8
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 20, 2016 15:57:46 GMT -8
I signed and promoted the petition on my social media and email
One month left to go!
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 21, 2016 13:25:58 GMT -8
Petition has more than doubled since yesterday
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Post by fissure on Apr 21, 2016 20:06:46 GMT -8
Metro's media department really earned their pay for that video. Unlike some of their previous attempts.
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Post by mattapoisett on Apr 21, 2016 21:47:28 GMT -8
Metro's media department really earned their pay for that video. Unlike some of their previous attempts. Somehow I don't think you're in the Cursed4Candies Demographic
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Post by fissure on Apr 22, 2016 20:37:33 GMT -8
Metro's media department really earned their pay for that video. Unlike some of their previous attempts. Somehow I don't think you're in the Cursed4Candies Demographic Actually, I'm a big K-Pop fan. The song was just really awkwardly put together.
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Apr 26, 2016 13:09:31 GMT -8
Encapsulating a report from the local neighborhood association about an incident last night at the Westwood x-ing:
At about 6:30pm a crossing gate on the north-east side broke in the heavy winds and was blown to the south on top of the train wires over Westwood Blvd. A Sheriff and Metro employee were present and made calls to the contractor, etc. The Sheriff stopped traffic while the bells kept going for several minutes until they could get the trains stopped at Sepulveda and the Westwood station. More than an hour later, Skanska had still not arrived to take charge of the situation and take the arm down. All the others arms were by then in the up position as no trains were coming through.
As of this morning the broken arm has been removed, leaving 3 operational. They can continue to run trains, with only three crossing arms, but the trains have to make a ‘positive’ stop at Westwood in each direction. The bells have to continue to ring while the arms are down while the trains approach and stop at Westwood, much longer than usual. And the auto traffic has to wait longer till the arms are up again. It remains to be seen how long it will take them to replace this broken arm.
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Post by RMoses on Apr 26, 2016 16:03:45 GMT -8
Is Metro not going to be in charge of maintenance?
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Apr 26, 2016 19:57:57 GMT -8
I would imagine Metro is in charge of maintenance and its possible the report got that fact wrong. Since I wasn't there I just relayed the essentials of the story as they were e-mailed today. It sounded like a real mess for everyone caught on Westwood Blvd at the time. The prolonged ringing of the crossing bells until the situation is fixed is no picnic for the residents. Those things are loud and from what I understand no directional sound-shrouds have been installed on them yet!
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Post by RMoses on Apr 26, 2016 21:41:34 GMT -8
Was stopped at Barrington this evening, not sure of the speed but the 2 car train was really moving as it came off the Olympic overpass and through the crossing.
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Post by bobdavis on Apr 27, 2016 14:57:37 GMT -8
I went to Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon (Apr. 24), hoping to catch some Expo action. All I found were some workers from Mass Electric east of 17th St. They had the line blocked, so there were no trains to be seen. A Metro rep at that location pointed out the yellow plastic blocks that had just been installed at the entrance to the private right of way. Seems they had already had three or four cases of careless or impaired motorists driving eastward and getting stuck on the tracks. Then I went to the new yard at Div. 14, where I got photos of the oldest and newest Metro cars, but none of them were moving out to the main line.
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Apr 27, 2016 15:40:41 GMT -8
That's a really tough intersection. Impaired and careless motorists perhaps, one can't let the drivers completely off the hook, but never-the-less the intersection isn't laid out very well and is easily misinterpreted depending on one's familiarity with it and the direction of one's approach.
I'm sure the yellow is a by-the-book, to-code color yet in the simplest terms yellow stands for caution and "proceed slowly" compated to the far more definitive red meaning danger and stop. It seems like they're still inviting trouble there.
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Post by RMoses on May 20, 2016 14:55:40 GMT -8
Small sample, but 20 minutes SM-CC, went NS from 4th St to 17th and 21 min CC-SM, held up crossing 5th St.
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Post by davebowman on May 23, 2016 8:49:56 GMT -8
I took mass transit to work today (USC) for the first time since I bought my first car 35 years ago. After years of anticipation and the bad publicity about how slow the Expo Line is I was wondering how many people would actually make the effort to take the Expo Line to get to work or school from the west side and Santa Monica, and the answer is--at least on this first morning--a lot. As I approached Bergamot Station I could see lots of people getting off the westbound trains and making their way north of Olympic to the office buildings in the Water Garden area, and it was strange to see so many pedestrians around the Olympic/26th Street intersection. As a woman on her cell phone passed me I could hear her say something to the effect that an underground train would be much faster. . .
After a long wait to cross Olympic on that little triangle on the NE corner of the intersection I made it to the station, and there were about 10-15 other people waiting for the train, so that was reassuring. The train came a few minutes later, about 7:57am, and there were plenty of seats. After I sat down I started a crossword puzzle, and when I looked up a few stops later the train was packed--standing room only. I think at some stops--Farmdale and further east--people were not able to get on and had to wait for the next train.
As I expected, the published timetable is a little too optimistic. The scheduled travel time between Bergamot Station and Expo/USC is 29 minutes, and I think the real time this morning was closer to 33-34.
Everyone seemed to be taking the packed trains in stride, but if the ridership stays at this level Metro will need to run longer trains more often ASAP. It will be interesting to see what the westbound trains will be like during rush hour this afternoon.
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Post by masonite on May 23, 2016 9:03:57 GMT -8
I took mass transit to work today (USC) for the first time since I bought my first car 35 years ago. After years of anticipation and the bad publicity about how slow the Expo Line is I was wondering how many people would actually make the effort to take the Expo Line to get to work or school from the west side and Santa Monica, and the answer is--at least on this first morning--a lot. As I approached Bergamot Station I could see lots of people getting off the westbound trains and making their way north of Olympic to the office buildings in the Water Garden area, and it was strange to see so many pedestrians around the Olympic/26th Street intersection. As a woman on her cell phone passed me I could hear her say something to the effect that an underground train would be much faster. . . After a long wait to cross Olympic on that little triangle on the NE corner of the intersection I made it to the station, and there were about 10-15 other people waiting for the train, so that was reassuring. The train came a few minutes later, about 7:57am, and there were plenty of seats. After I sat down I started a crossword puzzle, and when I looked up a few stops later the train was packed--standing room only. I think at some stops--Farmdale and further east--people were not able to get on and had to wait for the next train. As I expected, the published timetable is a little too optimistic. The scheduled travel time between Bergamot Station and Expo/USC is 29 minutes, and I think the real time this morning was closer to 33-34. Everyone seemed to be taking the packed trains in stride, but if the ridership stays at this level Metro will need to run longer trains more often ASAP. It will be interesting to see what the westbound trains will be like during rush hour this afternoon. Thanks for sharing. So this was just a 2 car train? The trains going Westbound in the morning seemed pretty packed too.
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Post by davebowman on May 23, 2016 10:31:42 GMT -8
I believe it was a two-car train.
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Post by masonite on May 23, 2016 10:45:33 GMT -8
I believe it was a two-car train. It looks like they are running some 2 car trains and some 3 car trains with the two car trains being really packed.
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Post by Gokhan on May 23, 2016 14:00:57 GMT -8
Phase 2 ridership already seems very high, perhaps close to Phase 1. There were more people coming from Phase 2 than the people who boarded along Phase 1. They seem to be running mostly three-car trains but some two-car trains as well.
So, don't be surprised if we reach 65,000 riders in less than a year.
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Post by bzcat on May 23, 2016 14:38:45 GMT -8
We gonna need that 5 minute headway sooner rather than later
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Post by Gokhan on May 23, 2016 15:06:16 GMT -8
Total number of cars needed on Expo Line
30 cars + 6 spares needed for 12-minute and 3-car trains 36 + 8 spares for 6-minute and 2-car 54 + 12 spares for 6-minute and 3-car
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Post by masonite on May 23, 2016 16:15:22 GMT -8
Total number of cars needed on Expo Line 30 cars + 6 spares needed for 12-minute and 3-car trains 36 + 8 spares for 6-minute and 2-car 54 + 12 spares for 6-minute and 3-car I have some doubts as to whether they can actually do 5-6 minute headways on both the Expo and the Blue Line until the Regional Connector opens. Seems like a lot of times, there are waits of several minutes at the Washington Junction or 23rd Street Station where the cause is train congestion at 7th/Metro and that is with Expo at 12 minute headways. Def. a question for a Metro Operations official.
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Post by Gokhan on May 23, 2016 23:20:13 GMT -8
I remember during the first week of the opening of Expo Line Phase 1, I would be the only person on the entire three-car train departing from the La Cienega Station and the driver would politely greet me.
What a difference Expo Line Phase 2 is. It's the first Monday and the stations are already quite busy. That's what you get when you have a line that goes "somewhere."
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