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Post by Gokhan on Nov 19, 2009 10:40:58 GMT -8
I've run into this in a blog:Why The Expo Line is Becoming A Major Pain in My AssNow see this is the kind of bullshit I do not appreciate… There’s a sign up on Crenshaw Boulevard at Exposition letting drivers know that the Shaw is going to be shut down at Exposition this Friday at 9 p.m. through Sunday for work on the Expo Line. A pain in the ass, but one that is manageable with advanced notice. Tonight, I leave the tennis courts as I normally do, make a U-turn head back to Crenshaw and bust a left only to find that Crenshaw is closed at Exposition Boulevard, forcing me to make a detour around Earlez Grill and back to Rodeo over to 12th Avenue. Look—we’re reasonable people. If you’re going to shut down the street on Tuesday night—then say that. Don’t put up a sign that says Friday through Sunday the street will be closed. All I am saying is that in a city that can’t manage to get most of its projects completed on time and within budget, we sure are bending over backwards on this Expo Line, including working around the clock, holidays and all to complete it. And still, day in and day out, I can count on one hand with all five fingers in tact the number of Blacks I’ve seen working on the Expo Line from La Brea Avenue down to USC. Oh and lest I forget to mention how I hate the way it just split our neighborhood in half in effect aiding and abetting the already out of control gentrification of my neighborhood. I’m just saying… The Court of Public Opinion (Comments)DeDeJonesNO WAY! Fight the power! Do NOT let them gentrify your hood!!! WTF??? BURN IT ALL DOWN, BABY!! BURN IT TO THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!! fireram03YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT OF BLACK PEOPLE WORKING ON THE LINE! I LIVE IN USC AREA 10YRS AGO WOULD NOT SEE A USC STUDENT GOING PAST KING BLVD NOW I SEE THEM LIVING ALL THE UP IN THE SLAUSON AREA! THEY GETTING BOLD ON US TRYING TO TAKE BACK THE AREAS THEY ABANDONED YEARS AGO!LMAO
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Post by rubbertoe on Nov 19, 2009 16:04:18 GMT -8
Bio: Based in Los Angeles, CA, Jasmyne A. Cannick is a well known and respected public policy and communications professional...
I think we can safely also add racist to her list of accomplishments.
RT
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 19, 2009 16:22:55 GMT -8
The racist comments in that blog are so openly outrageous indeed that it's shocking to many. It is now becoming clear that racism is a strong driving force behind the opposition to the Expo Line. It's also interesting that the two polarities in this opposition, Fix Expo and NFSR, have actually become allies for their true, hidden agenda. While these two groups normally strongly dislike each other, they are presently joining forces to protect their neighborhood from "others."
But the important thing is that both Fix Expo and NFSR only represent a small minority in their neighborhood, and most people in both South LA and the Westside are excitedly welcoming the Expo Line.
Let Fix Expo and NFSR live their lives with their miserable feeling toward the world and others. These disturbed people are a tiny minority in comparison to the vast majority of happy, tolerant people out there.
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Post by Jason Saunders on Nov 19, 2009 16:35:51 GMT -8
Bio: Based in Los Angeles, CA, Jasmyne A. Cannick is a well known and respected public policy and communications professional...I think we can safely also add racist to her list of accomplishments. RT I read some of her other blogs. Many of them have gramatical errors. I think the bio is just hype. This blog entry itself is not very "professional" using fowl language. The other commenters don't seem very "professional" either
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Post by spokker on Nov 19, 2009 20:47:23 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure the Expo Construction Authority did outreach in order to find qualified black applicants. Or is that wrong?
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 19, 2009 23:01:43 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure the Expo Construction Authority did outreach in order to find qualified black applicants. Or is that wrong? It's a pretty straight lie that there are no locals employed there. I see them everyday when I drive by. According to FFP's presentations, they've met or surpassed their 25 - 30% goal of local hiring. See the presentations I posted under Expo developments. Fix Expo's latest thing is that they are furious about the Green Line extension study not being given to South LA firms. Hello, the most qualified and lowest bid is selected!
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 3, 2009 17:20:41 GMT -8
For some reason CPUC has stalled on Farmdale. Perhaps they are waiting for the Phase 2 EIR to be certified on January 14, with the staff-recommended (and CPUC-OK'd) at-grade crossing at Overland. Here is the master link for all Expo CPUC information for Phase 1: docs.cpuc.ca.gov/proceedings/A0612005.htm
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Post by darrell on Dec 17, 2009 12:41:50 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 17, 2009 14:49:41 GMT -8
Nope, it doesn't omit. The master link has everything. You just need to click on Decisions at the top of the page or simply scroll down to the bottom. Anyway, we've already had more than enough with these three NIMBY groups! CPUC should approve all Farmdale options at once now!
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 29, 2009 11:28:47 GMT -8
BREAKING NEWSFarmdale Station confirmed by CPUC, official decision nearIt has now been confirmed by CPUC that there will be a station at Farmdale. In addition to the station, the same protection devices, pedestrian and auto gates, signals, queuing area etc., will be used. There will be near-side split platforms; so, the trains will come to a full stop before crossing the station. The station will operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Expo met with the Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon and announced that they have reached an agreement with LAUSD on the above station. The design rendering can be found in the summary of the meeting. As part of the agreement, Expo will purchase Expo Inn and tear it down a build a surface parking lot for Dorsey. (So, I was wrong about Expo Inn becoming the first hotel next to a Metro Rail station.) The next step is to file a joint motion by Expo and LAUSD on a settlement. If this motion is filed in a timely manner, there will be no further meetings. If not, there will be a prehearing conference and possibly an evidentiary hearing; although, this is only noted for technical purposes since its unlikely, given that the settlement has been reached. But, in any case, the final CPUC decision on Farmdale will be made no later than on July 1, 2011. (Again, this is only a technical deadline, and we will see an actual decision sometime in 2010.) See the revised scope and schedule for the CPUC process here. With all this said, we will also be kind and say good riddance to Fix Expo now. Thank God Phase 1 headaches are over now and the light-rail enemies are defeated. Phase 2 CPUC process will not be like this, as CPUC and Expo are both taking preventive measures. As usual, all CPUC Expo documents can be found at this master link: docs.cpuc.ca.gov/proceedings/A0612005.htm
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Post by masonite on Dec 29, 2009 11:57:04 GMT -8
BREAKING NEWSFarmdale Station confirmed by CPUC, official decision nearIt has now been confirmed by CPUC that there will be a station at Farmdale. In addition to the station, the same protection devices, pedestrian and auto gates, signals, queuing area etc., will be used. There will be near-side split platforms; so, the trains will come to a full stop before crossing the station. The station will operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Expo met with the Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon and announced that they have reached an agreement with LAUSD on the above station. The design rendering can be found in the summary of the meeting. As part of the agreement, Expo will purchase Expo Inn and tear it down a build a surface parking lot for Dorsey. (So, I was wrong about Expo Inn becoming the first hotel next to a Metro Rail station.) The next step is to file a joint motion by Expo and LAUSD on a settlement. If this motion is filed in a timely manner, there will be no further meetings. If not, there will be a prehearing conference and possibly an evidentiary hearing; although, this is only noted for technical purposes since its unlikely, given that the settlement has been reached. But, in any case, the final CPUC decision on Farmdale will be made no later than on July 1, 2011. (Again, this is only a technical deadline, and we will see an actual decision sometime in 2010.) See the revised scope and schedule for the CPUC process here. With all this said, we will also be kind and say good riddance to Fix Expo now. Thank God Phase 1 headaches are over now and the light-rail enemies are defeated. Phase 2 CPUC process will not be like this, as CPUC and Expo are both taking preventive measures. As usual, all CPUC Expo documents can be found at this master link: docs.cpuc.ca.gov/proceedings/A0612005.htm Thanks for the info. You are on top of this. It is good to resolve this, but I am still troubled that there is a stop here that will slow down the line for everyone. Hopefully, there will be an added benefit in that people will actually use this station. I probably would have preferred the pedestrian crossing, but I realize that it was more expensive and would have required maintenance to the elevators that the MTA didn't want to do.
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Post by spokker on Dec 29, 2009 12:31:12 GMT -8
Is a station actually justified there, or did they agree to it just to get Expo opponents to go away?
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 29, 2009 16:08:41 GMT -8
BREAKING NEWSFarmdale Station confirmed by CPUC, official decision nearIt has now been confirmed by CPUC that there will be a station at Farmdale. In addition to the station, the same protection devices, pedestrian and auto gates, signals, queuing area etc., will be used. There will be near-side split platforms; so, the trains will come to a full stop before crossing the station. The station will operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Expo met with the Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon and announced that they have reached an agreement with LAUSD on the above station. The design rendering can be found in the summary of the meeting. As part of the agreement, Expo will purchase Expo Inn and tear it down a build a surface parking lot for Dorsey. (So, I was wrong about Expo Inn becoming the first hotel next to a Metro Rail station.) They're building an additional parking lot for Dorsey high school? What's wrong with the parking they have now? And, now they'll have a station there to allow people to use alternative methods to get to campus. In addition, why are we building a parking lot that ENCOURAGES more people to walk across the track to their destination (Dorsey HS)? This is ludicrous....as hotels along the Expo Line would be a stronger benefit than more parking lots!! It's like we build rail for auto users and not pedestrians!!!
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adamv
Junior Member
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Post by adamv on Dec 29, 2009 17:30:36 GMT -8
They're building an additional parking lot for Dorsey high school? What's wrong with the parking they have now? And, now they'll have a station there to allow people to use alternative methods to get to campus. In addition, why are we building a parking lot that ENCOURAGES more people to walk across the track to their destination (Dorsey HS)? This is ludicrous....as hotels along the Expo Line would be a stronger benefit than more parking lots!! It's like we build rail for auto users and not pedestrians!!! The number of cars in Los Angeles is going suddenly drop because of the Expo Line. For example - I'm looking to see the Rose Parade Floats on New Years Day. I currently live at Washington and La Brea. I have a two year old and a pregnant wife. I'd rather take the Expo Line to the Gold Line (just go with me here, I know the DTC isn't done) and read to my daughter than drive all the way to Pasadena and find parking. Now - I can A) wait for an unknown amount of time for a bus or B) drive a little less than a mile to the La Brea stop, park on the street, and take the train in. Now, since there won't be a lot of parking at La Brea, I'd gladly drive to Farmdale. Same would go with a trip to Santa Monica when Phase 2 is done. I know it may seem wasteful - I should just take a bus, right? But I can bet you that the MTA is looking at a map and seeing it as an opportunity to put parking NEAR La Brea, since there's no parking AT La Brea.
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 29, 2009 17:52:52 GMT -8
Actually I think they later decided to build parking at La Brea as well but I might be wrong.
The acquisition of Expo Inn will cost around $5 million. It will be a big waste of taxpayers' money if the parking lot will only serve Dorsey High as proposed.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 29, 2009 20:21:11 GMT -8
The number of cars in Los Angeles is going suddenly drop because of the Expo Line. For example - I'm looking to see the Rose Parade Floats on New Years Day. I currently live at Washington and La Brea. I have a two year old and a pregnant wife. I'd rather take the Expo Line to the Gold Line (just go with me here, I know the DTC isn't done) and read to my daughter than drive all the way to Pasadena and find parking. Now - I can A) wait for an unknown amount of time for a bus or B) drive a little less than a mile to the La Brea stop, park on the street, and take the train in. Now, since there won't be a lot of parking at La Brea, I'd gladly drive to Farmdale. Same would go with a trip to Santa Monica when Phase 2 is done. I know it may seem wasteful - I should just take a bus, right? But I can bet you that the MTA is looking at a map and seeing it as an opportunity to put parking NEAR La Brea, since there's no parking AT La Brea. No it won't. You just provided an example of you still owning and using a car with the Expo line in existence. How does that help your arguement? You're just driving less...but you're not losing your car. Now, what's wrong the Expo Inn? People could stay at the hotel and walk across the street to the Farmdale station and train it to downtown LA or Santa Monica without needing a car. Now, that is absolute reduction of car ownership. Those vacationers will not require a car if staying at the Expo Inn (or a much less chance of it).
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Post by railman55 on Dec 29, 2009 21:02:35 GMT -8
" This is ludicrous....as hotels along the Expo Line would be a stronger benefit than more parking lots!! It's like we build rail for auto users and not pedestrians!!! "
Sorry LA of Anahiem but that Motel is not bennefiting this area nor will it benefit the expo line. Have you even seen the Expo Inn? I live blocks away and all it does is house drug dealers, crack heads and hookers. If anything it will benefit the community by tearing it down. I'd rather have the parking lot than that ugly motel right next to the school.
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Post by spokker on Dec 29, 2009 23:10:53 GMT -8
LAofAnaheim, it's better for the guy to keep his car and better for the community to have the Expo Inn torn down. Not everything has to be so extreme that we must get rid of cars at all costs. Reduction in driving is a good goal and no sane person wants to stay at that motel.
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Post by kenalpern on Dec 30, 2009 0:20:45 GMT -8
I think that ANYONE is expected to give up his/her car once the Expo Line is built, anymore than they'd be expected to give up his/her car once a new bicycle lane or bus route was established.
What's critical to remember is that the Westside has NO Metrolink, and that commuters who see this line as an alternative to the I-10 freeway will expect the Expo Line to do double duty of sorts.
This line is NOT just for pedestrians, or just for car commuters who want to avoid a painful freeway rush hour commute. It will help both groups of commuters as well as provide a potential new commercial corridor in the Mid-City and Westside.
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Post by Jason Saunders on Dec 30, 2009 0:21:32 GMT -8
BREAKING NEWSFarmdale Station confirmed by CPUC, official decision nearIt has now been confirmed by CPUC that there will be a station at Farmdale. In addition to the station, the same protection devices, pedestrian and auto gates, signals, queuing area etc., will be used. There will be near-side split platforms; so, the trains will come to a full stop before crossing the station. The station will operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Expo met with the Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon and announced that they have reached an agreement with LAUSD on the above station. The design rendering can be found in the summary of the meeting. As part of the agreement, Expo will purchase Expo Inn and tear it down a build a surface parking lot for Dorsey. (So, I was wrong about Expo Inn becoming the first hotel next to a Metro Rail station.) They're building an additional parking lot for Dorsey high school? What's wrong with the parking they have now? And, now they'll have a station there to allow people to use alternative methods to get to campus. In addition, why are we building a parking lot that ENCOURAGES more people to walk across the track to their destination (Dorsey HS)? This is ludicrous....as hotels along the Expo Line would be a stronger benefit than more parking lots!! It's like we build rail for auto users and not pedestrians!!! It's my understanding the motel rented rooms by the hour. The school very much wanted that motel across the street gone.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 30, 2009 0:44:00 GMT -8
It's my understanding the motel rented rooms by the hour. The school very much wanted that motel across the street gone. Ohhhhhhhhhhh, then tear that puppy down! Didn't realize what was actually going on... But, I still hope that we get a TOD in the long-run...
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 30, 2009 3:20:26 GMT -8
It's my understanding the motel rented rooms by the hour. The school very much wanted that motel across the street gone. Ohhhhhhhhhhh, then tear that puppy down! Didn't realize what was actually going on... But, I still hope that we get a TOD in the long-run... Or why not keep Expo Inn and call the Farmdale Station "Amsterdam Station." I've heard from someone that this area is full of such theme hotels, another nearby the La Brea Station. There is also a new strip club at the Venice/Robertson Station and another one near the Sepulveda Station. The neighbors almost started a riot against the building of the Venice/Robertson one. Dorsey opposition to Expo was nothing. They held meetings with 500+ people opposing the establishment. It still got built. But the owner had to trim a foot off the existing building so that it would meet the minimum-distance requirement from Hamilton High. LOL
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 30, 2009 3:22:03 GMT -8
Thinking about this, the station is the best outcome after Expo's CPUC Farmdale application was rejected.
While in hindsight a light-rail bridge at Farmdale from the beginning would cost less because Expo would avoid the legal fees and inflation, they had no way of knowing that. Once their application was rejected, if they closed Farmdale and built a pedestrian bridge, this would set a precedent so that we would never be able to build a light-rail crossing next to a school in the future. CPUC treats precedents as passages from the Bible. So, it's a blessing for light-rail that the pedestrian bridge didn't work out and at-grade light-rail next to schools still can be built.
While this will be the most expensive at-grade light-rail crossing in the world ever built (around $30 million including inflation, legal feels, Expo Inn acquisition, and the station) and it will probably be the station with the lowest ridership along the entire alignment, possibly hurting the overall ridership a little bit, it is still a huge blessing that an at-grade light-rail crossing is being built at Farmdale.
Again, in hindsight, Expo would build a light-rail bridge here. But, with no way of knowing that they would be slammed by an incompetent CPUC and awful obstructionists, they couldn't have done that. After the rejection of the application, it was well worth to spend $30 million to have the crossing still built at-grade and therefore keep the dream of light-rail alive.
Given the extremely complicated nature of the opposition problems, public agencies like LAUSD interfering, and the Phase 2 Overland crossing, where a light-rail bridge is not practicable because of severe visual impacts and an underpass is not practicable for a variety of reasons, including often-abused environmental-justice claims, and an at-grade solution there at Overland being the only way to go, Expo Authority scored big, big, big on this by building a gated crossing, and they deserve congratulations for winning this subtle political war. As a bonus now they have got CPUC on their side for Phase 2.
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Post by spokker on Dec 30, 2009 5:29:54 GMT -8
They really should have eliminated the USC/Expo Park station. It's less than half a mile from Vermont Ave. It's also a half-mile from Jefferson!
Now you're going to have Farmdale a half a mile from both La Brea and Crenshaw. Talk about slowdown.
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Post by kenalpern on Dec 30, 2009 6:50:05 GMT -8
I think that Gokhan and spokker both make good points, but this is a big win for the Expo Authority...and perhaps they should have just sat down with the LAUSD to figure this one out a long time ago. Not that the LAUSD would have been willing to talk, and perhaps everyone needed their learning curve to go up for a couple of years (so this money maybe had its role simply because it's tough to introduce rail to a neighborhood so new to it).
Still, I think that Dorsey-area residents will appreciate their new mobility, and I also believe that (this has NOT gotten a lot of talk, but I heard it from a community activist) the safety concerns of gangs and others who would have used the Farmdale shutdown as a way to trap and provoke students is something that played a role here.
A cynical side of me wonders whether this isn't ALL about Overland, and I think that the at-grade crossing was vital for the Authority to pursue...and frankly, having to maintain that pedestrian bridge elevator and bridge is something nice to not have to do. Certainly I would have originally pursued the rail bridge...but that's not being done now.
I'm hoping that the LAUSD sits down with the LADOT and Expo Authority to come up with a solution to please all with respect to student/pedestrian safety at Overland Elementary. Most folks drop off their kids at the surrounding residential streets, but overall the need to preserve the safety of elementary school kids is something that goes from the reasonable to the paranoid (if you think that safety concerns exist for high school students, ask yourself what the parents of kindergarteners feel).
...and as for the hotel and the strip clubs, I think they serve their roles...but outside town, far away from any schools. Just like the Nudes, Nudes, Nudes club being shut down will serve both transit and neighborhood enhancement purposes, the hotel being shut down near Dorsey is a double-win for the community.
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Post by metrocenter on Dec 30, 2009 9:09:36 GMT -8
I think having a Farmdale Station is ludicrous. The best anyone can say was that it was a necessary evil. With any luck, Expo will make this a skip stop during rush hour, similar to how the Trousdale Station will be skipped for certain runs. As a political group, Fix Expo is going to spin this as a victory. Their arguments were simply a means toward a political outcome. If they really believed their own arguments, they would be furious, because by their own standards: - We will still have at-grade rail (which is automatically racist, BTW)
- We will still have an at-grade crossing, 'endangering' the students who are unable to take care of their own safety.
- We will still have a racist 'holding pen'.
Expo has agreed to this because it ends the controversy. And, it provides the right kind of precedent for the Overland situation, as well. Also, the LAUSD got its chance to flex its political muscle, plus get rid of the crack/hooker hotel. So now, Fix Expo stands alone. If it wants to continue its fight, it will have to do so without the support of LAUSD.
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Post by metrocenter on Dec 30, 2009 9:24:56 GMT -8
The station will operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Trains won't be running all night, so I'm not sure how this is possible. And, now they'll have a station there to allow people to use alternative methods to get to campus. In addition, why are we building a parking lot that ENCOURAGES more people to walk across the track to their destination (Dorsey HS)? Unlike job centers, high schools tend to draw from the surrounding neighborhood (rather than from the region). So I don't think it's realistic to expect very many students to take Expo to school (unless they live immediately next to Crenshaw or La Brea station).
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Post by darrell on Dec 30, 2009 9:37:01 GMT -8
Adding to others' comments, the Dorsey station could be a major benefit for the public's feelings about their personal use of light rail.
When we were meeting with Dorsey parents and staff back around 2001 one of the things we heard was that a number of Dorsey students attend classes at Trade Tech (community) College. Dorsey doesn't have the number of Advanced Placement classes of some other high schools, but the college fills that void.
Now the Expo Line will provide a direct connection, both for those students to attend college classes and others to much more easily travel to L.A. destinations. I hope the school becomes proud of "its" station.
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 30, 2009 11:07:00 GMT -8
Well, metrocenter, you know what I mean. No train runs 24 hours a day here. But the point is that stopping the train at Farmdale for at least 10 seconds with the doors open regardless of the time of the day is part of the binding agreement with CPUC and it cannot be changed in the future, at least not easily. It's just like the binding CPUC agreement for the Gold Line Marmion Way section, where the trains must slow to a certain crawling speed, regardless. Therefore, they won't be able to skip the station after school, at least without going through a very difficult legal fight.
Trousdale Station is not a special-events stations, it will be 24/7 as well (or call it 20/7 if you like); although, this has nothing to do with CPUC. To answer spokker, this station, although awfully close to Vermont, is good from a ridership point of view since it will be the only station that stops at the gates of USC and Exposition Park. It was needed and well supported.
One station that should have been built but wasn't built was Arlington. This shows how important the community advocacy is. Without community advocacy like Friends 4 Expo, they will skip a station even at one of the most needed locations like Arlington (major bus route, lots of apartment buildings, last of senior citizens, lots of peds, far from other stations, etc., etc.).
Again, Farmdale Station is the best outcome from a legal and political point of view. A pedestrian bridge would prevent future light-rail crossings next to school.
When I told a friend of mine that we defeated the enemy, he told me that "NIMBYs are not dead just licking their wounds." LOL Let Fix Expo and NFSR lick their wounds. LOL If Fix Expo can portray defeat as victory, it's good for them!
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 30, 2009 11:47:51 GMT -8
Trousdale Station is not a special-events stations, it will be 24/7 as well (or call it 20/7 if you like); although, this has nothing to do with CPUC. To answer spokker, this station, although awfully close to Vermont, is good from a ridership point of view since it will be the only station that stops at the gates of USC and Exposition Park. It was needed and well supported. Trousdale will probably come out to be a very busy station..and spokker, this was a very critical addition to the Expo Line. Trousdale is the closest station to the center of the main campus and will be the main gateway when the Coliseum is used for USC games or special events at Exposition Park. Ridership at this station will surely bypass Vermont and Jefferson. As agreed with in the thread..I wish they had ridership by stations in order to prove this point in the future.....
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