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Post by masonite on Jun 4, 2016 7:16:23 GMT -8
Actually, Expo Line has got slower. Culver City was 28 minutes (accounting for one minute for stop-and-proceed when it was the interim terminus), and now, it's 30 minutes. So, it has got 2 minutes slower. The Blue Line cut five minutes along Washington Blvd. with signal synchronization some years ago. I don't know where the slowing was on the Pasadena Gold Line originally (something about inadequate substations for power?), but it's fast now, a reliable 20 minutes from Union Station to Del Mar (my station). People used to really complain about the Marmion Way area, but by the time I first rode the Gold Line years after it opened I didn't think it was all that slow. I do believe they were able to move this section along a little quicker. On the Blue Line the Long Beach section seems to be the real slow part. I know Long Beach was talking about improving signals here. I just don't think anything has come of it at least yet.
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Post by bzzzt on Jun 4, 2016 12:52:51 GMT -8
People used to really complain about the Marmion Way area, but by the time I first rode the Gold Line years after it opened I didn't think it was all that slow. I do believe they were able to move this section along a little quicker. When it first opened, the train moved along on Marmion Way at 5 mph, maybe slower. I remember thinking I could walk faster than the train. They did get it moving at a tolerable speed a bit later, as you say. It's time for Garcetti to show some backbone and do whatever it takes to get Expo full signal priority. It's a ROW similar to the Gold Line in the SGV (crossings by major streets every so often) and it's no problem there.
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Post by davebowman on Jun 7, 2016 14:12:11 GMT -8
I originally thought I would try taking the Expo Line for a month or so before I decided to give up my USC parking pass, but after a week I realized that the benefits (less stress, being able to read or do a crossword puzzle on the way to work, drastically lower car maintenance costs, getting more exercise walking to the stations) far outweighed the extra 20 minutes or so it takes me to get to work. And I've found the morning train from Bergamot Station to Expo Park/USC has generally taken about 30 minutes.
Anyways, after 2 1/2 weeks of taking the Expo Line my one complaint is that the Olympic Blvd./26th St. intersection I have to cross to get to and from Bergamot Station is not very pedestrian friendly. One can feel very exposed standing on that little triangle on the NE corner of the intersection, the traffic light cycle can be very long before there is a Walk signal, the right turn lane for WB Olympic Blvd traffic has poor visibility because of construction fencing, and sometimes for some reason there never is a Walk signal. Today I waited for at least five minutes without getting a Walk signal and missed a train because of it.
So my question is, was there ever consideration of putting a pedestrian bridge over the Olympic Blvd./26th Street intersection, and would it still be possible to do it now? I'm all fired up to write the Santa Monica City Council about this, but before I do I'd like to know if this is a realistic proposal. Thanks.
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Post by masonite on Jun 7, 2016 14:39:51 GMT -8
I originally thought I would try taking the Expo Line for a month or so before I decided to give up my USC parking pass, but after a week I realized that the benefits (less stress, being able to read or do a crossword puzzle on the way to work, drastically lower car maintenance costs, getting more exercise walking to the stations) far outweighed the extra 20 minutes or so it takes me to get to work. And I've found the morning train from Bergamot Station to Expo Park/USC has generally taken about 30 minutes. Anyways, after 2 1/2 weeks of taking the Expo Line my one complaint is that the Olympic Blvd./26th St. intersection I have to cross to get to and from Bergamot Station is not very pedestrian friendly. One can feel very exposed standing on that little triangle on the NE corner of the intersection, the traffic light cycle can be very long before there is a Walk signal, the right turn lane for WB Olympic Blvd traffic has poor visibility because of construction fencing, and sometimes for some reason there never is a Walk signal. Today I waited for at least five minutes without getting a Walk signal and missed a train because of it. So my question is, was there ever consideration of putting a pedestrian bridge over the Olympic Blvd./26th Street intersection, and would it still be possible to do it now? I'm all fired up to write the Santa Monica City Council about this, but before I do I'd like to know if this is a realistic proposal. Thanks. At least in Santa Monica, they are pretty concerned with bike and pedestrian access and not such a bureaucracy. In LA this would go absolutely no where and while a pedestrian bridge is very expensive and probably not realistic, my guess is that SM would at least entertain some type of improvements even if very minor.
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Post by fissure on Jun 10, 2016 8:45:20 GMT -8
A bridge is overkill; they really just need to add a crosswalk on the fourth side of the intersection. A scramble crossing could maybe make sense, but the cycle is already quite long without adding yet another phase.
I don't think Olympic will ever be pedestrian-friendly, but 26th should never have been widened as much as it has been. One lane each direction like it is north of Colorado seems like it would be plenty.
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Post by bzcat on Jun 10, 2016 15:55:54 GMT -8
If I lived in Santa Monica, I would actually show up to the city council meeting and speak at the open forum so your comments can be lodged on record. SM city council meetings are in the evenings after work hours so it is easy to attend (unlike the LA city council meeting...)
There are definitely things that SM can do to improve that intersection short of a pedestrian bridge, which is generally the wrong thing to do anyway if you want to improve pedestrian access. For example, they can eliminate the right turn lane from Olympic west bound to 26th street north bound and use that space to widen the sidewalk. And as already mentioned... add the 4th crosswalk on the west side of Olympic.
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 20, 2016 19:48:13 GMT -8
Expo Line Phase 1&2 OCS tie-in has failed in less than a year. Wires are down on the eastbound tracks at Culver City Station. Trains are single-tracking through Palms and Culver City. Stay away from the eastbound tracks at the Culver City Station.
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Post by johanragle on Jul 25, 2016 8:39:58 GMT -8
Ah, so that's what happened. I heard the announcements Friday but the details were rather lacking.
What do you think happened? Rush job?
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Post by darrell on Jul 25, 2016 14:30:41 GMT -8
Ah, so that's what happened. I heard the announcements Friday but the details were rather lacking. What do you think happened? Rush job? I also saw OCS work being done a little east of Culver City station on the eastbound track around 2 PM last Thursday, requiring single-tracking between Culver City and La Cienega. Don't know if it was related to the other repairs or independent, but was obviously on older OCS.
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