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Post by spokker on Dec 15, 2008 1:20:24 GMT -8
I would rather have public art then be advertised to. While I understand the additional funding advertising revenue generates benefits Metros bottom line I sometimes grow tired of the insertion of corporate advertising into so many aspects of my life. I dislike billboards that blight the urban landscape, but there's nothing down in the subway tunnels anyway. The ad doesn't bother me. I wouldn't like seeing those things between every station though.
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Post by jejozwik on Dec 15, 2008 11:36:03 GMT -8
very interesting site about proposed station locations and designs for the purple line / pink line extensions. good read for anyone interested in building design hope they include some of these concepts in the extensions Subway to the Sea Sudio Web Site
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Post by jejozwik on Jan 23, 2009 8:14:51 GMT -8
red line eir study approved metro
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Post by Justin Walker on Jan 23, 2009 14:25:09 GMT -8
red line eir study approved Correction: The Alternatives Analysis (AA) Study was approved. Now the DEIR study can start. (sigh)
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Post by jejozwik on Jan 23, 2009 14:51:21 GMT -8
yah thats what i ment...
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Post by whitmanlam on Jan 23, 2009 15:02:59 GMT -8
So, what are we looking at another 15 years to completion ??
At least they can build it out to Fairfax in the first segment, so I can shop at the Grove, and buy a deli sandwich.
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Post by Gokhan on Feb 14, 2012 21:50:03 GMT -8
Major Subway Delays at Union Station to Westlake/MacArthur Park Station
Rush-hour passengers are facing major 40-45 minute delays boarding subway trains at Union Station. A smoking/sparking switch at Union west interlocking was reported at approximately 4:01 p.m. The track was de-energized, causing a service disruption on the Metro Red Line to North Hollywood and the Metro Purple Line to Wilshire/Western. Trains were sharing single track between Union Station and Westlake/MacArthur Park Station, with two trains eastbound and two trains westbound. A bus bridge was established to shuttle passengers between Pershing Square Station to Union Station. Subway passengers connecting to Metrolink trains were advised to allow extra time or use Metro buses or LADOT Transit DASH B, D or Bunker Hill Shuttle. Repairs to the switch appeared to be complete at 4:59 p.m., but a test train triggered the errant switch again, sparking smoke at the Union west interlocking. Single tracking has resumed between Union Station and Westlake/MacArthur Park Station, causing 40-45 minute delays, east and west. All Wayside personnel are on scene trouble-shooting the problem.
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Post by matthewb on Mar 27, 2012 3:08:17 GMT -8
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Mar 27, 2012 8:19:57 GMT -8
I'm just flabbergasted this will cost $18 million!!!! To me, up to $3 million sounded reasonable.....but $18 million!!!! I would love to see a new portal open (every new portal is helpful), but I am shocked about how large of a financial impact this creates.
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 27, 2012 14:28:06 GMT -8
Well, nothing ever costs what you think it will. I likely won't be using this one very often, but it sounds like plenty of people will. Every new portal is a good one.
I'm still waiting for the Universal City tunnel. I'm a big fan of public/ private partnerships, but I have to admit Universal Studios seems to be an exception, and I can't figure out why.
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Post by Justin Walker on Mar 27, 2012 23:10:52 GMT -8
FYI, here's a diagram of the existing North Hollywood Red Line station. You can see the knockout panel on the west side of the north mezzanine that could be used to connect to the Orange Line: Also note the existing emergency exit from the north mezzanine (door on left wall)... ...to the surface (yellow/red panel at bottom of picture): Photo courtesy of LA Streetsblog.(The emergency exit in its present form certainly does not meet criteria for revenue passenger exits. It is unclear whether it could be modified and used instead of the adjacent knockout panel.)
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Post by Justin Walker on Mar 27, 2012 23:18:43 GMT -8
I'm still waiting for the Universal City tunnel. I'm a big fan of public/ private partnerships, but I have to admit Universal Studios seems to be an exception, and I can't figure out why. Sorry, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Metro is committing to the pedestrian bridge idea (which I intensely dislike).
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 28, 2012 11:38:55 GMT -8
I'm not opposed to pedestrian bridges in general, but it does seem like the wrong way to go when you're starting underground and headed to street level.
At North Hollywood, there's no entertainment conglomerate which Metro can negotiate with/ compromise with to help shoulder the cost. They have to pay the full cost.
It would be interesting to know if the emergency exit could be widened to make a portal — even if it would cost the same as the knockout panel. There are other emergency exits elsewhere which would make decent "stairs only" portals, if not full-size Metro-style portals. (Metro needs to learn how to make "stairs only" sidewalk entrances, especially as they head west on Wilshire.)
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Post by masonite on Mar 28, 2012 12:31:23 GMT -8
I'm not opposed to pedestrian bridges in general, but it does seem like the wrong way to go when you're starting underground and headed to street level. At North Hollywood, there's no entertainment conglomerate which Metro can negotiate with/ compromise with to help shoulder the cost. They have to pay the full cost. It would be interesting to know if the emergency exit could be widened to make a portal — even if it would cost the same as the knockout panel. There are other emergency exits elsewhere which would make decent "stairs only" portals, if not full-size Metro-style portals. (Metro needs to learn how to make "stairs only" sidewalk entrances, especially as they head west on Wilshire.) Stairs only is not ADA compliant.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Mar 28, 2012 12:38:33 GMT -8
Stairs only is not ADA compliant. ADA only requires one entrance to fulfill only handicap abilities, which Metro has met with at least one entrance portal at any station built. Any future entrances do not need escalators and/or elevators for handicap access; because at least one entrance already includes one. For reference, check out the existing stations in downtown or light rail stations and you'll see the elevator is only at one entrance; not both.
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 28, 2012 15:17:15 GMT -8
Exactly what I was thinking, LAofA. Just look around at any major commercial or retail development. I see lots of non-ADA entrances.
As long as there are enough ramps and elevators somewhere to provide wheelchair access to the ticket machines and platforms at all stations, ADA obviously doesn't require every single entrance to be compliant.
Metro Rail could use a few stairs-only sidewalk entrances. Maybe with smaller entrances we could have more of them.
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Post by masonite on Mar 28, 2012 17:26:04 GMT -8
Exactly what I was thinking, LAofA. Just look around at any major commercial or retail development. I see lots of non-ADA entrances. As long as there are enough ramps and elevators somewhere to provide wheelchair access to the ticket machines and platforms at all stations, ADA obviously doesn't require every single entrance to be compliant. Metro Rail could use a few stairs-only sidewalk entrances. Maybe with smaller entrances we could have more of them. I stand corrected on the ADA compliance. The portals are generally $25M or so from what Metro has said in the past. Maybe we could get down some with just stairs, but given the deepness of some of our stations, stairs could be a tough sell.
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Post by Justin Walker on Jul 11, 2012 21:31:32 GMT -8
FYI, the Orange Line portal project at North Hollywood is now moving swiftly, with preliminary engineering complete and the project out to bid. Construction will begin in fall and be complete by fall 2014. See more complete details in this presentation.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 15, 2012 21:32:29 GMT -8
NYT - Subway Line Meets an Obstruction: Beverly Hills High SchoolBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Subway to the Sea, a train that would tunnel more than 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean, has encountered no shortage of obstacles over the years: from how to pay for it to skepticism about a huge mass transit project in a region that once ripped out trolley car tracks to make way for automobiles. Beverly Hills has gone to court to block the proposed subway line from burrowing under a high school celebrated for its roster of famous graduates and its ZIP code. Beverly Hills contends that the tunnel poses a safety threat to students — the high school is built on a still-active oil field and is near an earthquake fault — and would interfere with the school district’s $3 million plan to renovate the campus. The dispute has stirred tensions between Beverly Hills school officials and Los Angeles transit advocates, bringing to the surface — unfairly, Beverly Hills residents said — old charges that the community, synonymous with wealth and privilege, does not want to open its borders to mass transit and the not-so-prosperous people who ride it. The city, residents point out, has not objected to two other stops near Beverly Hills, only the Century City stop, which requires a detour under the high school. The Subway to the Sea is the centerpiece of a campaign by Antonio R. Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles and a member of the transit authority, to expand mass transportation offerings in a region increasingly gripped by traffic congestion. “I don’t question the fact that there are some people who are very concerned,” Mr. Villaraigosa said in an interview. “What’s happening now unfortunately is you have a number of people who are creating a climate of fear among the residents of Beverly Hills. “Remember: Beverly Hills has a history of opposition to the subway,” Mr. Villaraigosa said. “I can’t tell you what their motivations are. They say they want it, but they don’t want it there.” [more in the link]
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Post by jdrcrasher on Jul 16, 2012 3:14:56 GMT -8
Yeah, it's true. I can't imagine what precedent it would set if the courts sided with BH. That's why i think they won't.
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Post by tonyw79sfv on Aug 1, 2012 22:21:18 GMT -8
Metro seems to be on a roll with improving pedestrian access to the San Fernando Valley Red Line stations; after presenting plans for the North Hollywood Station Red Line west portal access to the Orange Line in July, this month at the SFV Service Council meeting, they are presenting a plan for a bridge across Lankershim Blvd for the Universal City Station. The project is out to bid, no contractors have been selected yet; and the project is estimated to take 20 months to complete.
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Post by jamesinclair on Aug 1, 2012 23:14:14 GMT -8
Metro seems to be on a roll with improving pedestrian access to the San Fernando Valley Red Line stations; after presenting plans for the North Hollywood Station Red Line west portal access to the Orange Line in July, this month at the SFV Service Council meeting, they are presenting a plan for a bridge across Lankershim Blvd for the Universal City Station. The project is out to bid, no contractors have been selected yet; and the project is estimated to take 20 months to complete. Wait, a bridge? Thats idiotic. Youre underground. Build a tunnel. Metro wants people to go up to street level so they can go up again to cross the street? So much fail.
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Post by erict on Aug 2, 2012 5:51:50 GMT -8
Even more amazing is that the bridge costs the same as the tunnel would have cost, although it was years go.
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Post by gatewaygent on Aug 6, 2012 10:37:28 GMT -8
I'm confused. Is this bridge intended to connect the Red Line Universal City Station with Universal Studios or Universal City Walk?
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Post by bzcat on Aug 6, 2012 10:59:24 GMT -8
I'm confused. Is this bridge intended to connect the Red Line Universal City Station with Universal Studios or Universal City Walk? It's just a bridge over Lankershim Blvd so you don't have to wait at the red light to cross the street. The Studio and City Walk are still 1000 ft up the hill. Basically, this makes up (sort of) for the missing portal/exit that the station should have had on the east side of Lankershim.
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Post by gatewaygent on Aug 6, 2012 13:16:48 GMT -8
I'm confused. Is this bridge intended to connect the Red Line Universal City Station with Universal Studios or Universal City Walk? It's just a bridge over Lankershim Blvd so you don't have to wait at the red light to cross the street. The Studio and City Walk are still 1000 ft up the hill. Basically, this makes up (sort of) for the missing portal/exit that the station should have had on the east side of Lankershim. If I'm not mistaken, when the Red Line was in the planning stages, Metro had originally proposed building the portal in Universal, but they declined. Today, they have to go with a not-so-great alternative to make up for their blunder...that's what they get! This, along with the elimination of the Ventura Bl. extension of the Red Line, begins to paint a sad picture of the SFV and its many non-issue issues.
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Post by Elson on Aug 7, 2012 2:14:13 GMT -8
It's just a bridge over Lankershim Blvd so you don't have to wait at the red light to cross the street. The Studio and City Walk are still 1000 ft up the hill. Basically, this makes up (sort of) for the missing portal/exit that the station should have had on the east side of Lankershim. If I'm not mistaken, when the Red Line was in the planning stages, Metro had originally proposed building the portal in Universal, but they declined. Today, they have to go with a not-so-great alternative to make up for their blunder...that's what they get! This, along with the elimination of the Ventura Bl. extension of the Red Line, begins to paint a sad picture of the SFV and its many non-issue issues. Actually, after most of the plans were already made, Universal insisted that a portal be built on their side of Lankershim. Metro said, "Sure! You'll have to pay for it though..." then Universal was like, "No way!" Universal instead went on to spend their money on producing such fine cinematic gems like, McHale's Navy.
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Post by gatewaygent on Aug 7, 2012 14:49:03 GMT -8
Thank you Elson for that necessary piece of info. Why did Universal wait until after the plans were made to make that demand? Couldn't Universal have been a part of the planning process and have compelled Metro to build the portal organically into the plans? Otherwise it seems as though Universal came really late to the game or Metro went out of its way to try to exclude Universal.
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Post by bzcat on Aug 8, 2012 9:20:01 GMT -8
I'm sure Metro reached out to Universal's Government relations people during early scoping and planning but the studio executives back in the late 1980s probably decided not to participate. Unlike in NY (or London, Tokyo, Paris etc), the Corporate executives in LA don't commute by transit and they have no concept of what it means to have a rail station near their property. If you think this mentality has changed with time, guess again... Fox Studio is getting a subway stop soon but Fox has not participated in any planning for the Century City station. They actually sent an email to employees prohibiting them to send comments in support of subway with company letterhead during the DEIR comment period.
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Post by gatewaygent on Aug 8, 2012 11:22:30 GMT -8
It would be Fox, wouldn't it. I'm sure they also believe that all subway tunnels lead to the portal to hell and are amazed that no one has harvested the moon for its green cheese yet!
I'm not a Westsider, I'm a Gateway. But I do have it well understood that traffic in the Westside is beyond terrible, so why would Fox take such an inscrutable stance? Oh wait! Now I get it! Just like Universal waited until after the scoping and planning to request a portal near them, Fox is planning to follow suit by demanding that Metro build an extension from Century City Station to their studio. Brilliant! The plot twist: Fox offers to pay for it LOL!
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