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Post by tonyw79sfv on Apr 12, 2012 20:04:56 GMT -8
Not sure if this is already known, over at the tail end of the WS/C meeting, they mentioned that on opening weekend, Expo and Blue Lines would operate an inverted weekday rush hour schedule, with Expo Line every 6 minutes and Blue Line every 12 minutes. Makes sense and glad to hear it, but have they tested Expo at that frequency? I was over at Vermont/Expo yesterday afternoon gazing at the test trains and it looks to be adhering to the standard 12 minute weekday frequency. Opening weekend maybe the only time Expo will run more frequently; and I hope that doesn't send the wrong message to first time riders who would expect the same level of service when revenue runs begin. |
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Post by jamesinclair on Apr 12, 2012 23:32:40 GMT -8
The videos are quite bad. Not the quality, its great, but the amount of time the train is stopped waiting for a single or even no cars to go by.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 13, 2012 14:32:57 GMT -8
No one reminded me about the Expo board meeting last week and I forgot to record the audio. Next time, if you want to find out about the latest Expo developments, remind me.  |
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Post by bzcat on Apr 13, 2012 15:15:34 GMT -8
I'm wondering if the water soluble cables survived the rain today?
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Post by rubbertoe on Apr 14, 2012 5:37:29 GMT -8
Anybody know if the rain yesterday will delay the paving today on the streets around the Culver City station? I may wander up there if time allows...
RT
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Post by Transit Coalition on Apr 15, 2012 17:26:52 GMT -8
First Announcement: The final Expo Line Field Study is on Wednesday, April 18 at 10 a.m. If you are interested in getting in on the ride, please write. (info@thetransitcoalition.us). First preference is to TTC donors and supporters. A wait-list will be created for non-donors. Advise, if you'd like to join us on the Expo Line trip.
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Post by bzcat on Apr 16, 2012 11:15:17 GMT -8
Doh! 18th is the only day I can't do it  |
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Post by spokker on Apr 18, 2012 17:04:35 GMT -8
I went on the tour. The line is quite lovely and it will do very well because the demand is there. You've got USC, transit dependent neighborhoods and in Phase 2 you've got the green folks in Santa Monica (hopefully they are for real and not all talk and ride the train!).
On the other hand, I recorded 28 minutes and 30 seconds from La Cienega to 7th Street/Metro Center. I wonder if they will be able to get those speeds up in the next year or so after the line opens. They did it with the Gold Line to Pasadena.
All in all it was a good experience and I'm glad I got the email about it. Those who advocated for this line should be very proud of their efforts.
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Post by masonite on Apr 18, 2012 17:27:26 GMT -8
I went on the tour. The line is quite lovely and it will do very well because the demand is there. You've got USC, transit dependent neighborhoods and in Phase 2 you've got the green folks in Santa Monica (hopefully they are for real and not all talk and ride the train!). On the other hand, I recorded 28 minutes and 30 seconds from La Cienega to 7th Street/Metro Center. I wonder if they will be able to get those speeds up in the next year or so after the line opens. They did it with the Gold Line to Pasadena. All in all it was a good experience and I'm glad I got the email about it. Those who advocated for this line should be very proud of their efforts. I was there as well and it should be a great line. As a history buff, I really liked the stamps in the concrete at the La Cienega Station showing the history of train travel in this corridor including the Santa Monica Air Line. I do agree that it seemed a bit slow, even though we didn't seem to have to wait for many lights. The 55 mph sections didn't really feel like we were going 55 mph at all, but I am basing this just on feel. Also, we weren't letting passengers on and off which will result in even more time. The good news is that once the line is fully up to Santa Monica, it should be quite fast from Western to Downtown Santa Monica, but for now given the slow times and 12 minute headways, I think it will take time for ridership to grow even with the tremendous demand in this region. |
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Post by rajacobs on Apr 18, 2012 22:56:32 GMT -8
10 years ago when I first met my wife-to-be, I drove her along the Expo ROW and how terrific it must have been to have rail to Santa Monica and how it would be wonderful would be to put it back! (She must have thought I was kind of nuts.) Riding in the the train today from Seventh & Metro to La Cienega found me with a smile fixed to my face!
OK, it's the older cars--P2000s, etc.; yeh, the line is still slower than it will be; and the station announcements were shall we say mixed up; but ...it was great!
Since I took the commuter bus into Seventh Metro at 8:09AM, I have a direct comparison to the train time. The train was faster, even now, compared with rush hour, no-stops before downtown, bus commute across the Santa Monica Freeway!
I appreciated what felt like genuine enthusiasm from our guide/safety ambassador. And I appreciate especially, Bart, for making the trip happen. Thanks Bart!
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 19, 2012 9:14:21 GMT -8
^^^ Good point! The train will be reliably faster than pretty much any other ground transit options. I used to take the Metro Rapid 733 from Venice/Cadillac daily to downtown, it took 40 minutes in the morning to get to Union Station (in zero auto traffic) and over an hour in the evenings to return to the point of origin. When I lived in the area a 25 or 28 or even 30 minute reliable commute toward downtown was a dream. Now, it's reality. I think in a year or two this line could speed up to 25 or even as low as 20 minutes to 7th St with optimizations in the traffic light priority, speeding through the dedicated ROW at full bore, and of course more optimization of the junction with the Blue Line
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Post by carter on Apr 19, 2012 9:44:43 GMT -8
... and in Phase 2 you've got the green folks in Santa Monica (hopefully they are for real and not all talk and ride the train!). You don't have to be motivated by the environment to take the Expo Line. Right now it can easily take an hour to an hour fifteen to get from downtown Santa Monica to DTLA. People in SM will ride it because it's faster than driving! |
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 19, 2012 10:29:01 GMT -8
When the Expo Line Phase 1 service starts, think of this: 4th/Colorado Metro Express 534 pulls up, the next stop is Culver City or LaCienega/Jefferson Station in 15 minutes. Expo Line to 7th St in 26 minutes, or other areas in Mid City or near USC, even less. I think this connection for travel will prove to be very popular with USC students wanting to go to the beach likely faster than even Phase 2 and its going to be available as soon as the line opens and also all of the workers in Santa Monica who live in Mid City. The 534 gets good ridership as is and I think if Metro marketed it the way they push the Silver Line on people it would be an even bigger win for everyone in the near future. Imagine the station announcement, "Now arriving, connect here with Metro Express 534 to Santa Monica, boarding is downstairs."
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Post by RMoses on Apr 19, 2012 10:40:40 GMT -8
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Post by rajacobs on Apr 19, 2012 11:15:27 GMT -8
The car-train crashes here in LA remind me of the many Youtube recordings of Houston car-train crashes. ...Perhaps cliched cowboys have now come back to LA in the form of intrepid commuters!
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Post by tonyw79sfv on Apr 19, 2012 11:18:31 GMT -8
I was on the tour yesterday and noticed the temporary induction loops at Flower/Washington were gone.
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Post by davebowman on Apr 19, 2012 11:58:54 GMT -8
I live in Santa Monica and work at USC, and when Phase 2 opens I plan to take the train to work, at least occasionally. I've worked at USC for over 30 years, and have never taken mass transit to work because it would take forever. I've hated not having a viable option to driving to work, and never dreamed I would spend so much of my adult life commuting on the 10 freeway. Unfortunately I don't live close to downtown SM, so taking the Metro 534 Express to the end of the Phase 1 line would be complicated. One work-around I've plotted out is taking the Big Blue Bus #10 Freeway Express from 26th St./Santa Monica Blvd. to Pico/Grand in downtown LA, and then backtracking on the Expo Line from Pico Station to USC/Expo Park. As to whether I'll take the train to work every day when Phase 2 opens, a lot depends on timing and headways. It can take a long time to get a Walk signal to cross Exposition at Trousdale Parkway, and it would be frustrating to stand there for 2-3 minutes while the next train passes by. I figure that even with increasingly bad freeway congestion, when factoring in walking to and from the stations (I live five blocks from Bergamot Station), and waiting for trains, riding the Expo Line instead of driving will probably add about an extra hour a day to my commute. Unfortunately I've worked at USC long enough to have a precious on-campus parking permit for a lot close to my office.  The trade-off will be that it will be a less stressful to take the train, cheaper, I'll be able to read an extra hour or so every day while in transit, and walking to and from the stations every day will be good exercise. |
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Apr 19, 2012 13:44:09 GMT -8
I live in Santa Monica and work at USC, and when Phase 2 opens I plan to take the train to work, at least occasionally. I've worked at USC for over 30 years, and have never taken mass transit to work because it would take forever. I've hated not having a viable option to driving to work, and never dreamed I would spend so much of my adult life commuting on the 10 freeway. Unfortunately I don't live close to downtown SM, so taking the Metro 534 Express to the end of the Phase 1 line would be complicated. One work-around I've plotted out is taking the Big Blue Bus #10 Freeway Express from 26th St./Santa Monica Blvd. to Pico/Grand in downtown LA, and then backtracking on the Expo Line from Pico Station to USC/Expo Park. As to whether I'll take the train to work every day when Phase 2 opens, a lot depends on timing and headways. It can take a long time to get a Walk signal to cross Exposition at Trousdale Parkway, and it would be frustrating to stand there for 2-3 minutes while the next train passes by. I figure that even with increasingly bad freeway congestion, when factoring in walking to and from the stations (I live five blocks from Bergamot Station), and waiting for trains, riding the Expo Line instead of driving will probably add about an extra hour a day to my commute. Unfortunately I've worked at USC long enough to have a precious on-campus parking permit for a lot close to my office. The trade-off will be that it will be a less stressful to take the train, cheaper, I'll be able to read an extra hour or so every day while in transit, and walking to and from the stations every day will be good exercise. Instead of the 534 or the BBB #10, wouldn't the Big Blue Bus #5 work for you? It's going to connect to the Venice/Robertson station once opened this summer. That way, you're not backtracking, but actually moving forward from west to east. |
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Post by davebowman on Apr 19, 2012 14:12:39 GMT -8
BBB #5 to the Culver City Expo Line station would be perfect. Thanks for the tip.
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Post by carter on Apr 19, 2012 14:51:21 GMT -8
BBB #5 to the Culver City Expo Line station would be perfect. Thanks for the tip. To elaborate, the BBB #5 will go down Colorado Ave through Santa Monica, jog to Olympic and swing up to Century City before heading down Robertson to Culver City station. More to come on Expo Connections soon. |
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Post by bzcat on Apr 19, 2012 15:27:16 GMT -8
BBB #5 to the Culver City Expo Line station would be perfect. Thanks for the tip. I emailed BBB to ask them if they will begin service to Expo line to La Cienega on a temporary basis (and switch back to Robertson when it opens). They are still debating the merit of such a short lived (around 3 months?) service change... but who knows. Perhaps if more people email them and ask for temporary service to La Cienega... |
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Post by calwatch on Apr 19, 2012 22:04:59 GMT -8
The 534 connection would not last long because MTA would shorten the 534 in Santa Monica once the Expo Line went to the beach, and probably turn that over to Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, much like they did the 22 on San Vicente. The travel time from Culver City to Santa Monica would be 25-40 minutes. The train trip from Culver City to Santa Monica would instead be a consistent 21 minutes.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 20, 2012 12:45:14 GMT -8
Culver City parking lot is now striped. It's one crudely done pavement, with uneven, thin, rough surface. The first rain may turn it into a war zone.
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Post by John Ryan on Apr 20, 2012 12:47:27 GMT -8
Culver City parking lot is now striped. It's one crudely done pavement, with uneven, thin, rough surface. The first rain may turn it into a war zone. All part of Metro's master plan to encourage taking the bus, biking, or walking to the station, no doubt  |
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 20, 2012 15:06:19 GMT -8
So, the line couldn't open in time for Festival of Books. The campus is now almost ready for tomorrow. Stages, food court, portable toilets, etc. are set up. It will be interesting to see how many people will try to hop onto an Expo train this weekend.  |
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 20, 2012 19:19:14 GMT -8
Prerevenue operation has now virtually come to a halt, with the trains being maintained, painted, and washed, and the line being cleaned up and readied for the opening in about seven days from now.
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Post by rubbertoe on Apr 20, 2012 19:49:05 GMT -8
The artwork at the 23rd street station is still covered with plastic. When does the plastic come down?
RT
Sent from my DROID RAZR using ProBoards
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 21, 2012 0:20:20 GMT -8
The artwork at the 23rd street station is still covered with plastic. When does the plastic come down? RT Sent from my DROID RAZR using ProBoards Probably the day before the opening. Note that recently they also installed the Farmdale Station art. The only thing left to be done at that station seems to be some signage and electronic displays. Culver City Station seems finished, except for the surrounding area, which may take a month or two to finish. |
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Post by jamesinclair on Apr 21, 2012 1:49:09 GMT -8
I still cant believe they might actually make that most recent opening date.
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Post by metrocenter on Apr 22, 2012 14:04:34 GMT -8
@festival Of Books: Trains are coming very frequently, and are moving very fast. They stop briefly at USC/Expo Park before continuing on.
I don't see any danger from the trains (they are in a clearly-separated ROW with tons of signage). Visitors here don't seem concerned about their safety at all. (If anything some may be surprised to see a train, but they're not frightened by it.)
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The trade-off will be that it will be a less stressful to take the train, cheaper, I'll be able to read an extra hour or so every day while in transit, and walking to and from the stations every day will be good exercise.
