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Post by roadtrainer on Jun 5, 2007 19:41:09 GMT -8
Exciting News: I drove along 3rd. St. this past Sunday and notice the first at grade crossing, It is over near the 3rd.st. East L.A. Sheriff station. Small but important! rails down and concrete, Looking good in the Hood!! The RoadTrainer
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Post by roadtrainer on Jun 26, 2007 18:31:17 GMT -8
;D Here the Latest news on the East side: Two intersections have been routed up and track laid down. it is at Downey and 3rd st. The other is up near 3rd. and Mednik Ave. Also on Indiana between 3rd st. and 1st.st. The was a building torn down and all the stuff around there is being moved away and the foundation will be laid for the Indiana Station. Other Station foundations are being laid and they are Atlantic Ave. Mednik Ave, and one neat King Taco by the Pomona Freeway. More exciting updates to follow. Sincerely The Roadtrainer
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Post by dasubergeek on Jul 6, 2007 15:21:05 GMT -8
Man, I don't know when they're going to finish on 1st Street but it is a hot mess right now -- went to go to La Serenata de Garibaldi and kept being unable to turn or U-turn -- ended up clear out near Lorena before I could get back. Eventually, though, I will be able to take transit right to Mariachi Plaza, eat my dinner, hire a banda, and take them on transit back to a party!
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 7, 2007 15:18:25 GMT -8
I concur with roadtrainer and dasubergeek. Construction is very active. They are getting ready to lay track all down 3rd street. Additionally the north side of the 1st bridge is being gutted and a track bed is being added. Lastly the Little Tokyo station platform is well underway. Pic below.
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Post by James Fujita on Jul 8, 2007 7:58:16 GMT -8
cool picture, although I'm wondering how you got it. from that angle, you'd almost have to be standing on the construction site ;D
heh. I guess I'm one to talk. when the Blue Line was under construction, I did that sort of thing all the time. of course, back then they didn't put any fences up ^_^;;
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 8, 2007 8:25:15 GMT -8
Heh. Looks can be deceiving. There's a fence pretty much around this entire portion, but the fence stops at Temple (and so does the construction). I was standing on the corner of Alameda and Temple and I just angled my camera lens through some links in the fence and zoomed in a little.
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Post by kenalpern on Jul 8, 2007 11:09:16 GMT -8
Thanks for all the updates, guys! I really appreciate them, and I'll go out on a bit of a limb and suggest that the others reading this board do as well.
Just be careful you don't violate any rules or laws when you take pictures. Homeland Security may or may not be onerous or even realistic, but please be careful and not get in trouble.
I wonder if Metro publishes any photos for public scrutiny?
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 8, 2007 11:54:24 GMT -8
Good advice, but to be clear I was standing on a public sidewalk.
Yes Metro put a few construction photos and even videos on their website. But they're pretty inconsistent with them. IIRC they had a section called construction photos in the eastside extension section, but I don't see that section there now.
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Post by erict on Jul 8, 2007 12:06:57 GMT -8
I saw the Little Tokyo slab last night- the wood was gone and it looks complete to me. It seems very long. Can't wait till it opens!
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 9, 2007 20:18:14 GMT -8
;D The section that puzzles me is the connector to the Gold Line bridge is being put together piece by piece. Is this method a lot cheaper to build that the old days of putting up foundations with rebar? Does anybody know what this type of ramp construction is called and is it stronger to survive a pt 8 Quake? Who is the construction head for the eastside project? Is it the same guy in charge of Expo? Sincerely The Roadtrainer
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Post by nicksantangelo on Jul 11, 2007 11:54:13 GMT -8
Roadtrainer: it's Eastside LRT- their office is @ 2420 East Cesar Chavez. Their main office is in Highland, CA. I believe Expo is being built by a Joint Venture (FCI, Parsons, Flour).
And yes, I spied the route from the 710 the other day- looks good! Now if we can just get that Regional Connector in place.... Regardless, I'm looking forward to satisfying my Little Tokyo buffet jones via the SW Museum to Little Tokyo station.
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James2886
New Member
Ride'in the rails to work or for fun!
Posts: 6
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Post by James2886 on Jul 11, 2007 21:15:16 GMT -8
Bluelineshawn.
Thanks for posting the pic.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 12, 2007 19:15:25 GMT -8
You're welcome James.
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 16, 2007 22:00:28 GMT -8
;DNews Flash: All excited about the rail being laid on 1st.St. @ Alameda, get over there quick you will see the road bed dug out and see the old LARY tracks under 1st. St. Somebody get a picture of this!please! sincerely The Road Trainer!
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Mac
Full Member
Posts: 192
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Post by Mac on Aug 14, 2007 18:29:20 GMT -8
Metro says tracks are gonna be laid, but i drove by little tokyo the other day, and i didn't see any tracks yet...
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Mac
Full Member
Posts: 192
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Post by Mac on Aug 16, 2007 21:13:55 GMT -8
Edit: Nevermind, i was at the 60-710 onramp and saw them laying down tracks, looks swell =)
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Post by whitmanlam on Aug 16, 2007 23:10:38 GMT -8
Anyone hear anything about the big parking lot behind the Little Tokyo station platform. What are they going to build there ? Offices, park space, Mixed use development.
So much potential on that big parcel of land.
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Mac
Full Member
Posts: 192
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Post by Mac on Aug 17, 2007 19:49:10 GMT -8
That peice of land is worth so much. Right out side little tokyo station, and near the downtown. I think they are gonna develop that into either high density commerce(offices, shops), expensive condos/aparments, or mixed use. I don't think its gonna be a park, but maybe a piece of it might be.
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Post by roadtrainer on Aug 18, 2007 7:20:38 GMT -8
Metro says tracks are gonna be laid, but i drove by little Tokyo the other day, and i didn't see any tracks yet... ;D Dude:What I saw was that the road was being tore up and one could see the old LARY tracks. Walk or ride west bound from the bridge crossing the L.A. River. Come down the hill cross Viggness. Now begin looking at the cut away road. You will see the old LARY wooden ties and the asphalt going over or covering up those rails. It almost looks like a checker board effect. Apparently the ROW ran close to the curb here. And if I remember right the "safety Island"for boarding the trains usually ran in the middle of the street. Now head east of Lorena Ave. and one can see the progress being made on the rerouting of the utilities on first street and the construction of a sound wall on Indiana St. Now turn left on third st. and follow to to Atlantic Ave. and you will see a lot of rail that has been laid and concrete that has been poured. Thank for taking time to read this report. Sincerely The Roadtrainer
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Mac
Full Member
Posts: 192
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Post by Mac on Aug 18, 2007 15:00:59 GMT -8
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTT
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Post by timquinn on Aug 18, 2007 16:07:25 GMT -8
There is, indeed, new track laid along First Street West of the River. Last night, while crossing First at Vignes, I saw one string of new track running up the street toward Alameda. There are two big stacks of frest track waiting to be put down as well.
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Post by timquinn on Aug 18, 2007 16:18:23 GMT -8
The big parking lot behind the Little Tokyo/Arts District station is being used by the Hollenbeck police while their new building is being built over on the East Side. All that property, including the building temporarily housing the Emergency Operatons Center near Temple and Alameda, will be re-developed after the extension is complete, probably as TOD/mixed use. Some park is in the plan. At the community meetings I went to the preference was for the park to go next to the Buddhist temple at Vignes and First and the residential to go next to the station nearer to Alameda. I would guess that this development is ten years off right now, given the state of the housing market.
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Post by whitmanlam on Aug 18, 2007 23:11:38 GMT -8
The state of the housing market right now, is that the average family is being squeezed out of anything nearly affordable. Being forced to drive long 2 hour commutes, that take a toll on their health and well being. We still have a severe housing shortage. And almost all the new housing is being built far away from transit hubs or job centers. So that families who should be spending their income on housing and healthcare, are spending a alot more than they should on gasoline at the pump.
This is a wake up call to a Death Spiral that has been happening for decades. We need more affordable housing near transportation centers. We need density.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 18, 2007 23:41:14 GMT -8
^ You know....I use to understand the complaints about lack of affordable housing near transit centers. But, not anymore. I live in downtown b/c I wanted to be near transit. Some of my neighbors lived here 5 - 10 years ago, when the Red Line & Blue Line was here and they purchased their properties for around $100k. Those people who demand affordable housing, totally lacked the vision of downtown LA and advantages of transit. Tough. The market and demand is in downtown. They lost the opportunity and now make us include affordable housing elements in new construction, thereby providing disintenctives to builders. How much loan did the city have to provide for the grand avenue project? $66 million for phase 1??? That's ridiculous. And it was due to affordable housing he had to have a loan.
What I do support, is affordable housing for specific professions. For example, teachers, firemen, police officers, etc... get reductions on their houses in a designated area. Not a general affordable housing area, I don't like that. If you want affordable housing, go to South LA while it's still cheap. Don't complain in 5 years when prices skyrocket due to the Blue Line/Expo Line benefits. Then, you missed the boat....
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Post by James Fujita on Aug 21, 2007 10:14:06 GMT -8
sorry, but I'm with Whitman on this one. I can't accept that "let them eat cake" kind of thinking.
you're assuming that those who didn't move downtown 5-10 years ago did so because they were idiots who lacked vision, but maybe they were living in a college dorm or maybe they had other reasons, like the fact that downtown wasn't very inviting until recently.
Southern California's housing market is ridiculously overheated. that overpriced housing bubble is one of the leading causes of sprawl- if ordinary folks can't afford to live in downtown or other transit-friendly dense areas, then they'll move out to the Inland Empire or beyond where the transit options are limited and join the thousands who make three-hour commutes into town: Metrolink where available and convenient, but for the most part that means driving.
so, you can go ahead and say "sorry, Adam Smith's invisible hand you know. I upped mine, so up yours"
but if you really want transit to bloom in Los Angeles, you have to allow affordable housing into downtown. I don't care how you do it: loans, fixed price rent control or whatever, but the people living paycheck to paycheck are more likely to use the subway than those who are currently moving in. the current situation is just going to lead to more sprawl
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 21, 2007 14:30:06 GMT -8
Great...we are getting off topic again. But let me defend my point; I SUPPORT Housing Credits for SPECIFIED PROFESSIONS. For example, teachers, government workers, police officers, etc..
If we make general affordable housing or low income housing, we're # 1 - providing disincentives to builders unless they get a loan from the local government (see: Grand Avenue project) # 2 - providing less opportunity for construction due to these financial constraints, thereby only allowing x number of units to be built and providing a low supply into the housing market (hence, prices increase, law of supply and demand), and # 3 Have you seen the people around 9th street & Francisco? That's not an ideal/safe crowd. It puts people in cars b/c people don't want to walk in that neighborhood. I have a friend who moved into Delano Lofts, and she doesn't feel safe with some of the crowds we have. So, instead of walking to Loyola, she takes a car.
Yes, we need all income levels of housing, but we need to target the right people. That's my point.
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Post by James Fujita on Aug 21, 2007 16:51:04 GMT -8
we're really not getting that far off topic; housing is vitally important to the success of any public transportation system.
I'm not keen on this idea of "specific professions," it sounds too much like the racial housing covenants from the '50s. why not just base it on income levels?
at any rate, there's a huge difference between what qualifies as "affordable housing" and "low income housing." we're not talking about public housing projects.
EDIT: I can tell we're not going to see eye-to-eye on this, and hereby call a truce.
back on topic, I've actually stopped taking pictures of the Gold Line construction when I visit Union Station, it seems like there's nothing new to take! that's both a good sign (mostly finished!) and bad news (nothing new to see...). hopefully, there'll be tracks or something in a little while....
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Post by militantangeleno on Aug 21, 2007 22:29:42 GMT -8
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Post by kenalpern on Aug 21, 2007 23:35:00 GMT -8
I'm hoping that Downtown will, between 2010-13, be so attractive a place to live because of Expo, Eastside, Downtown Connector and new developments that all professions will want to live in that area. Still, if it ever comes to subsidizaton, I imagine we have to lean towards those professions we want to attract the most...although, in all realism, most police officers opt to live far from where they work for their own protection and for that of their families.
Certainly, one way to make housing affordable is to not require big bucks to keep up the ol' car if you need it several times each day to get to/from work, stores, etc.
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Post by nicksantangelo on Aug 24, 2007 18:25:13 GMT -8
This may or may not be the right place for this, but I found a great 3 minute or so snipped of the Yellow Cars going over the First Street bridge, westbound. Turns out Youtube is good for something. I look forward to this scene repeated, by and large, come opening day. youtube.com/watch?v=AAPMvhD62kA
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