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Post by joshuanickel on Jan 21, 2014 18:58:46 GMT -8
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Post by darrell on Jan 22, 2014 9:14:00 GMT -8
Here's the first of some photos I took yesterday of the embedded tracks crossing 5th Street on Colorado, giving the sense of how the tracks will curve into the terminus station. The rails are obviously being set in position first.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 22, 2014 11:27:03 GMT -8
Good pic, Darrell. However, what I've feared is happening. Phase 2 is being built on the cheap in comparison to Phase 1. It appears that they are building an embankment instead of a wall to save money at Venice Blvd. What a waste of land. Hopefully I am wrong and they build a wall:
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Adrian Auer-Hudson
Junior Member
Supporter of "Expo Light Rail - Enabler for the Digital Coast".
Posts: 65
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Post by Adrian Auer-Hudson on Jan 22, 2014 12:45:47 GMT -8
It would have been better to have continued an elevated structure from Culver City Station to Palms Station. This would have: 1. Avoided a dangerous grade crossing at Bagley, and 2. Left space beneath the structure that could have been rented as parking spaces. The neighborhood around Canfield, Exposition and Bagley has insufficient residential parking.
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Post by rajacobs on Jan 22, 2014 12:58:45 GMT -8
It would have been better to have continued an elevated structure from Culver City Station to Palms Station. Back in Dec 2012, I posted a drawing given me by a member of the planning commission regarding cutting Robertson southward, underneath Expo Phase 2, through the shopping center and connecting it with Culver. At a subsequent meeting I was told that the idea was dead due to the expense involved. Had the western approach to the Venice bridge been designed either with pilings rather than either a mound of dirt or MSE, this idea might have gained legs ...and considering the congestion surrounding Robertson southbound and the currently strange and confusing configuration of on and off ramps, I think it would have been a good idea!
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Post by culvercitylocke on Jan 22, 2014 13:07:09 GMT -8
how on earth did anyone think an embankment was acceptable? jeez, that's pathetic and stupid.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 22, 2014 13:28:21 GMT -8
I think an embankment here will take up much needed land. Metro could have even rented the land for $,$$$,$$$ if they didn't want to build a pedestrian path there.
However, the idea of connecting Robertson Blvd to Culver Blvd by tearing down the businesses in the shopping center was a poorly thought one. The existing driveway and light at Culver Blvd can barely handle the customer traffic there and I can't imagine them directing freeway traffic through the shopping center.
Now, if we didn't have the Santa Monica Freeway at all, the LA Westside and Santa Monica would be much nicer places today. South Bay beach cities were very lucky to escape the freeways and they have been preserved but not Santa Monica.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 22, 2014 16:56:54 GMT -8
expolinefan asked Skanska/Rados and he was told that there will be a northern MSE wall as well. It will start at a different height. I don't know if there will be a small embankment or why it is starting at a different height. Perhaps it's because the freeway ramp sits higher than the Venice Blvd side.
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Post by RMoses on Jan 22, 2014 17:02:22 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 23, 2014 10:28:00 GMT -8
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Post by roadtrainer on Jan 23, 2014 11:37:29 GMT -8
The second to the last picture looks like a roadbed of gravel, now could it be that a road will be there? Is there a chance that a widening of the freeway off ramp? or a service road? -)
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Post by RMoses on Jan 23, 2014 12:08:37 GMT -8
The second to the last picture looks like a roadbed of gravel, now could it be that a road will be there? Is there a chance that a widening of the freeway off ramp? or a service road? -) How close to Venice Blvd is the siding track supposed to be?
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 23, 2014 12:53:04 GMT -8
The second to the last picture looks like a roadbed of gravel, now could it be that a road will be there? Is there a chance that a widening of the freeway off ramp? or a service road? -) How close to Venice Blvd is the siding track supposed to be? There will be a single-train siding between Canfield Ave and Durango Ave west of Venice Blvd. This is in addition to the single-train pocket track between Jasmine Ave and Clarington Ave west of National/Palms Boulevards. There are then crossovers between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd. There are also crossovers near the end of line in Santa Monica. There are then crossovers in the Expo maintenance facility between Stewart St and Dorchester Ave west of Centinela Ave. These crossovers and sidings will help the operations when needed.
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Post by culvercitylocke on Jan 23, 2014 14:02:09 GMT -8
How is it earthquake safe to have the MSE walls so staggered? Wouldn't the embankment likely give way under the higher elevation north MSE wall and cause the whole thing to collapse?
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Post by bzcat on Jan 24, 2014 11:10:55 GMT -8
The second to the last picture looks like a roadbed of gravel, now could it be that a road will be there? Is there a chance that a widening of the freeway off ramp? or a service road? -) I think you are looking at the multi-use bike/pedestrian path. It starts at Venice/Exposition and will continue to National/Exposition. At that point, I believe the bike path will go on National to Motor and the pedestrians are feed to the lions, Roman gladiator style.
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Post by joshuanickel on Jan 24, 2014 11:46:04 GMT -8
The second to the last picture looks like a roadbed of gravel, now could it be that a road will be there? Is there a chance that a widening of the freeway off ramp? or a service road? -) I think you are looking at the multi-use bike/pedestrian path. It starts at Venice/Exposition and will continue to National/Exposition. At that point, I believe the bike path will go on National to Motor and the pedestrians are feed to the lions, Roman gladiator style. The bike path will be on the other side of the bridge. I have heard people who are on the Expo Bicycle Committee describe it as a canyon because you have the shopping center on one side and the MSE wall on the other side.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 24, 2014 16:32:44 GMT -8
Walls on both sides are actually great -- it protects from the sun during most of the day.
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Post by RMoses on Jan 24, 2014 18:15:25 GMT -8
Walls on both sides are actually great -- it protects from the sun during most of the day. And a perfect situation for crime too, with such a confined space.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 24, 2014 18:29:40 GMT -8
Walls on both sides are actually great -- it protects from the sun during most of the day. And a perfect situation for crime too, with such a confined space. They expected the exact same thing for the Expo bike path between La Cienega Blvd and Ballona Creek, which is very similar, but it ended up being the most popular section of the Expo bike path that is heavily traveled by pedestrians. It turned out to be a 100% success and it couldn't be made better.
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Post by darrell on Jan 26, 2014 23:41:40 GMT -8
Here's the first of some photos I took yesterday of the embedded tracks crossing 5th Street on Colorado, giving the sense of how the tracks will curve into the terminus station. The rails are obviously being set in position first. The concrete embedding the rails across 5th Street is complete in these photos today, four days later: And two photos at Bundy. The crazy thing is I've never actually seen these views, only held the camera over the parapet wall.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 27, 2014 10:21:04 GMT -8
And two photos at Bundy. The crazy thing is I've never actually seen these views, only held the camera over the parapet wall. Nice photos, Darrell. Don't you have a swivel LCD display? It comes really handy when you are taking a picture while holding the camera above a wall.
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Post by darrell on Jan 27, 2014 12:31:03 GMT -8
And two photos at Bundy. The crazy thing is I've never actually seen these views, only held the camera over the parapet wall. Nice photos, Darrell. Don't you have a swivel LCD display? It comes really handy when you are taking a picture while holding the camera above a wall. No, my Canon T2i only has a fixed display. So I hold it over the parapet -- with strap securely wrapped around my wrist! -- and do a little trial-and-error.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 27, 2014 22:13:18 GMT -8
expolinefan was in Expo Land today and he took hundreds of pictures. He's currently uploading them. He will also post a project update tomorrow. So, enjoy the huge photo update by expolinefan: www.ipernity.com/home/expo-line
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 28, 2014 11:41:54 GMT -8
Amazing photos by expolinefan (through escorted access). No one else takes photos in this hidden, mystique section of the tracks. So much to see there. Unfortunately, this section is also experiencing insane amounts of tagging. The tagging has become an insane problem in this section of Expo Phase 2. Here is a very small sample: Motor Ave Bridge: The three-track section in Palms: Tagging everywhere: Palms Station gap soon to be closed: Other side of the Palms retaining wall: Palms Station platform: The new National/Palms/Exposition Blvds Bridge: A lot more has been posted by expolinefan and he's posting even a lot more.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Jan 28, 2014 12:04:22 GMT -8
Before construction started I was down there and talked to some of the taggers. That place has been a proving/testing ground of sorts for over 30 years. Starting in the mid-70's it slowly became known as "Motor Yard." Anyone who wanted to test out a new idea would go there to do it since no one cared and the place was completely abandoned.
As the grunge/rap/hip-hop culture took off this became one of the places you could get street cred that wan't in the ghetto. The thing is, many of these taggers live in the area: white kids from upper middle-class families being "bad." Think about it, who has that much cash and time to spend on the amount of different coloured spray paint you see?
Look carefully at the designs, it is not tagging per se. These are designs that were thought through and on which hours were spent. It's like a non-supervised day care for the under 18 crowd. They're rebellious teens who really have no where else to go. Definitely not gangsters, more like wanna be graphic artists.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 28, 2014 12:33:47 GMT -8
Thanks for the info.
These days it's mostly tagging I think. Notice all the scribble on the retaining wall and even the rail ties.
Dog walkers along the tracks also have been a great nuisance. They sometimes unleash their dogs and they chase the cats. One of the dog walkers recently took a 30 ft fall from the top of the eastern portal of the Palms Overhead and badly mangled himself.
Right-of-way at this point should not be accessed by the public and anyone who trespasses for any purpose needs to be arrested and put in jail. The security and sheriff needs to work harder at this location.
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Post by bzcat on Jan 28, 2014 12:43:40 GMT -8
Before construction started I was down there and talked to some of the taggers. That place has been a proving/testing ground of sorts for over 30 years. Starting in the mid-70's it slowly became known as "Motor Yard." Anyone who wanted to test out a new idea would go there to do it since no one cared and the place was completely abandoned. As the grunge/rap/hip-hop culture took off this became one of the places you could get street cred that wan't in the ghetto. The thing is, many of these taggers live in the area: white kids from upper middle-class families being "bad." Think about it, who has that much cash and time to spend on the amount of different coloured spray paint you see? Look carefully at the designs, it is not tagging per se. These are designs that were thought through and on which hours were spent. It's like a non-supervised day care for the under 18 crowd. They're rebellious teens who really have no where else to go. Definitely not gangsters, more like wanna be graphic artists. What you described is tagging. Gangs don't need to tag... they just shoot a couple of people/rival gang members to stake their territories. Bored teenagers tag. They come up with designs that are their "signature" and they put it everywhere.
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Post by rubbertoe on Jan 28, 2014 13:50:11 GMT -8
When the line opens, or even before then, how are they going to keep people out of that tunnel during operation and especially after the last trains every night? Is there a plan to keep the inside of the tunnel graffiti free?
RT
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 28, 2014 15:36:00 GMT -8
When the line opens, or even before then, how are they going to keep people out of that tunnel during operation and especially after the last trains every night? Is there a plan to keep the inside of the tunnel graffiti free? RT There will be an intrusion detection system in the tunnel, as there is no space for a person when there are two trains in the tunnel. Also, there is no clearance between the wall and train. There will be fencing, too, of course. I think they really need security cameras everywhere in this segment to bust any trespasser instantly.
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Jan 28, 2014 15:48:39 GMT -8
Taggers are certainly a problem.
No less so is the homeless encampment in the trench opposite the fence along the Rancho Park Park. Neither Metro nor the contractors seem to be especially motivated to do anything about it despite a few calls on my part.
ALSO: The eastbound ties have finally been laid as of today from the Palms Overhead to Overland. Well, not quite Overland. They're leaving a gap in the tracks still. I think it's storm drain related. Still, progress.
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