Expo II Breaks Ground

This morning I watched the story on KTLA like a little kid.  Finally, they were breaking ground on the second phase of the Expo line, which will extend from Culver City to Santa Monica.  Obviously, there is still some opposition by the NIMBY crowd in Cheviot Hills, arguing there will be heavier traffic in the neighborhood, and this could delay the scheduled 2015 opening, but you've got to be excited by progress, right!?!



Then I heard something troubling-- that the Expo Line phase 1 would not open until the beginning of next year! Now, I know there have been plenty of bumps in the road that have caused delays, but I had to check this one out.  As it turns out, there are two pieces of the phase 1 project, and the first piece will open late this year (as we had previously been informed), and the final portion including a bridge over Jefferson will be opening in the beginning of 2012.  Mystery solved.

If you'd like to read the entire LA Times article on the subject, you can find that HERE.

And here's their map of the project....

Learning from Carmageddon; Preparing for Round 2

If nothing else, the recent Carmageddon incident in Los Angeles has taught us that we don't need to be completely car dependent at all times.  While the message from the local government and media was to simply stay off the roads and away from the area, it appears that message can be improved looking forward to next year's Carmageddon Reprise.  Why not a message of, "Explore your neighborhood on foot," or try to showcase the improvements that have been made to public transit?  The opening of the Expo Line next year will be a perfect opportunity to market the light rail and push for its re-expansion, bringing LA back into the efficient metro transit days of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Too many local business establishments were deserted on the weekend of July 15-17, and I'm a huge proponent of not letting that happen next time.  As I plan to discuss in a few following posts (and with some video clips, if I can hunt them down on cnbc), it is going to take a convenient alternative staring us in the face in order for the US, and California in particular, to drop the habit of hopping in the car to go anywhere. So keep the feed rolling, and prepare for some discussion on modern re-urbanization!