Improved public transit in L.A.? (train, station, area)

[munchitup]

The Exposition Line is light rail from Downtown to Culver City (Phase two goes to Santa Monica, I think completed in 2015. I am really excited about this line, it provides easy access to USC, the Natural History Museum and Culver City. Once the second phase opens there will be access to the beach, 3rd St. Promenade, Venice Beach plus a lot of office space in West Los Angeles. People are so enamored by the Purple Line Extension (which will be huge also, but is going to take a long time to build and sounds like it won't quite reach SM ), but I think this line is gonna be a significant addition to the transit system in LA.

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by munchitup

The Exposition Line is light rail from Downtown to Culver City (Phase two goes to Santa Monica, I think completed in 2015. I am really excited about this line, it provides easy access to USC, the Natural History Museum and Culver City. Once the second phase opens there will be access to the beach, 3rd St. Promenade, Venice Beach plus a lot of office space in West Los Angeles. People are so enamored by the Purple Line Extension (which will be huge also, but is going to take a long time to build and sounds like it won't quite reach SM ), but I think this line is gonna be a significant addition to the transit system in LA.

I agree that the EXPO Line will an excellent addition.

The one downside is that is LIGHT rail and light rail is slower than heavy rail since ligt rail has to share the streets with cars/traffic lights.

I still say the Purple Line (all the way to Santa Monica) is the biggest bang for the buck since it is heavy rail (faster) and will serve the most dense corridor (both jobs & population) in LA County.

In light of HOW LONG the purple line will take, the EXPO line is a very welcome addition. And the connection to USC is big given that USC is one of the biggest employers in LA County.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by SalParadise

The one downside is that is LIGHT rail and light rail is slower than heavy rail since ligt rail has to share the streets with cars/traffic lights.

I agree that light rail is not optimum, but light rail is still much better than bus service or no service. I lived right off the Green Line in Boston (light rail) and that line was the lifeblood of northwestern Boston. I can only hope the Expo line has the same effect on West Adams, Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills, as well as furthering the progress in Culver City.

I think people in Los Angeles can have unreal expectations about their system. An hour or 45 minutes on the Expo from DT LA to SM may sound unreasonable, but consider that in Boston it took me an hour to get from Brighton on the far western end of the city to DT Boston on the B or C green lines(a much, much shorter distance).

Either way it is going to be interesting to see how the new lines will transform Los Angeles in the next 20-30 years.

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Either way it is going to be interesting to see how the new lines will transform Los Angeles in the next 20-30 years.

Thanks for sharing your Boston experience. That does help add some perspective to the EXPO line. I think the next 5 to 10 yrs along the Expo line should show some good results.

[greggd1]

Originally Posted by SalParadise

Thanks for sharing your Boston experience. That does help add some perspective to the EXPO line. I think the next 5 to 10 yrs along the Expo line should show some good results.

They just tore down the Fed Ex store on Bundy at olympic. I hope they drop a station there since it could potentially service several of the hi-rise buildings at and around that corner.

If we can some incentive for those employees to use the rail line...if it goes in the right direction, I think that will be just as important as the build.

Its going to be interesting to see this develop

[Count David]

We have light rail in the city I live in, with two full phases complete, the third in progress, and like 4 more to go after that.

Even with the limits the system has now, it's nice to see the trains full during rush hour, big events, before/after sporting events, etc.

It makes me grateful those people aren't on the freeways with me.

[munchitup]

Another advantage of Light Rail - You can check out the scenery! Of course it may not be very scenic...

[guydude]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Another advantage of Light Rail - You can check out the scenery! Of course it may not be very scenic...

Elevated Heavy Rail lets you do the same.

[7elephant7]

Yeah, in any case scenery is not important, the important thing is to take the less possible time from home to work and not waste hours of your life in this. If you want to do it once in a while that's great, but the same scenery every day is not so exciting anyway. Just take a vacation for scenery.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by guydude

Elevated Heavy Rail lets you do the same.

Good point, I never understood why that was never suggested (to my knowlegde) for any of the train lines... Too ugly? It would have the same effect on neighborhoods as freeways have?