How to get around O.C.

The full effect of the Orange County bus strike won't be felt until Monday (if it lasts that long). Here's some help in figuring out how to get around:

-- The OCTA's list of routes in service. Only 31 of 81 routes are operating.

-- Some other services are running normally for now, including  ACCESS paratransit, OCTA express buses and Metrolink StationLink bus services.

-- OCTA hotline: (714) 636-7433

-- Among the 31 lines still in operation are Route 43 from Fullerton to Costa Mesa, considered the agency’s busiest route, CNS says.

O.C. bus strike

They followed through on the threat: O.C. bus drivers are now on strike, even as labor talks continue:

Orange County Transportation Authority drivers went on strike early Saturday amid hopes that a return to the bargaining table after the weekend would put commuter buses back on the streets. The strike puts 50 of 81 bus routes out of operation, creating commuter headaches and stranding many of the 200,000 people who depend on the bus system for transportation. Contract talks stalled Friday night after transit agency negotiators said they did not have the authority to boost their offer without the approval of the OCTA board, which was not scheduled to meet until Monday. "We are ready and able to go back to the negotiating table," agency Chairwoman Carolyn Cavecche said. "We’re stumbling on just a few remaining issues." The two sides were apparently one percentage point apart on a wage increase. But last-minute wrangling over the financing of drivers’ pensions had also emerged as a sticking point that doomed negotiations and initiated the strike, Teamsters Local 952 Secretary-President Patrick Kelly said. (AP)

101 closure planned

Heads up on a major freeway closure in downtown L.A.:

A stretch of the northbound Hollywood (101) Freeway between Vignes and Alameda streets in downtown Los Angeles will be closed from 11 p.m. Monday through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Caltrans reported today. The southbound lanes from Main to Vignes streets will be closed from just before midnight Tuesday through 5 a.m. Wednesday. The closures are part of a $24.1-million realignment project -- expected to be completed by the end of summer -- to widen commercial streets and modify freeway onramps and offramps.

Envelope contains traffic answer

Wondering what made that commute through the Westwood/UCLA area so bad tonight? Here's the answer:

That "suspicious envelope" that an LAPD bomb squad was checking out in Bel-Air -- which forced the closure of a stretch of West Sunset Boulevard -- contained some advertising materials, including a CD, says Officer Jason Lee of the Media Relations Section. (CNS)

Prius debate rages: Part I

  Dan Neil has gotten a lot of e-mail about his story today on the Al Gore III Prius getting to 100 mph. Here are some highlights (more to come later):

Prius muscle car

Your article about Al Gore III hitting 105 mph in a Prius stirred my recollection. Let's put it this way: I recall someone in a 1973 Plymouth Duster, 318 c.i. v-8, two barrel and three speed on the floor, burning the speedo on an empty stretch of rural four-lane highway. This was many years ago. The speedo topped at 125 mph and it was probably optimistic. But the screaming rush of air past the Duster was awesome. Car was rock-solid. I've never driven a Prius. I'm waiting for the hemi version.

-- Jim

Going 105 in a Prius

I've had a hybrid since the original, the Insight. 2001. My son, 17 years at the time, got clocked going over 110 on the Grapevine. He wanted to see how fast it would go. The cops thought they were chasing a Porsche until they got closer and couldn't believe they were chasing a hybrid.

I have almost 100,000 miles and have not had one repair except for normal maintenance. Time to release the stereotype that this car, these cars, have no power.... Have to admit, it's an interesting angle, and a rather fun read. However, 105 in a Prius must certainly reduce its primary claim to fame -- saving gasoline. A Prius is not very stable at high speeds. I've watched too many drivers fighting for control of their cars when going even 75-80 or so. On a recent trip to the Bay Area, even my wife cautioned me as I began to pass one (on I-5). She said, "Be careful, looks like he could lose control." (Of course I'd been watching him for a couple of miles already.) And if there is any side wind, it really gets to be a test of will. The car has a very narrow wheel base, and sits up rather high (appears top-heavy). It gets caught in an overcorrecting -- is wobble the right word? More like a weave.

Of course with a driver who is stoned, possibly also on narcotics, the safety factor becomes a real issue. In fact, suddenly it is not simply a "personal" family matter. It's a public matter, a very public matter. In fact, it is now The people vs. Al Gore III. This is not the young man's brush with the law. Although not predominantly smeared for public consumption by the media in the past -- his prior acts of drug use and driving -- and driving at extremely high speeds (while under the influence), he's becoming quite the public nuisance. And a risk to public safety. I truly hope that other foolish young people don't get curious after reading your article today and decide to give their family Prius a test ride at 105 -- perhaps they'll shoot for 110? Let's hope that if they do try, they'll at least leave the drugs in the medicine cabinet.

-- Gary

Trouble getting around

I had a virtually new Prius assigned to me about a year ago. I probably put close to 12K on the odometer during that particular job season. While I found it challenging to drive (it's either in go mode or brake/charging mode, depending on how you are modulating the accelerator), it can get real tiresome on a long trip that doesn't include the interstate. I come to my point: I thought the one I had was going to come apart at 85 mph!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't believe the Gore boy had his over 100. I just don't believe it! How much is Toyota paying to get this hype out?????????????????????????????

-- Doug

Prius 500

You got me to envision the All-Prius Indy 500... "Gentlemen...START YOUR ENGINES!!!... bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

-- Tom

Pious, I mean Prius

The fact that a Toyota Pious ... er, Prius ... will do 100mph is no revelation. My 10-year-old VW GTI will do 130. I have nothing against the Prius. If people want to pay $25,000 for a $15,000 Corolla with a few extra batteries, God bless them! It's their holier-than-thou attitude, and the fact that they clog the commuter lanes and roads driving at a leisurely pace, eyes glued to their computer mpg readout, that I can't stand. All I can say is the end is near for their smugness. It's called a diesel.

-- Michael

Dire warning from OCTA

We are down to the wire (again) with the possible bus driver walkout in Orange County. The OCTA's chief executive has just issued a dire prediction of what will happen to bus service if the drivers walk at midnight:

Orange County bus service will suffer "significant" reductions should drivers follow through with a threatened strike that could begin just after midnight tonight, officials say. Orange County Transportation Authority CEO Art Leahy says the agency hopes a strike can be avoided, but he wants to let customers know they may need to make alternative travel arrangements. (CNS)

Wild ride

It took a lot of work to end this wild police chase, which (luckily or unluckily) occurred during the morning news and therefore was broadcast everywhere (including latimes.com):

A woman suspected of drunk driving led police and California Highway Patrol officers on a slow-moving freeway chase for 90 minutes -- during which her car was bumped and spun in a cricle -- before she stopped and surrendered Friday. Los Angeles police tried to stop the woman in the Newhall area shortly after 8:30 a.m., California Highway Patrol Sgt. Karen Barrows said. A chase ensued along the Golden State Freeway. CHP officers took over at the Grapevine, where Interstate 5 goes over Tejon Pass into the San Joaquin Valley. Trailing television helicopters showed a sedan with a bent hood and a dark-haired woman at the wheel moving slowly and cautiously in a lane, followed by police cars. (CNS)

Making traffic worse?

The whole issue of whether transit-oriented development actually works in L.A. continues to generate much debate. The Times' Sharon Bernstein found many readers feels some of the new developments going up are actually making traffic worse. Reader Raul Apino weighs in with a critique, comparing L.A. to New York:

Solution? Lower density. Stop tearing down a single-family home for four and replacing it with 48 condos holding 150 people. Stop letting three families live in a single-family home and a garage. Enforce building and safety laws. The city should buy old properties and turn them into open space.

Read Raul's entire comments below:

100 mph? It's Prius power

Times auto critic Dan Neil can't get over the fact that Al Gore III was clocked going 100 mph -- in his Prius. Dan found out he's not alone -- many non-Prius drivers can't believe the engine:

Gore's cruel caning of Toyota's greener-than-thou hybrid — powered by a small four-cylinder engine and electric motor that together produce about 110 horsepower — rippled through talk radio and the blogosphere Thursday. Many were simply amazed. "How in the world do you get a Toyota Prius to go 100 mph without a cliff to go over?" asked Rush Limbaugh. Others wondered if the episode represented some kind of viral marketing coup for Toyota.  "Everybody must realize the incredible serendipity effect the Al Gore Jr.-in-a-Toyota-Prius-going-100 mph story will have on this car?" said one of dozens of posters on the heavily trafficked Priuschat.com website. "If Toyota is smart, they'll have a specially prepared Prius Pace Car for the next Indy 500." Actually, the Prius — the unofficial merit badge of environmentally conscious Californians and officially the most fuel-efficient car on the road — is capable of going even faster, according to Mike Michels, spokesman for Toyota.

O.C. bus strike looms

We are getting closer to a bus drivers strike in Orange County, but officials for both the union and the OCTA seem to feel talks are going better:

Talks continued today between bus drivers and the Orange County Transportation Authority, but the drivers could go on strike this weekend if the two sides fail to agree on a new contract, a union official said. About 95% of the 1,100 drivers voted to strike in May, but a judge ordered a 60-day cooling-off period, which expires at midnight Friday. More talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow, both sides said. "We are working very hard to achieve a reasonable and fair collective bargaining agreement for the coach operators," said Patrick Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, which represents the bus drivers. (CNS)

Tabloid traffic map

Here's a map of places to avoid (or not, depending on how much you like seeing stars). The Times' ace graphics reporter Brady MacDonald has created an interesting interactive map showing the haunts of some of Hollywood's top young celebrities. Now if we can only overlay that map with some LAPD data. Wait! Brady actually does map some of the more famous law enforcement incidents.

Meanwhile, Paris Hilton is urging people not to drink and drive.

More traffic hell for Hollywood?

Franklin Avenue through Hollywood has long been a traffic nightmare, especially between La Brea and Highland avenues. Well, things might be about to get worse with news that two Hollywood Hills landmarks that feed into Franklin are for sale. There are some big development possibilities for this prime land -- but also some potential problems, according to The Times' Roger Vincent:

Two famous Hollywood landmarks, the Magic Castle and Yamashiro restaurant, are poised to be sold as the pace of development in the once-gritty neighborhood remains heated. The family that has owned the properties since shortly after World War II has been flooded with offers from developers that want to add new structures to the 10-acre site, which is near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood & Highland and other attractions, a broker said today.

July 4 freeway stats

Besides one famous car stop involving a certain Prius in Orange County, here are some other holiday freeway stats:

Four people died on Los Angeles highways over the Fourth of July holiday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Between 6 p.m. Tuesday and midnight, 108 people in the county were arrested on suspicion of DUI, according to the CHP. Statewide, 18 people were killed and 568 were arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Why he doesn't take the MTA

Oscar Geraldo seems like the kind of guy the MTA would love to have take mass transit. But in response to The Times' piece last week on the weaknesses of transit-oriented development, he offered his own experiences with the MTA to The Times' Sharon Bernstein:

Seven years ago I moved to downtown L.A. In a stroke of luck, the Red Line to North Hollywood just opened up and I was working at Universal City at the time. In those seven years, I've seen the same problems over and over.

Check out his Top Six problems with mass transit in L.A.:

Better than the radio

A new era in traffic reporting is dawning, the New York Times reports. Private firms are trying to improve on radio traffic reports with more detail, updated road conditions fed through cellphones, BlackBerrys and GPS devices:

In the latest incarnation of traffic reporting, information gleaned from strategically placed cameras, road-top sensors, electronic tollbooths and eyewitnesses is edited in Mission Control-style command rooms and sent using personalized text or voice messages to subscribers’ cellphones or BlackBerrys, often at no charge. These advances are part of an effort by private traffic services to bring some science and precision to what, at least until the last few years, was an art form typically practiced by a reporter in a helicopter or an announcer glued to a terminal in a windowless cubicle. While radio stations continue to send traffic copters into the air — including at least three serving New York City alone — their “eye in the sky” observations are now only one of the streams of data at travelers’ disposal.

Gore's son busted (in a Prius!)

Local law enforcement agencies warned they were going to be out in force over the holiday weekend (and week) looking for DUI and reckless drivers. Well, in Orange County, the campaign snared Al Gore's son (and yes, he was driving a Prius):

Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over about 2:15 a.m., Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said. The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They found less than an ounce of marijuana, along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said. "He does not have a prescription for any of those drugs," Amormino said. (AP)

1957 vs. 2007

Is L.A. traffic actually getting better? Larry Harnisch found an Auto Club survey of commuting times and distances for 1957, 17 different routes all ending at the Auto Club building near USC. He's now driving a few of them to see if the times still stand up. He found that if you believe Google, it sounds like getting around L.A. is actually getting better in some cases. But you can help Larry get to the bottom of this. (Check out some cool maps and photos in the process.):

Here's how you can help: Pick one of the routes, send me your time and I'll post it. Note: All drives in the 1957 survey were conducted during weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In the meantime, I'll be sampling a few of the routes myself. Check back and see how I'm doing. Here's one surprise: So far, driving at off-hours last weekend, I beat the commuting times from 1957 by a few minutes.

Life for Green Line extension?

Looks like some folks are trying to keep the Green Line extension idea alive, even though it was handed a legislative defeat a few weeks ago:

The City Council went on record today in support of a stalled state bill aimed at extending the Metro Green Line to Los Angeles International Airport. AB 889 calls for establishing a joint powers construction authority for the Metro Green Line light-rail extension to LAX. The authority would be charged with oversight of construction of the project, similar to a panel that was formed for the Exposition Line. The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee agreed May 31 to table the proposal, ending its chances of reaching the Assembly floor for a vote this year. (CNS)

For whom the road tolls

There has been a lot of talk back and forth on Bottleneck about Times reporter Steve Hymon's discussion about creating a toll into LAX. That's just talk for now. But The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II has reported that transit officials are actually looking at four locations for "congestion pricing":

•  Building truck-only toll lanes along an 18-mile stretch of the 710 Freeway, providing a route for commerce from the port into central Los Angeles.

•  Adding toll lanes to a section of the 10 Freeway east of Los Angeles that parallels the El Monte Busway.

•  Adding toll lanes to the 110 Freeway south of downtown Los Angeles, which already has a carpool and bus lane down the middle.

•  Adding toll lanes along the 105 Freeway, which already has both a carpool lane and the Metro Green Line train going down the middle of it.

What goes up ...

Gas prices continue their tumble downward after hitting a few record highs a few months ago. The Auto Club says prices fell again last week -- but at a slightly slower pace than in recent weeks:

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.147, which is 4.4 cents cheaper than last week, 26 cents below last month and 3 cents under last year. In San Diego, the price is $3.138, which is 2.7 cents below last week's price, 27 cents under last month and 4.5 cents cheaper than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.393, down 1.4 cents from last week, 18 cents under last month and 3 cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.122, 3.7 cents below last week, 28 cents under than last month and 8 cents cheaper than last year.

Some analysis: ConsumerAffairs.com predicts that the seven-week gas price drop might soon end, at least on a national level. Meanwhile, Mark Lacter at LABizObserved wonders why the media are no longer hyping the gas price story.

Bus kills woman in Long Beach

Sounds like Long Beach Transit officials will have some explaining to do about this accident:

A Long Beach Transit bus fatally struck a woman crossing a street in a crosswalk today, authorities said. The victim, who was in her 30s, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred about 5:30 a.m. on Anaheim Street at Gardenia Avenue, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski. The woman’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives. She apparently was crossing on a green light when the accident occurred, Zapalski said. (CNS)

LAPD's DUI case

Perhaps not a good way for the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies to start their July 4 anti-drunk-driving campaign:

A Los Angeles Police Department traffic division officer was arrested during the weekend for investigation of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, officials said Monday. Brian Lawrence Gossh, 27, was arrested in Van Nuys, booked into jail Sunday and then released, said LAPD Officer Karen Smith. She did not know when Gossh would be arraigned, citing an internal investigation and personnel issues as reasons for not commenting further. (AP)

Toll at LAX?

The Times' Steve Hymon set off discussions on where we could place some congestion pricing in L.A. by suggesting LAX. Yes, LAX:

What about Los Angeles International Airport? We promised in this space last week to propose one place where a toll or congestion pricing might work. We're not saying we're right, but this is an idea that has been thrown around privately by politicians. The idea is this: Because there is only one way in and out of the central terminal area at LAX, it would be possible to construct toll booths to charge private vehicles entering the main airport route that leads to the terminals. Theoretically, the toll to enter the airport would be higher during LAX's busiest periods. If it worked, the toll might accomplish two goals: discourage people from driving to the airport and raise money for other airport transportation projects. And it seemingly would be easier to build toll booths than to construct new lanes on freeways. More than 25.6 million vehicles entered the central terminal area last year, according to LAX officials, although the data don't show how many of those were private passenger vehicles as opposed to buses, cabs, etc. If a toll were a minimum of $5, and 8 million of those cars were private — a conservative estimate — tolling theoretically could raise at least $40 million a year.

Not taking transit

Do residents use transit in transit-oriented developments? There are strong indications that most don't, according to a Times review by Sharon Bernstein and Francisco Vara-Orta. Consider:

The Times decided to examine driving habits at four apartment and condominium complexes that have already been built at or near transit stations in South Pasadena, North Hollywood, Pasadena and Hollywood. Reporters spent two months interviewing residents, counting cars going out of and into the buildings and counting pedestrians walking from the projects to the nearby train stations. The reporting showed that only a small fraction of residents shunned their cars during morning rush hour. Most people said that even though they lived close to transit stations, the trains weren't convenient enough, taking too long to arrive at destinations and lacking stops near their workplaces. Many complained that they didn't feel comfortable riding the MTA's crowded, often slow-moving buses from transit terminals to their jobs. Moreover, the attraction of shops and cafes that are often built into developments at transit stations can actually draw more cars to neighborhoods, putting an additional traffic burden on areas that had been promised relief.