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Local officials gathered Friday morning for what everyone agrees is a milestone for the MTA rail system: the groundbreaking of major construction on the Expo Line. The route from downtown L.A. to Culver City has been planned, debated and revised many times over the last three decades. And officials said they were excited to finally have a rail route to the traffic-clogged Westside under construction.
"We have entered a new era of public transportation," said L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "L.A. is expected to grow 30% in the next 25 years. Just how many cars will clog our highways ... the answer is too many."
The $640-million project will include eight new stations and is expected to open in 2010. The Expo Line will run through southwest L.A. on an existing rail right-of-way -- something that has significantly reduced costs. But there have been concerns that the route misses some major Westside destinations such as West Hollywood, the Beverly Center area, Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile.
Officials say they believe there will be ridership, particularly if Phase 2, from Culver City to Santa Monica, is built. But that section is in question because of budget battles in Sacramento.
The current work consists of building a huge trench in the USC-Exposition Park area.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
 Here's the latest subway dream for L.A.: a Ventura Boulevard route. This dream involves a subway that moves west along Ventura, then up Topanga Canyon Boulevard, then back east to Burbank:
A lotta new development. A lotta new residents. A lotta new traffic congestion. We see the mayor and City Council members clamoring for the mic for the big announcement. But what is being done now to plan for the congestion to come? Are there any plans at all? One of the best plans out there is gaining traction. It’s called Get L.A. Moving, and it’s exactly what L.A. needs: a master plan for a comprehensive Los Angeles Rail Network. As far as the Valley goes, one possibility would be an extension of the current Red Line subway under Ventura Boulevard to Warner Center, looping North through Canoga Park to the Van Nuys Airport, Bob Hope Airport, Burbank and back to Universal City.
 The plan to add bus-only lanes on Wilshire Boulevard remains alive, but it sounds like it will be a while before we see them (maybe beyond 2012):
The first phase of a proposal to build a bus-only lane on Wilshire Boulevard may be eligible for a $27-million federal grant, the Los Angeles City Council’s Transportation Committee learned today. A request to apply for the grant, in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will be before the council next Wednesday. The first phase of the project calls for repairing the curb lane between Fairfax and Western avenues; traffic signals and signage; widening Wilshire between Barrington and Federal avenues; and removing curbs between Selby Avenue and Westwood Boulevard and Selby and Comstock Avenue. "To date, this is the most promising option we’ve found to make our plans for a dedicated bus lane along Wilshire Boulevard a reality," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, chair of the Transportation Committee. (CNS)
 Remember these characters? Sounds like they had their day in court:
Two young men arrested last month for allegedly throwing objects from an overpass onto the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway in Hacienda Heights pleaded no contest today to assault with a deadly weapon. Pomona Superior Court Commissioner Wade Olson immediately sentenced Justin Adam Pecor, 20, and Anthony John Balsz, 24, to four years in state prison following their pleas to the felony charge involving a "large heavy object." Assault charges involving bricks and other objects were dismissed as a result of their pleas. The pair were arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies July 3 after heavy objects were thrown into the eastbound lanes of the Pomona Freeway from the overpass between Hacienda Boulevard and Azusa Avenue. Two vehicles were targeted, authorities said. A man and woman riding in one of the cars were hurt, while the driver of the second vehicle escaped injury.
Do those "human sign" guys on the side of the road annoy you? Well, the Orange County Register reports that Santa Ana is cracking down, saying they are hurting quality of life: The man on the corner has the sun in his eyes, a giant sandwich ad propped against his chest –- and city attorneys trying to figure out how to make him leave. The city has begun to crack down on sign holders like him, even filing criminal charges in a handful of cases. City officials view the proliferation of what they call "human signs" as a growing drag on the city's quality of life. They have focused for now on the biggest signs –- often decked out with balloons, balanced on overturned crates, and too unwieldy to juggle or twirl. The people who hold those signs spend hours in the same place and come prepared with chairs or bottles of water. One had a hibachi grill.
We know about L.A.'s fascination with street name changing (remember Santa Barbara Avenue, Brooklyn Avenue and Hermon Avenue?) Now add a small piece of 17th Street to that list: A portion of 17th Street between Bronson and Norton avenues will be renamed "Johnnie Cochran Vista" at Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School. Councilman Herb Wesson, members of the late attorney Johnnie Cochran’s family and representatives from the Los Angeles Unified School District and Department of Transportation will attend. (CNS)
 Local gas prices keep falling, and experts now say this trend will continue through the fall and perhaps beyond. It looks like a lot of those "3s" at the gas stations are slowly being replaced by "2s," reports Times writer Liz Douglass:
The sharp decline in crude oil prices, reversing a climb to last week's record-high close, should yield lower pump prices for consumers through the fall, said former trader Stephen Schork, who publishes a weekly report on oil and other markets."Despite what all the Chicken Littles were telling us back in March, we are now paying less for gasoline at the peak of driving season than we were in May," Schork said. "I expect gasoline prices to keep falling to the end of September." ... The [national] average hit a record high of $3.218 a gallon in late May. In California, the average dropped by 4.4 cents to $3.016 a gallon -- down from a May 7 high of $3.461. The average price in Los Angeles, the state's largest gasoline market, slipped below $3 for the first time since early March, falling 4.3 cents to $2.965.
 The plan to make downtown L.A. much denser raises concerns about traffic. Of course, many people move downtown to avoid long commutes. But The Times' Sharon Bernstein reports that despite this, many still are wed to their cars:
Planners did not examine exactly how the new rules would affect already heavy traffic in and around downtown L.A. Backers argue that there is perhaps nowhere in L.A. more suited to high-density living because the area is served by the subway and two light-rail lines, as well as numerous bus lines. But a study by the Southern California Assn. of Governments found that downtown residents use public transportation for less than 10% of their work, shopping and other trips. (The vast majority used their cars.)
 How "smart" are some of the smart solutions for Westside traffic? Writer Bill Bauer looks at some of the mitigations Santa Monica has tried to help with traffic flow and safety. And he's not entirely impressed. Some of his thoughts from the Santa Monica Daily Press:
Many Santa Monica streets were two lanes in each direction. Now, thoroughfares such as Montana Avenue, 11th Street, 14th Street and others are one lane in each direction. With curb extensions, traffic islands, pedestrian crosswalks and signals deliberately timed to make vehicles stop every block, traffic flow is even further reduced and gridlocked. No wonder going places has become a nightmare. Politicians haven’t a clue how to deal with it. Last year, our City Council approved converting parking lanes into exclusive “bus and bicycle only” traffic lanes on Lincoln Boulevard during rush hour for that one bus that runs on Lincoln every eight minutes. Never mind that opening parking lanes to all users would increase the street’s vehicular capacity by 20% or more. Recent columns by Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times lament that many Westsiders no longer go to the Music Center and other L.A. events because traffic is too much to deal with. It’s no secret that Los Angeles City and County politicians (like those who voted against mass transit for years) are now talking about turning Olympic and Pico boulevards into one-way streets or implementing variable-direction lanes to increase traffic flow — all while their “bus and bicycle” lanes, like the one on Wilshire Boulevard in West Los Angeles, are empty 99% of the time.
 Who knew L.A.'s traffic signal program was holding up the budget? The Times' Patrick McGreevy reports:
A proposal to ease traffic congestion in Los Angeles by providing $150 million in state bond money to synchronize hundreds of traffic signals has become a point of contention in the state budget dispute, with key Republicans saying that other cities should be allowed to vie for the money. The traffic light money, part of a pot of $250 million in the budget for signals, is one of a handful of issues that Republican lawmakers in the Senate have cited in refusing to vote for a budget approved last month by the state Assembly. "It's a sticking point," Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine) said Monday. "I would just like to see a fairer distribution of that money by having all congested areas of the state compete."
 The city has adopted some major new zoning rules that could lead to denser housing in downtown. And what about traffic? Some are worried, according to The Times' Sharon Bernstein:
The Los Angeles City Council today approved sweeping changes in zoning rules allowing for larger and more dense developments in downtown Los Angeles, the city's biggest embrace yet of urban-style planning principles. The ordinance encourages developers to build high-rises without leaving space between the buildings, allows them to reduce the size of lobbies and other communal areas, lets them build closer to sidewalks and makes it legal to build extremely small units. Developers who reserve 15% of their units for low-income residents are now exempt from open-space requirements and can make their buildings 35% larger than current zoning codes allow. The vote is a major victory for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others who have argued that Los Angeles needs significantly denser zoning to keep up with demand for housing. The city is in the midst of a building boom that has seen high-density housing projects rise in downtown as well as Century City, Mid-Wilshire, West L.A. and pockets of the San Fernando Valley. But these projects have also sparked a backlash from some residents, who say the new housing is worsening traffic and their quality of life.
 The region is getting dense thanks to all those new apartment and condo projects. The Times' Sharon Bernstein reports on how this is playing out (not so well) in the suburbs. Along Ventura Boulevard, a new set of high-density developments might be causing traffic woes:
In Studio City, where mid-century houses and small apartment buildings are being replaced by mega-condo projects, residents are worried that the village-like nature of the community will be squashed under a crush of large new buildings and thousands of new residents. As many as 1,600 new apartments or condos have been built or planned there in the last two years alone, and efforts are underway to produce 1,021 more units, according to figures gathered by neighborhood activists. Already, traffic on streets leading to Ventura Boulevard in Studio City is backed up for several hours each day. A Times search of city traffic records shows that at the same time many new developments were being planned and built in the southern end of the Valley, traffic at 10 major intersections along the boulevard worsened.
 As anyone who lives or drives through Boyle Heights knows, work is moving at a fast pace on the Gold Line extension from downtown to East Los Angeles.
Of course, progress can mean traffic delays. First Street in the Little Tokyo area will face backups today and Tuesday, as well as Aug. 13-14, while rail tracks are laid down.
Here are some interesting facts from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority about the extension:
Continue reading "Going for Gold on Eastside" »
 That spilled lumber on the 5-60 interchange in Boyle Heights could have been a traffic nightmare. But as this KABC photo shows, officials figured out a way to lessen the damage. They pushed the lumber off the transition road and onto an onramp. As for the accident:
"He was just going too fast and wasn't paying attention to the road and wasn't able to maintain his position on the roadway and lost control," said CHP Officer Wesley Cline.
 This started in the South Bay last year. Now Long Beach is reporting a theft of valuable third-row seats from SUVs:
At one time, it was radios. Then hood ornaments. Today car burglars are targeting a different prize to steal from parked cars. Long Beach police say third-row seats from sport utility vehicles can cost $3,000 retail. And that’s prompting car burglars in southern Los Angeles County to break into parked SUVs to steal the easily removed options for resale at swap meets. "Within the past eight or nine months, we’ve had a rash of them," said Lt. Gary Christensen, quoted in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Sheriff’s deputies in nearby Lakewood have also noted an uptick in the thefts. The stolen seats can easily be installed in similar SUVs, with the tightening of two bolts. Long Beach police are offering to engrave identification numbers into the rear seats, most of which are unmarked with any form of vehicle identification number by manufacturers or dealers. (CNS)
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and revised many times over the last three decades. And officials said they were excited to finally have a rail route to the traffic-clogged Westside under construction.
