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Nothing can ruin your weekend quite like Los Angeles Marathon traffic! So here's your guide to avoid getting stuck. Here's the short version from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation: The new marathon route starts at Cahuenga and Lankershim near Universal City, and ends in downtown L.A. at 5th & Flower. Note that this is a point-to-point route, rather than a large loop. Cahuenga Boulevard will be closed to all vehicular traffic starting at 5 a.m. It will reopen at approximately 10 a.m. Residents of the Hollywood Hills who normally use Cahuenga Boulevard to get to or from their homes will be unable to use Cahuenga Boulevard during this time. They will need to make alternate plans or stay home.
Freeway ramps in this area will be severely impacted. Some marathon participants will choose to park near the finish line in downtown L.A., while others will attempt to park near Universal City, so there is likely to be significant congestion at both locations. The Metro Red Line will shuttle many participants to or from their cars. Beginning Saturday evening, March 1, the area bounded by 3rd Street, Grand Avenue, 5th Street and Flower Street will be closed to install the marathon finish line stage.
Before and during the race, vehicular traffic cannot cross the route at any time. Sweepers will begin cleaning the route after the last runner. During the cleaning operation, traffic will be allowed to cross the route at the following 15 crossing points until the cleaning is completed and all traffic controls have been removed from the route, allowing the streets to be reopened: Sunset & Vine; Santa Monica & Vine; 3rd & Rossmore; 6th & Western; Harvard & Wilshire; Normandie & Washington; Jefferson & Normandie; Adams & Grand; Figueroa & Washington; Figueroa & Pico; 11th & Broadway; Alameda & Olympic; Olympic & Santa Fe; 6th & Alameda; and 7th & Broadway.
Drivers within the area bounded by 3rd, Soto, 11th and Figueroa are likely to experience problems entering and exiting due to the huge loops and backtracks of the race route. Persons with unessential travel should avoid driving in all areas affected by the event. The Hollywood, Harbor and Santa Monica freeways provide the best options for crossing the route. The Metro Red Line may also be used.
http://trafficinfo.lacity.org/lamarathon.html
In an effort to stop fare beating, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted Thursday to install turnstiles at subway stops and some light-rail stations.
MTA trains currently operate on an honor system in which passengers are required to buy tickets but only have to show them if asked. Officials with the MTA estimate that 5% of passengers aren’t buying tickets and that the new gates could save the agency as much as $7 million a year.
The gating system will be installed over the next two years. MTA officials also said all new gates would comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
— Steve Hymon
State transportation officials said Wednesday that they would demolish two homes and create a controversial wildlife path on an expanded Skirball Center Drive bridge over the 405 freeway as part of a project to widen the freeway through the Sepulveda Pass.
The $950-million project will add a northbound carpool lane on the east side of the freeway along Sepulveda Boulevard between Montana Avenue and Moraga Drive, and between Getty Center Drive and the northbound Getty Center offramp.
To accommodate the project, Caltrans is purchasing six homes near the freeway. Two will be torn down and four will be resold at the end of construction, said agency spokeswoman Judy Gish.
Plans include $455,000 to widen the Skirball bridge by five feet to allow wildlife to cross the Sepulveda Pass without using the freeway.
— Patrick McGreevy
A group of Westside businesses filed suit Wednesday to stop Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from implementing his traffic relief plan for Olympic and Pico boulevards.
The suit by the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce alleges that Villaraigosa's plan would increase the number of vehicles on those streets. The result, they say, would be more traffic and smog. They say the proposal should be studied further under state environmental law.
The mayor's project is set to begin March 8. Initially, it involves changing the way traffic signals are synchronized so that traffic on westbound Olympic and eastbound Pico is favored. The idea is to encourage commuters to use the two streets to speed their commute to and from the Westside.
The plan also calls for the removal of on-street parking during rush hour. Business owners say the restriction would harm commerce. Zahirah Washington, one of the attorneys representing the chamber, said her clients would seek an injunction unless the city agreed to postpone or alter the plan.
A spokesman for the mayor called the suit "a meritless attempt to block reasonable traffic improvements" with the "inappropriate" use of environmental laws.
— Steve Hymon
What do you think of the new Crenshaw rail line proposal? The Times' Victoria Kim says it's getting a mixed reception: The proposed $1 billion line would start on Crenshaw Boulevard at Exposition Boulevard and end at the 105 Freeway in El Segundo. MTA officials call the route a cost-effective way to connect the Expo Line, which is under construction between downtown and Culver City, and the Green Line, which runs from Norwalk to El Segundo.
But some transportation experts question the logic of the route, noting that it would require several different rail legs for the most basic commutes, such as from the South Bay to downtown or from Hollywood or the Mid-Wilshire area into Inglewood.
"They're connecting a place where no one lives to where no one works," said Jim Moore, a civil engineering professor and director of the transportation engineering program at USC.
The proposed line is also getting mixed reviews from officials in the cities it would serve. In Inglewood, officials wanted the line to run through its central commercial district and new development planned around Hollywood Park. Instead, the route bypasses those areas and hits the less dense west side of the city.
In-N-Out Burger might be too popular for its own good. In Arcadia, some merchants complain that the line of cars at the burger joint makes it hard for them to do business, according to the Star-News: It's mealtime and the line of cars waiting to order double-doubles from In-N-Out Burger on Santa Anita Avenue spills out of its driveway and runs into the street.
At the edge of the alley dividing In-N-Out from Goldstein's Bagel Bakery, a large sign proclaims: "Please Do Not Block our Neighbor's Driveways."
On Tuesday night, a single driver waited several minutes to leave Goldstein's because other drivers ignored this and two other signs asking them to leave openings for the two driveways at the bagel shop.
But Wednesday afternoon, a day after Goldstein threatened to sue In-N-Out for "millions of dollars," the restaurant sent two red-aproned employees to take food orders from the sidewalk and another to keep cars from blocking Goldstein's driveway.
Heads up on this one: A portion of the westbound Riverside (91) Freeway will be closed tonight and tomorrow night to prepare for demolition of a bridge that crosses the freeway on the west end of Corona, transportation officials said. Three of six lanes on the westbound 91 will be shut down between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. tonight, and 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. tomorrow night, according to Caltrans. The lane closures are necessary for crews to set up temporary structures around the Green River Road bridge, Corona’s oldest, which is being torn down Saturday night, when a full closure on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the freeway will be in effect for 12 hours, said Caltrans spokeswoman Shelli Lombardo. Half the new six-lane bridge is complete and drivers have begun using it, Lombardo said. Motorists will encounter lane closures tonight and tomorrow night around Serfas Club Drive, about two miles east of Green River Road, Lombardo said. The lanes will be open again after the bridge, she said. Roughly 22,000 motorists use the overcrossing on a given day, according to Caltrans. The $21 million bridge replacement project includes reconfigured ramps and extra clearance for commercial vehicles, Lombardo said. Though rain is forecast most of this week, including Saturday, Lombardo said wet weather should not interfere with the demolition work. However, project engineers could decide to shorten or cancel the job if there’s a downpour. (CNS)
 The Gold Line is perfectly safe, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says. But the Star-News gets a lawsuit that might not put passengers' minds totally at ease:
A Metro official said Tuesday the Gold Line is safe for riders, even though the agency is seeking $25 million in a lawsuit that claims shoddy construction led to "dangerous conditions" along the route.
The 118-page suit, filed Friday, does not mention any specific problem locations along the Gold Line, though it does exclude the elevated portion of the line through Chinatown, which was built by another contractor.
Parsons, a Pasadena-based engineering firm that designed the line, is one of several defendants named in the lawsuit. Metro accuses Parsons and several contractors of breach of contract, negligence and product liability in the construction of the line.
Grumblings about the mayor's plan to push ahead with the Pico/Olympic realignment are growing in the Westside. Legal action is coming, according to the Bel Air Assn. Blog: Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who had asked that the plan be delayed until the Planning Department could become involved, said he might remove his district from the plan. He called the Mayor’s action “disrespectful to my constituents and an insult.” Rosendahl’s response was the tip of the iceberg. Jay Handal, Chair of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has announced that “a coalition of businesses and residents will file suit to stop the Mayor’s ill-conceived plan.” “The actions of Villaraigosa and (Jack) Weiss have made a mockery of the neighborhood council process and even the democratic process.” Handal said, “Every neighborhood council along the route has opposed the plan until key issues have been addressed. The two other City council members whose districts will be impacted have opposed the plan. The Beverly Hills City Council hasn’t even been given the respect of discussing the matter prior to its implementation – even though Olympic passes through their city.”
Robert Gottlieb on sfgate.com talks about the time he biked on the Pasadena Freeway -- why officials should open up more freeways to bikers: It was a heavy fog that settled over the freeway in the early morning of that day when we closed the Pasadena freeway for four hours to allow bikes and walkers on the roadway. More than 3,000 bike riders and several thousand more pedestrians began to appear from every direction. The excitement was palpable. Getting Caltrans to agree - as well as the California Highway Patrol and all of the different transportation departments - required months and months of organizing. But here we were, on the freeway. It was June 15, 2003. The bike riders took off just as the fog began to lift. Because it was Father's Day, a number of families came to ride for the sheer pleasure of biking and walking on a freeway. The experience for the bike riders, particularly, was a revelation about how a bike ride not only provided pleasure but could potentially serve as an alternative form of transportation. Several bikers who traveled the entire 8.5-mile stretch of the freeway corridor reported that they did it in far less time than their rush-hour car commute the previous week.
The Schwarzenegger administration collided head-on Tuesday with transportation officials from five Southern California counties over the governor’s proposal to use public funds to help two private railroads pay for a $198 million rail project at Colton crossing in San Bernardino County.
At a two-hour public hearing in Los Angeles, representatives from Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties urged the California Transportation Commission to spend $2.2 billion in state bond money on dozens of highway, rail, and bridge projects that would speed the movement of goods across Southern California.
Tensions rose when Caltrans official Ross Crittenden urged the commission to invest public money to help eliminate a major bottleneck where the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks cross at Colton.
California Transportation Commission member Larry Zarian, a former chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, demanded to know who would pay for cost overruns if the Colton crossing project goes over budget.
Juan Acosta, a Sacramento lobbyist for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, told the commission that any cost overruns would be borne by the railroads. But Acosta took a rhetorical shot at Zarian, noting there were major cost overruns on MTA’s construction of the Los Angeles subway system. "I don’t think the public sector manages cost overruns better than the private sector," Acosta said.
The remark reflected the high stakes as competing regions of the state battle for a share of $3 billion in goods movement money that was included in a nearly $20 billion transportation bond measure approved by California voters in November 2006. The commission is scheduled to decide April 10 which projects will receive state bond money.
After listening to the disagreement between the five counties, the administration and the railroads, Commission Chairman James Ghielmetti had some advice for advocates of investing public money in the Colton crossing project. "I would suggest we get busy" if this is going to be a proposal the commission is going to consider seriously, Ghielmetti said.
-Jeffrey L. Rabin
Getting around Hollywood could be a little more difficult starting tonight as preparations begin for the 80th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre. Beginning at 10 p.m., Hollywood Boulevard will be closed between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive. The street will reopen at 6 a.m. tomorrow, but will close again at 10 p.m. tomorrow and remain closed until 6 a.m. Feb. 26. The south sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Orange will be closed -- with the exception of an 8-foot-wide pedestrian access -- at 6 p.m. and remain closed until 6 a.m. Feb. 26. The north sidewalk will be closed in the same area, also allowing an 8-foot pedestrian access, at 10 p.m. and remain closed until 6 a.m. Feb. 25. The mid-block pedestrian crosswalk on Hollywood Boulevard will be closed at 10 p.m. and remain clused until Feb. 26. The north and south curb lanes of Hawthorn Avenue will be closed between Highland and Orange at 10 p.m. and remain closed until Feb. 25. Metro buses will be rerouted, but school buses will be permitted in the area. The Hawthorn alley behind El Capitan Theatre will also close at 10 p.m. and remain clused until Feb. 26. The Oscar ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 24. (CNS)
The mayor's decision to move forward with the Pico/Olympic one-way plan has critics -- including the South Carthy Neighborhood Assn., racing to block the idea. Here's an email:
We have only one chance to stop this disaster. Please support Olympic Pico Solutions’ lawsuit seeking an injunction against the Mayor’s decree. Olympic Pico Solutions has already raised approximately $10,000.00. (The SCNA has already donated $1,000.00 and I am also writing a personal check.) Olympic Pico Solutions still needs to raise approximately $10,000.00 by Friday, February 22, 2008 to hire the law firm that defeated the Mayor’s plan to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The Times' Sharon Bernstein notes the one winner in the plan might be Councilman Herb Wesson, who got the what he wanted:
The mayor reduced the size of the project by more than a mile. It was initially supposed to run from the Santa Monica city limits to La Brea Avenue. Now, the idea is for it to end at Fairfax Avenue. The change is apparently a nod to Wesson, because the project no longer goes through a part of his district for which he expressed concern.
Old Map:
Former L.A. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter doesn't seems to think all the talk of bringing Maglev transit to L.A. makes much sense. Writing in the Daily News, she says: Local maglev fans claim the private sector will build the trains, so this isn't going to cost the taxpayers. But here are some questions no one has bothered to ask: Where will the train lines be located? What is there now, and where will it be moved? Who will pay to relocate displaced residents and businesses? Who will pay for the right of way? What happens if the technology doesn't work out as promised? Are there warranties or a plan to remove anything that doesn't work?
More on where the route would go: How does the train get from LAX to a freeway? No answer. Which freeway? Doesn't matter, the SCAG director said. So I picked 105 to 110 to 101 to Union Station. Do we run at freeway level or on top? On top, he said. What happens at the interchanges? (Let me remind you that before the 105 reaches the 110, it crosses the 405 at a many-level interchange.) Does my train go through the middle or over the top? The top? How high and how steeply can a maglev train climb?
Despite fierce opposition from residents and concerns by two City Council members, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has ordered Los Angeles transportation officials to implement a plan to make Pico Boulevard mostly one-way eastbound, and Olympic Boulevard mostly one-way westbound.
Under the mayor's plan, which had stalled earlier this week in a City Council committee, parking would be forbidden on all but a few stretches of Pico and Olympic during rush hour beginning March 8.
Traffic signals would be timed to favor faster eastbound traffic on Pico and westbound traffic on Olympic by April 28. After six months to a year, the two streets probably would be restriped so that Pico would have four lanes going east and two going west, while Olympic would have four lanes going west and two going east, a spokesman for the mayor said Thursday.
The move comes a day after Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Herb Wesson said they might remove their districts from the proposal because of concerns from local businesses and residents that the changes would harm shops and restaurants by making it impossible for customers to park.
On Thursday, the mayor, backed by Westside Councilman Jack Weiss, overrode the council's Transportation Committee, which had postponed action on the plan, saying through a spokesman that the council did not have jurisdiction over such issues as parking regulations or whether streets were one-way.
"The Department of Transportation reports to the mayor," said Matt Szabo, a spokesman for Villaraigosa.
-SHARON BERNSTEIN
Is it cheaper to fly or drive in California? The Times' Travel blog asks that question:
Los Angeles to San Francisco: 390 miles each way. If you get 20 miles to the gallon and gas is priced at $3.19, the trip will cost you about $62 to get there. Note that the average cost of a gallon of gas in San Francisco is $3.42 or $67 to get back. The total gas price if driving is $129. Total flight cost if using Southwest sale, $109. Result: Cheaper to fly.
Long Beach to Las Vegas: 282 miles each way. If you get 20 miles to the gallon and gas is priced at $3.19, the trip will cost you $45 to get there. The average price of a gallon of gas in Las Vegas is $3 or $42 to get back. The total cost to drive back and forth is $87. The total cost to fly if using the JetBlue sale, $113. Result: Cheaper to drive.
Share your thoughts with Daily Travel & Deal. One poster asks: What about the Megabus?
Photo: Los Angeles Times
Continue reading "Cheaper to drive or fly?" »
Relief is ahead for OC's freeways. The Register says the money will help ease some bottlenecks: Some of Orange County's most traffic-clogged freeways will get more than $2.8 billion in new lanes, better interchanges and wider off-ramps under a slate of projects scheduled to get under way this year. The list of freeways targeted for improvement under the Orange County Transportation Authority's plan reads like a commuter's nightmare: The I-5 freeway, the 405, a stretch of the 22, the bumper-to-bumper 91 near Riverside County, parts of the 57. Work crews will break ground on only a handful of the projects this year, including fixes for several bottleneck interchanges on the I-5. The rest of the projects are scheduled to begin working their way this year through the long process of design, study and review.
City Beat reports on the effort to halt the Expo Line: Damien Goodmon stands on the sidewalk a few feet from the railroad tracks next to Dorsey High School and looks like a prosecutor about to prove his case in court. He stops talking about underpasses and overpasses and environmental racism long enough to soak in the scene. Classes have ended for the day and dozens of students crowd onto the sidewalk, some overflowing into the street. A few rowdy types push one another in the playful chaos that marks the end of the school day. Goodmon believes the daily exodus at the South L.A. school nails his case: It will be impossible to keep students out of the path of the Expo Line light-rail trains when they start running some 50 feet north of the campus in a couple of years.
The fundraiser at a downtown L.A. Burger King for the fallen SWAT officer killed last week has caused a major traffic jam at Cesar Chavez and Grand Avenue. The Times' Bob Pool reports a sea of Crown Victorias snaking around the eatery to show their support. The city finally brought in traffic control officers to direct cars.
The Press-Enterprise investigated the downside -- in terms of cost and financing -- with the big Inland Empire freeway interchange project: When completed later this year, the 60/91/215 interchange overhaul in Riverside will significantly improve the flow of traffic at the Inland area's most notorious travel chokepoint. But its cost will be felt well into the next decade. To begin construction in 2004, Riverside County's transportation agency signed off on an unprecedented $224.4 million in borrowing against its future share of federal transportation dollars. By the time the borrowing, known as a Garvee bond, is paid off in 2015, it will have cost an estimated $66.4 million in interest. That amount is about double the estimated cost of the Cypress Avenue overcrossing of Interstate 10 in Fontana, more than half as much as safety improvements along Highway 74 between Lake Elsinore and Orange County, and more than enough to eliminate two traffic-blocking railroad crossings in Riverside.
Santa Monica has an idea for making it easier to get out of public parking structures: Exiting the city-owned parking garages in Downtown Santa Monica could get a lot easier if the City Council tonight approves a contract to install a series of automated credit card machines in the structures, enabling drivers to pay their fares without interacting with cashiers. The estimated $560,000 contract is part of more than $1.8 million in spending items — from new recycling bins to legal services for employment law — that the council could authorize city staff to expend at its meeting tonight . (More in the Santa Monica Daily Press).
Continue reading "Parking without dealing with humans" »
David Markland over at Metroblogging L.A. offers 10 ideas for fixing L.A. traffic. Here are a few: 3. Ban additional conditional use and building permits for parking lots except for those adjacent to outlying MTA stops.
2. Tax valet and parking services 50%. Use tax dollars to fund public transportation.
1. Require the Mayor and all City Council members to take public transportation to and from their district to City Hall at least one day per week ... during peak hours. On one other day per week they need to take public transpo to another district's center, visiting a different district each week.
Tell us your ideas!
Looks like many OC cities are not collecting those big sums from red-light camera violations: As many as 25,000 motorists have successfully evaded tickets for running red lights in Orange County by simply doing nothing, as some police agencies are failing to follow through on persons who ignore citations from automated cameras, it was reported today. "It’s not a real good message to get out there to the public," conceded Orange County Superior Court administrator Alan Slater. An investigation by the Orange County Register found that cities may have forfeited as much as $3.5 million in traffic fines from scofflaws, while law-abiding motorists caught by the cameras are paying fines, taking expensive remedial driving lessons, and forking over increased auto insurance payments. The newspaper found that police and court workers in various O.C. cities rarely complete the lengthy paperwork to go after motorists who ignore initial citations that are sent out by mail. Seven O.C. cities currently use the cameras at a total of 36 intersections. In addition to prosecuting lawbreakers, the automated machines are a proved to reduce the number of motorists who run red lights, and reduce collision rates. Some agencies said they were unaware that tickets issued in their city were going unprosecuted. "We didn’t know there was a mechanism to follow up on the case," Los Alamitos police chief Todd Mattern told the Register. (CNS)
Columnist Steve Hymon devotes his Monday Road Sage column to the annoying issue of why so few traffic lights seems to be timed correctly: Relatively few cities in the region have state-of-the-art technology when it comes to traffic signals, according to several transportation engineers I spoke with recently. Even the city of Los Angeles -- the widely acknowledged leader in advanced traffic signals -- is undergoing a $150-million upgrade to its lights. Both L.A. and Orange counties are making big pushes to help dozens of cities get their lights in sync, with the emphasis on big arterials that cross cities. The O.C., for example, is syncing up Euclid Street, which in 15 miles crosses six cities and four freeways.
Santa Clarita is considering a name change designed to reduce commuter confusion, according to the Signal: The next big component of downtown Newhall's makeover could include a street name that is more than 120 years old. The name "Railroad Avenue," which belongs to one of Santa Clarita's original streets, may be extended to Magic Mountain Parkway if the Santa Clarita City Council approves the proposal on Tuesday. A plan to turn downtown Newhall into a pedestrian-friendly, old town village calls for the elimination of the name "San Fernando Road" - a name city officials say is confusing for those new to the area. San Fernando, they point out, is in the ... well, the San Fernando Valley, not the Santa Clarita Valley.
The OC Register says some South OC cities are not happy about the 241 stalling -- because it could mean more traffic for them. The toll road now ends around Rancho Santa Margarita -- sort of like where the 710 ends in Alhambra: Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Neil Blais attended the state Coastal Commission hearing on the expansion of the 241 toll road on Wednesday wearing multiple hats. Blais also sits on the board of the Foothill Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, a proponent of the extension. Blais, who said he spends $150 using the toll road, was upset when the commission denied approval for the project. "My residents, the residents of Ladera Ranch, the residents of Mission Viejo and the residents of the future Ranch plan are the ones who are going to pay the penalty for a very vociferous group of people, many of who do not even live in Orange County," Blais said.
With the Coastal Commission rejecting the 241 Tollroad, The Times' David Reyes says officials are considering going back to the map: MacLean said that when the TCA board meets next week they may discuss the possibility of changing the tollway route to a location outside the jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission. "Of the 16 miles to complete the toll road," MacLean said, "only 2.2 miles are in the coastal zone. We can change the route, but that's just an idea, and of course, we will have to do studies."
Pam O'Connor, the Metro Board Chair, got a question from a reader on her live chat about the concept of "congestion pricing" and whether carpoolers were being punished by allowing solo drivers to share carpool lanes if they pay a toll. Her response: The intent of congestion pricing isn't to punish carpoolers. Metro is a huge supporter of carpooling and in fact provides billions of dollars to construct carpool lanes. We also have a department that works constantly with major employers, offering carpool incentive programs. Metro also provides subsidies to people who form vanpools. The problem is that many of our carpool lanes are running at or over capacity during peak hours and are not (or won't in the near future) be providing any speed advantage to carpoolers. Our hope with congestion pricing is to better manage our highway lanes -- to make the system work more efficiently and optimally. We think toll lanes will keep the lanes running at 50 miles per hour. And any money collected -- although this is far from a huge money-making tool -- would be used to increase other transit options along the corridor like van pool subsidies and add more freeway express buses to help everyone move better … especially those who use transit or carpool.
The Times' David Reyes in Del Mar is blogging the big tollroad vote. Check here for the latest.After the lunch break, Coastal Commission Chairman Patrick Kruer grew frustrated with outbursts ensuing during speeches. So he came up with new rules. He urged those in the audience, many of whom were clutching signs either for or against the toll road, to raise their arms instead of shouting, hooting or yelping. "Those who did not like a person's opinion as it came before the commission put your thumbs down or raise your signs again," he instructed the crowd.
Careful what you wish for.
When he introduced Tom Margrow, CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, hundreds of signs went fluttering into the air.
Margrow went on to say, "The 241 will provide congestion relief in one of our most important transportation corridors in the state."
And then:
"Traffic is growing, especially port traffic from Los Angeles and San Pedro harbors. The fact that a toll road is needed is part of the reason an alternative to I-5 has been recognized for many years."
- - - - -
More than 2,000 people have signed up to speak, though there was some indication the hearing might be cut off at 7 p.m. But whether the commission will actually vote tonight-still unclear.
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So how organized are the opponents of the toll road?
How about this: if a toll road proponent made an alleged false statement, the Save San Onofre Coalition would immediately print the statement from a computer and then attach a rebuttal. Then runners from the oalition would deliver one-page alerts to VIPs in the audience and the media while the meeting continued.
For example, after Margrow said "The TCA has a track record of success," the coalition quickly quickly passed out this alert:
"Fact: Cost estimates for this road have been wildly inaccurate," citing media story headlines.
- - - - -
Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the State Parks Foundation, addressed the commission. "This is important for San Onofre and all other state parks that are being eyed for infrastructure expansion development," she said. "If the toll road is permitted to proceed, we will all be spending decades in rooms like this all across the state fighting to protect yet another special place."
- - - - -
Native Americans believe they are affected by the toll road because the highway would come close to Panhe, an ancient burial site.
Rebecca Robles a Juaneno from San Clemente, came up with half a dozen other native Americans and sang a ceremonial song to the commission.
Following the song, she gave an emotional speech saying that she has a son in Iraq "and I stand here before the commission to save our sacred site. Our coalition is a grass-roots organization." She then described Panhe to the commission as the ancestral home of the Juaneno band of Indians.
"I encourage you, I implore you to uphold the California Coastal Act. Panhe is one of the remaining sites that we can enjoy our spiritual individuality. I ask you to protect this sacred site and uphold the act."
- - - - -
More than 2,500 people have signed up to present their personal findings to the Coastal Commission on the extension of the toll road through San Onofre State Beach. The number of those wishing to speak caught commission staff members by surprise ... they ran out of slips to hand out and had to start tearing up pieces of paper to give to people.
As Coastal Commission members discussed a report by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, proponents of the road, audience members would erupt in cheers whenever they heard the word Trestles. Deficiencies mentioned in the report also drew boisterous applause. Finally, the audience was warned to stop disrupting the proceedings or the hearing would go on all night.
Here's an amusing photo from the Coastal Commission meeting on the future of the 241 toll road extension. Critics clearly outnumber backers. And notice the difference in signage:
DEL MAR -- Several thousand people turned out today Wednesday morning at a California Coastal Commission hearing that will decide whether to approve a six-lane tollway through San Onofre State Beach, a popular preserve known for its ocean setting and famous surf spots.
Commission officials estimated that about 3,000 people—both tollroad supporters and oppnents--had filled Wyland Hall, a large pavilion at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which has been set aside for the tollroad hearing.
They sat in rows of chairs and banks of bleachers at the back of the hall to hear what could turn into a day-long discussion about the Foothill South project.
"This is the largest turnout we have ever had," said Sarah Christie, the commission’s legislative director.
Estimated to cost at least $875 million, the Foothill South would run 16-miles from Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita to I-5 at Basilone Road south of San Clemente.
The highway would course through the northern half of San Onofre and pass over the Trestles marine estuary, which is a nature preserve. About 320 of the park’s 2,100 acres would be taken for the road.
The controversy has generated intense public interest across the state. Local governments in Southern California have voted to support or oppose the highway. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed the project in January and other high ranking state officials have taken positions on the road.
Before the hearing even began this morningÖ , surfing-related companies, such as Billabong, Etnies, Vans, Reef, and GFH Boards, bused hundreds of toll way opponents to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Cars of protesters bore painted signs saying, "Honk to Save Trestles," and "Save the Park."
Popular among the opposition were blue T-shirts that stated "Save the Park, Stop the Tollroad."
"There are only so many state parks left and we really should not pave over them," said Mike Matey, 40, of San Diego, who frequently camps and surfs at San Onofre. "I can’t trust what the TCA says about the impacts of the highway on our coast."
Just outside Wyland Hall there was a carnival atmosphere. Hundreds of people milled about, sometimes shoulder to shoulder. Booths set up by the Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation and other environmental groups dispensed anti-tollroad literature while concessionaires sold coffee, mochas and lattes.
Heading insidethe pavilion was Armando Esparza, secretary for Laborers’ Union Local 652, which is affiliated with the Southern California District Council of Laborers. He was part of a group of more than 100 union members and tollway supporters from the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.
"Maybe at the end of the day, this project will mean more jobs, but it also will help relieve congestion," Esparza said. "Look at our freeways now--the 91 and the 710. They are all congested. People are now coming in from San Diego County to work in Orange County. That creates a bottleneck on the 5."
-David Reyes and Dan Weikel
Members of the activist group known as the Bus Rider’s Union today denounced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to scale back bus service starting in June. At issue are plans to eliminate some 375,000 hours of service annually, which Manuel Criollo of the BRU said would undermine gains owing to the 1996 Civil Rights Consent Decree. The consent decree -- the settlement of a lawsuit brought against Metro 12 years ago -- resulted in 10 years of policies aimed at reducing fares, reducing overcrowding and adding buses. Federal courts denied a request to extend the decree when it expired two years ago. The BRU submitted a brief for appeal last summer and is waiting to argue its case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Criollo said. Criollo described last year’s fare increase and the coming cuts to bus service as part of an “aggressive offensive to roll back what we had done.” (CNS)
The California Coastal Commission decides the fate Wednesday of a controversial toll road project designed to ease one of Southern California's worst bottlenecks: The road from Orange County to San Diego County. The project is strongly opposed by environmentalists because it would cut through parkland and the famed surfing spot. The decision is considered a fateful moment in the effort to improve the region's traffic woes. While most proposals for freeway expansion lack money, the tollroad is ready with financing. And backers ask if this project can't get off the ground, what are the prospects that there will ever be another freeway built in the L.A. metro area?
The Times' Dan Weikel has a strong preview of what is at stake.
The Times' Cara Di Massa looks at the effort to revive downtown L.A.'s Broadway with a new streetcar. Bring Back Broadway, the group spearheading the effort, described the Broadway street car this way: The City, CRA and Metro are studying the feasibility of reviving the beloved downtown streetcar and using it to connect Broadway to downtown’s newer attractions, such as Grand Avenue or L.A. Live. The streetcar long-served as a popular mode of transportation along Broadway until 1961. Reviving the streetcar is a plan that has widespread City and community support, and the Coalition of Trustees will include anactive streetcar sub-Committee. As has been the case in other west coast cities, suchas San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, the streetcar will once again roll down Broadway, linking our past to our revitalized future. Three options have been identified for routes connecting broadway, Grand Avenue, L.A. Live and other points of interest downtown. The next phase will be to determine the single preferred streetcar route, and begin the environmental work which will be necessary to determine the best and most feasible plan.
Steve Hymon's new column takes on the Presidential candidates for talking more about traffic: What could a president of the United States really do to improve your commute? The question resonates in Southern California, the longtime champion of primal-scream traffic. In recent years, the issue has been pretty much left up to local and state pols and their ever-shrinking pots of money. If you can read this while driving today, then you know what a great job they've done. But there was a day when getting around town was a presidential concern. It reached its nexus in 1956 when President Eisenhower, still irked over a slow cross-country drive decades earlier, signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act.
Wired.com likes where Steve is coming from.
PHOTO: LAT
The well-traveled Grapevine area of the Interstate 5 was partially reopened this morning after weekend storms shut down the freeway for eight hours overnight.
Groups of 500 vehicles were slowly escorted both ways along a 40-mile stretch from the Grapevine exit to Parker Road that had been closed since 11:30 p.m. last night, said officer David Porter of the California Highway Patrol. In the right conditions, a controlled number of vehicles slowly traveling across the mountain pass can warm up the roads and help cleanup efforts, said officer John Lutz of the CHP.
Closure of the state’s major north-south artery can cause wide-scale traffic headaches. About 70,000 motorists travel through the serpentine Grapevine each day. "It seems like there has been more activity this year with the closure of the 5 at the Grapevine than in the past few years," Porter said.
-Victoria Kim
Traffic was closed on the Pomona (60) freeways was closed Sunday after a big-rig overturned and live pigs from the vehicle scurried into the road, authorities said. The accident was reported on the connector between the southbound San Gabriel (605) and the Pomona (60) freeways at 5:10 p.m., said Officer Jose Nunez of the California Highway Patrol. The connector and three right lanes on the westbound 60 were closed at the 605 while CHP officers tried to upright the truck and clear the road, Nunez said. (CNS)
The Times' Daily Mirror blogger, Larry Harnisch, digs out from the newspaper morgue a fascinating "anatomy of an accident" on the Pasadena Freeway, circa 1958. Check it out.
By the way, "Hermon Avenue" had it's name changed to... (check below to find out)
Continue reading "Back when they called it Hermon Avenue..." »
The Times' Highway 1 columnist Ralph Vartabedian takes on rude drivers: Betty Jo McDonald of Camarillo finally found perfect justice meted out to a rude driver on the 101 Freeway not long ago. "I was driving in the fast lane, not driving slow by any means, when a man behind me began tailgating, honking, gesturing and flashing his lights," she recalled. Hemmed in on all sides, she couldn't get out of the speeder's way for a while. "I finally drove 80 to change lanes and get away from this maniac," she said. "To my delight, the Highway Patrol chased him down. It made my day -- maybe my week!" Wouldn't we all like to have that experience at least once? In my last column, I listed 10 uncivil and dangerous behaviors that I routinely see on the highway. Not to be outdone, drivers from around Southern California poured in their own experiences about the rotten driving they experience. The biggest single new complaint I received involved drivers who fail to use their turn signals.
TELL US YOUR RUDE DRIVER STORIES
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