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The California Highway Patrol released more factoids today about vehicle thefts in California last year. As we reported yesterday, overall thefts were down in '07 by 8%, which followed a decrease of 5.5% in 2006. The most surprising news, perhaps, is that San Francisco County is where you are most likely to have someone make off with your ride.
The obvious question here is if the number of stolen vehicles keeps going down in the state, what factor does that play in determining auto insurance rates. Darrel Ng, a spokesman for the Department of Insurance, said that the agency looks at each auto insurance carrier's losses and profits when determining what rates to allow -- not the state's overall numbers on auto theft. The state numbers do, however, come into play indirectly. The fewer vehicles stolen, the fewer the losses of some insurance firms.
Now, some fun facts:
*227,412 vehicles were stolen in the state last year -- or about one every three minutes.
*60% of the stolen vehicles were cars, 29% personal trucks or vans, 3% motorcycles and 4% commercial trucks (think Sopranos!).
*The three most popular cars to steal are the Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry. The 1991 Accord was the most popular model to steal (4,265), followed by the 1990 Honda Accord (3,648) and then the 1992 Honda Accord (3,308). The CHP says they were popular cars in the first place and still have high resale value.
*The recovery rate for stolen cars dipped a little last year, from 95.6% in 2006 to 93.6% in '07.
*Los Angeles County, as usual, led the state in total number of stolen vehicles, with 62,109, although the county also has the most registered vehicles (7,586,782). That was nearly a 7% drop from 2006.
*The percentage of all registered vehicles that were stolen in the following counties was:
San Francisco, 1.3%
San Diego, 1.02%
San Bernardino, .82%
Kern, .85%
Los Angeles, .81%
Imperial, .78%
Riverside, .74%
Orange, .37%
Ventura, .25%
Santa Barbara, .23%
--Steve Hymon
The Reason Foundation, the group that promotes libertarian values, just released its annual highway report. California, predictably, had the worst urban freeway congestion --
along with Minnesota and North Carolina -- but the 9th fewest deficient
bridges. The state's urban freeways also ranked 48th in terms of their condition. Only New Jersey and Hawaii were worse in that category.
Here's an excerpt:
Despite welcome progress, the study highlights continuing problems. Just under one-quarter of all bridges remain deficient; 50 percent of urban interstates remain congested; accident rates are stubbornly high; and substantial urban interstate mileage remains in poor condition. The recent sharp increases in highway construction costs mean that fewer repairs can be made from the same dollars.
This is the key passage from the report, basically saying these are really hard problems to solve:
Another emerging issue in this long-term data is the question of appropriate goals. There is increasing evidence that some measures may have essentially irreducible ‘bottoms’ below which it may not be realistic to go. Since 2000, urban interstate congestion has hovered around 50 percent; the percent of rural primary roads in poor condition has remained near 0.75 percent; the percent of rural interstates in poor condition has remained near 2 percent; and the percent of rural primary roads with narrow lanes has remained close to 10 percent.
Although some states have achieved remarkably lower statistics, overall, the nation has found it difficult to reducer these statistics even though dollars have substantially increased. This suggests that combinations of system condition, unit costs, and background trends, such as traffic, make further progress problematic. On the other hand, substantial progress still seems possible for reducing accident rates, improving bridges, and improving urban interstate condition.
The whole report can be found by clicking here. The group also has a neat Google map with their findings.
Although the Reason Foundation certainly has a distinct political viewpoint, there really isn't much politics in their report. The group is also a big proponent of congestion pricing, as are many other organizations across the political spectrum.
--Steve Hymon
Santa Monica's traffic woes
I listened to "Which Way L.A.?"
on the drive home last night and it was a good show. Host Warren Olney
looked at the upcoming ballot measure in Santa Monica that would lower
the amount of commercial development allowed in order to prevent future
traffic.
I'm not so sure that the proponent or opponent to the ballot measure
made much of a case that traffic is fixable in Santa Monica. Everyone
on the show agreed about the problem: The city's population swells to
more than twice its nighttime population because of the number of jobs
located there.
Later, I went to the Census Bureau's website and quickly found this fun statistic:
In 1990, Santa Monica's population was 86,905.
In 2000, Santa Monica's population was 84,084.
In 2006, Santa Monica's population was 88,050.
A couple more keystrokes and this statistic came up:
In 2000, Santa Monica had 47,863 housing units.
In 2006, Santa Monica had 49,045 housing units -- an increase of just 1,182.
Something else was immediately striking about the 2006 numbers. In
Santa Monica, 30.3% of the housing units are owned by the occupant and
69.7% are rentals. That's almost exactly opposite the national average
for 2006, with 67.3% of housing units owned by the occupant and 32.7%
rentals.
In other words, there's a lack of housing available for purchase --
presumably squeezing an already pricey market. And while adding a ton
of jobs in recent years, Santa Monica apparently hasn't added enough
housing to boost its population by any significant number. The result
is no surprise -- a lot of employees have to drive there to work. While
guests on "Which Way LA?" talked about limiting development or putting
in more mixed-use development, I didn't hear anyone say "maybe we
should add thousands more units of housing to go along with all those
jobs."
I'm not saying that's the solution. I honestly don't know. Maybe all
that housing would get built and then bought by people who don't work
in Santa Monica but want to live near the ocean. But it seems like it's
worth discussing. In fact, it would hardly surprise me if Bottleneckers
-- a breed known for its urban planning acumen -- begin a smart
conversation on this blog's comment board.
The sales tax proposal
I mentioned in yesterday morning's post that the next hurdle for the proposal to raise the sales tax to pay for more mass transit and road fixes in Los Angeles County comes Monday when the State Senate's Appropriations Committee takes up the issue. The next hurdle beyond that comes Tuesday when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has to vote to put the sales tax on the ballot.
A simple majority of the five-member board is needed for approval. The word I'm hearing from the County Hall of Administration is that the board is likely to move the initiative to the ballot, following the lead of the larger Metro Board (on which all five supervisors serve).
That said, anything is possible when it's time to vote. Only two of the supes, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky, have voted for going to the ballot with the sales tax. Gloria Molina abstained at last week's Metro Board meeting, Mike Antonovich voted against it and Don Knabe was absent from the meeting, but voted against the proposal in June when it was in an earlier form.
If I learn anything new today, I'll let you know.
Questions for Councilwoman Perry anyone?
I'm lunching today with Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents much of downtown and parts of South L.A. If there is anything you'd like to know from the councilwoman on the transit front, e-mail me a question at steve.hymon@latimes.com and I'll ask.
Driver distraction
The most interesting traffic story to cross my desk in recent days comes from the Atlantic Monthly, where writer John Staddon argues that too many street signs make roads in the U.S. more dangerous.
Staddon, who grew up in the UK, argues that all those signs (particularly stop signs) and speed limits distract motorists from the matter at hand -- driving -- and that driving is actually safer in the UK, where roads are often not nearly as nice as in the U.S. He writes:
"A particularly vexing aspect of the U.S. policy is that speed limits seem to be enforced more when speeding is safe. As a colleague once pointed out, 'An empty highway on a sunny day? You’re dead meat!' A more systematic effort to train drivers to ignore road conditions can hardly be imagined. By training drivers to drive according to the signs rather than their judgment in great conditions, the American system also subtly encourages them to rely on the signs rather than judgment in poor conditions, when merely following the signs would be dangerous."
I'm not sure that I entirely buy his arguments. A lot of the dangerous driving that I see on a daily basis comes from motorists being reckless or timid and driving either too fast or too slow. That means other motorists must avoid them and the weaving and braking often means close calls.
Recent Bottleneck items that may interest you
Local bridges still waiting for seismic retrofit
Is it time to return to the 55 mph speed limit?
Now the battle begins over the sales tax
-- Steve Hymon
Photo credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times
Since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the Northridge quake in 1994, the state of California has been trying to seismically retrofit bridges across the state. Given the significant earthquake yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to provide an update.
Also, to be frank, as a transportation reporter I've been meaning to get up to speed on the issue of bridge safety. So that's how I spent this afternoon -- reading and talking and trying to understand the basic issues.
The state of California owns more than 12,000 bridges. Of those, Caltrans says that it in the past 20 years it has retrofit 2,189 of the 2,194 bridges that needed updates -- with many of those bridges on the freeways and other major routes that serve as major corridors.
 The remaining five bridges are the eastern span of the Oakland-Bay Bridge, the Ten Mile River Bridge on Highway 1 in Mendocino County, the High Street bridge on I-880 in Oakland, the 5th Street bridge on the 880 in Oakland and the Schuyler Heim Bridge that connects Long Beach to Terminal Island.
The Schuyler Heim will eventually be replaced, said David Anderson, a Caltrans spokesman. Like the eastern span of the Bay Bridge, it's less expensive to replace it than to rebuild it.
In addition, there are 479 bridges that are owned by cities and counties in California that need seismic upgrades and are eligible for funding from Prop 1B -- the $19.9-billion transportation bond approved by California voters in 2006.
Among these bridges that still need seismic updates are some noteworthy structures in the Southland. Eight cross the Los Angeles River in the city of Los Angeles, including the Sixth Street Bridge and  bridges on streets such as Main Street, Glendale Avenue, Vanowen Street and Tampa Avenue. The Los Angeles Conservancy has expressed concerns over the river bridges, in particular, saying that while the need for public safety must be met, any fixes should also consider the bridges' historical architecture.
There are 40-plus bridges that Los Angeles County must fix, including the Foothill Boulevard bridge over the San Gabriel River in the San Gabriel Valley and an Imperial Highway bridge over the San Gabriel River. In Riverside County, the Van Buren Boulevard bridge over the Santa Ana River needs an upgrade. So does the MacArthur Boulevard bridge at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
Why am I listing these bridges? Because they are some of the same ones mentioned by my colleague Sharon Bernstein when she wrote about bridges in need of seismic upgrades in March 2006.
The California Transportation Commission, or CTC, doled out about $21 million of the seismic funds last week, on top of $13 million previously allocated. Both the Vanowen and Sixth Street bridges got money in that round of funding.
That allows cities and counties to seek Caltrans' approval of their project, which then allows the cities and counties to apply to the Federal Highway Administration for 88.5% of the cost of the project. That's how the bureaucracy works.
 The obvious question is what does the term "seismic upgrade" really mean? To put it simply, seismic upgrades are supposed to allow a bridge to withstand the maximum credible earthquake that could happen in any given area, said Anderson.
Of course, there are no guarantees. Intensive monitoring of earthquakes has revealed a lot of basic patterns about earthquake size, frequency and location (as the map at right shows) and scientists have mapped many of the region's faults. But there are a lot of variables when it comes to how earthquakes release energy. The bottom line is no one can say with certainty what kind of damage the next big quake may or may not cause.
"If you look at this whole planet of ours, the time window for which we have the [earthquake data is so short in geological terms," said Saiid Saiidi, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. "The science of seismology has progressed quite a bit in the last 30 years -- I may not know what the next big earthquake is going to be, but I can work on the structural side of it."
--Steve Hymon
Top photo: Steve Dykes / LAT
Bay Bridge photo: Ben Margot / AP
6th Street Bridge photo: Francine Orr / LAT
Earthquake map: U.S. Geological Survey
The California Highway Patrol just issued a news release saying that the state's vehicle theft rate dropped 8% in 2007. Statewide there were 227,412 vehicles stolen last year. The CHP says they'll provide a county-by-county list of auto theft rates in California on Thursday.
This comes on the heels of the annual report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which says that 2007 is likely to be on track to be the fourth straight year of declining auto theft in the United States.
Their list of the top 10 metro areas for auto theft are:
1. Modesto, Calif.
2. Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev.
3. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos, Calif.
4. Stockton, Calif.
5. San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif.
6. Laredo, Texas
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz.
9. Yakima, Wash.
10. Tucson, Ariz.
-- Steve Hymon
 Good morning, Bottleneckers. I'm back from a couple days off and will resume posting regularly today. That's Portland's relatively new gondola shown at right. More on that below.
Bridges hold up
Although Tuesday's quake was smaller than some recent big ones in California, the region's road infrastructure held up well. Caltrans has completed seismic upgrades to many state bridges, but fixes are still needed for many bridges owned by cities and counties in the state. Perhaps the best-known here is the 6th Street Bridge that crosses the Los Angeles River east of downtown.
Sales tax initiative
While the Metro board last week approved an ordinance to go to the November ballot with a half-cent sales tax increase, a companion bill, AB 2321, must still be approved by the Legislature that allows the initiative to go forward. The next stop for the bill is in the State Senate's Appropriations Committee on Monday. Four of the 15 senators on the committee are from the Southland, including Gil Cedillo, Sheila Kuehl, Jenny Oropeza and Mark Ridley-Thomas. Metro specifically changed the spending plan to placate Cedillo and Oropeza. Much more on this throughout the week.
Today in gas prices
Prices continue to drop or hold steady. The Chevron station in Pasadena that I'm obsessed with has been sitting at $4.43 for a gallon of regular gasoline since last Friday, but the average price in other parts of the state has dropped, according to AAA, and the price of a gallon of regular is below $4.20 in parts of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
The big question is at what price of gasoline do Americans begin shifting back to driving more? If you peruse these statistics from May 2008 at the U.S. Department of Transportation website, it's easy to see that the number of miles driven by Americans really began dropping in November -- when the price of gasoline in the state was averaging about $3.23 to $3.39 a gallon. Gas had actually been more expensive earlier in 2007 and the price dropped in January of this year, but the fact is people started driving less in November.
The best guess here is that a confluence of economic circumstances caused the drop. Ideas anyone?
Portland transit
I was in Portland, Ore., the last few days, and it's intriguing to see all that the city is doing on the transportation and planning front. They even have a gondola as part of their transit package and the number of people cycling around town is impressive. In recent years, several Los Angeles officials have visited there to see if there are any lessons they can bring home to L.A. I'll post some photos, statistics and impressions from my trip soon.
--Steve Hymon
Photo: Steve Hymon / Los Angeles Times
Beginning today, using the carpool lane will change forever on the Costa Mesa Freeway as part of a program began last year on the 22 Freeway. According to the OC Register:
Beginning Tuesday, drivers of vehicles carrying two or more people on the 55 freeway will be able to enter or leave the carpool lanes where they choose -– part of a plan to overhaul the carpool system in the county. A 5.5-mile stretch on the 55, between the 17th Street overcrossing and the 91 Freeway interchange, will become "continuous-access." ... Starting Tuesday, crews will replace the double, solid-yellow lines that separate the car-pool lanes from the regular ones with temporary dotted striping. Permanent striping is scheduled to begin the week of Aug. 10 and is expected to be complete at the end of August.
The Times' My-Thuan Tran reports the advantages:
Allowing drivers to go in and out of carpool lanes freely results in fewer and less severe accidents, according to a 2007 study by UC Berkeley transportation researchers. The report found that using yellow lines to restrict access resulted in 3.6 collisions per mile compared with 3.2 collisions per mile for free access freeways. [The Orange County Transportation Authority] and the California Department of Transportation decided to convert the lanes after a successful experiment in December 2006 with unrestricted carpool lanes on the 22 Freeway. An OCTA-commissioned survey in 2007 also found that 71% of drivers on the 22 Freeway preferred unrestricted carpool lanes.
How many of our bridges need help? Try 152,000, according to the Associated Press: At least $140 billion is needed to make major repairs or upgrades to one of every four U.S. bridges, transportation officials from states across the country said in a report released Monday. State officials said bridge repairs are just one element of a pressing need for more federal funding to improve the country's deteriorating transportation infrastructure. "We need federal intervention, and federal intervention at a big level," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said after details were released of the report by the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The report cited Federal Highway Administration statistics that 152,000 out of the nation's 600,000 bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The $140 billion price tag was derived by multiplying the total number of square meters of the problem bridges by the average cost per square meter — in 2006 dollars — to do the work.
Photo: Sixth Street bridge in Los Angeles, which needs repairs. Credit: Los Angeles Times
-- Shelby Grad
There is a growing (but small) movement in Washington to bring back the 55 mph speed limit as a way of boosting fuel efficiency. According to Time, Sen. John Warner (R-Virginia) is leading the way:
The National Maximum Speed Limit of 55 m.p.h. was created in 1974 when Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Energy Highway Conservation Act. Before that, states had been free to set their own speed limits, but the new law threatened to strip federal highway funding from any state straying above the national standard. The ostensible purpose of this limit was to keep down gas prices, which had been driven through the roof by an OPEC embargo touched off by the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. And with gas prices once again sky-high, Warner isn't alone in talking up a cap on speeding. Jackie Speier, a first-term Democratic Congresswoman from California, is already on the case. Earlier this month, she introduced a bill that would cap highway speed limits at 60 m.p.h. — 65 in rural areas. It's awaiting a hearing before the House Committee on Transportation. Warner says he hasn't contacted Speier but adds that he'd be willing to "stroll out on the floor" in favor of a speed-limit bill. He has yet to propose a similar bill in the Senate.
According to the Department of Energy: "Each 5 m.p.h. you drive over 60 m.p.h. is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas."
CAN YOU DRIVE 55? SHARE YOUR VIEW
-- Shelby Grad
Two government reports out this week show how high gasoline prices have begun to ripple across the nation's transportation system. Think cause and effect. Or maybe supply and demand.
As Times business writer Ronald D. White reports today, the Federal Highway Administration found that Americans drove less for the seventh month in a row last May. And we're likely headed for the first annual drop in road travel in 28 years.
Lo and behold, White also says, gasoline prices have suddenly begun to decline, according to Energy Department figures. Not enough to keep all those Detroit automakers from melting down their SUV molds but enough to push gas station prices in some parts of the country back below $4 a gallon. The average for California fell 14.3 cents to $4.317 a gallon.
Meanwhile, in it's own story about the decline in driving, CNNMoney.com reports that transit riders -- just like in Southern California -- are setting ridership records: Usage jumped in the first three months of the year by 88 million trips from a year ago, for a total of 2.6 billion, according to the most recent figures available from the APTA [American Public Transit Assn., a private trade group.]
Some of the most dramatic increases occurred in the light rail systems in Baltimore, Minneapolis and St. Louis, the commuter rails of Seattle and Harrisburg, Penn., the buses of San Antonio and Denver, and the subways and elevated rails of ... Boston.
The Boston Globe reported Monday that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority broke a ridership record of 375 million passengers in fiscal year 2008, which is 21 million more than the prior year.
There is one big downside, as both reports explain: as people drive less and buy less gasoline, the feds predict a significant decline in the gas tax revenue that pays for road and bridge maintenance.
-- Bill Nottingham
Photos: San Bernardino Associated Governments (top); Associated Press / Brian Bohannon (bottom)
Two L.A. Times editors wrote about their experiences moving into downtown L.A. Both like it -- especially giving up the commute (and travel costs). Julie Makinen says: Part of the windfall has come from trading my hourlong, 20-mile morning crawl down the 101 Freeway for a leisurely 1.4-mile stroll or bike ride to work. That means $160 less in gas expenditures each month. Cha-ching!
Julie also says the urban mindset is different from the suburban mindset when it comes to driving: Back in the Valley, my shopping routine went like this: Hop into the car on a weekend afternoon. Spend hours on the typical suburban circuit of Trader Joe's, Vons or Ralphs, Target or Costco and maybe the mall. Load up the shopping cart, check out, repeat. Stuff the trunk with a half-dozen bags containing provisions for the next week or two. No more. Now that my primary modes of transport are my feet, my bike and the bus, I'm shopping Euro-style -- stopping for groceries on the walk home and buying only what's needed for the next few meals. Since my spending is limited to what can be carried the two long blocks to my building, that means giving up on heavy cases of wine and bulk packages of toilet paper the size of small igloos. But it also means fewer impulse purchases -- and, overall, less cash forked over at the checkout stand.
Meanwhile, the Downtown blog dispels fears that 2nd Street in downtown is being widened.
--Shelby Grad
Photo: Carlos Chavez / LAT
The U.S. Department of Transportation offered more evidence today that Americans are driving less in this era of high gas prices. According to the DOT: Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in May 2008 than in May 2007, according to the Federal Highway Administration data. This is the largest drop in VMT for any May, which typically reflects increased traffic due to Memorial Day vacations and the beginning of summer, and is the third-largest monthly drop in the 66 years such data have been recorded. Three of the largest single-month declines -- each topping 9 billion miles -- have occurred since December.
The Wall Street Journal says this trend is reducing funding to improve roads.
More on the latest numbers from the DOT after the jump:
Photo: Rick Loomis /LAT
-Shelby Grad
Continue reading "The roads less traveled" »
Maybe it's the summer vacation season or the ever-so-slight dip in oil prices. Or maybe people are just finding it easy. But for whatever reason, the shuttle service from Union Station to LAX is growing at a 30% clip, Los Angeles World Airport officials announced today.
An article posted this morning by Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske, said airport officials are adding more than a dozen shuttle pickups. Check out her report.
And here's where you go to catch it.
-- Bill Nottingham
Photos: Los Angeles World Airports
Hi folks. I'm out-of-town Monday and Tuesday this week, but will be back and blogging away about the sales tax, gas prices, bike racks and all sorts of other transportation-related fun on Wednesday.
Some of my colleagues may be doing some light posting here today and tomorrow. Of course, there's plenty of material you can scroll through from earlier this month and in the archives.
In the meantime, feel free to leave any suggestions for the blog or story ideas on the comment board attached to this post. See you soon...and I should have plenty to report after I return from this supposedly transit- and bike-friendly town up north.
--Steve Hymon
It may be only half a penny, but from the looks of things on Friday, the effort to raise sales taxes in Los Angeles County to pay for a slew of mass transit projects and road improvements will likely be a heated contest this coming fall.
On Thursday, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to put a half-cent sales tax hike on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Legislature still must approve a companion bill, but proponents are already planning a fall campaign for the tax, which they say could raise from $30 billion to $40 billion for new rail lines and to fix freeway bottlenecks.
 At the gas pumps on Friday, however, the sales tax proved to be a tough sell. Of motorists interviewed by The Times, a typical response came from Henry Gonzalez, a 19-year-old biology major who was boarding an Orange Line bus in North Hollywood.
"I honestly would not vote for it," said Gonzalez, who added that he started taking the bus to summer school at Valley College recently, paying $13 a week in fares versus $95 a week to drive his car from Westlake to chemistry class. The problem, he said, is that the new sales tax would unfairly place the burden on lower income workers who rely on mass transit to get around town.
But other San Fernando Valley residents said they would gladly support such a tax hike, citing positive experiences on mass transit in other cities that eclipsed the mishmash of systems in Los Angeles that often leave residents unable to get where they need to be in a timely manner.
"I’m a big believer in public transportation," said Jamie Tarlove, as she topped off her gleaming black Honda Pilot with $75 in gas at a Chevron station in Sherman Oaks. Saying she just returned from a vacation to New York with her family, the schoolteacher recounted how her clan took the subway everywhere.
"I feel sorry for all the housekeepers on the corner who have to wait for a bus on Sundays," she added, saying she often drove her housekeeper home rather than asking her to take the bus. She also expressed surprise that part of the money from an increased tax hike would be used to finance Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s "subway to the sea," saying that she thought the new system was "already a done deal."
For more detail, click the link...
-- Steve Hymon with help from Jennifer Oldham, Joanna Lin and David Zahniser
Photo: Associated Press / Dan Loh
Continue reading "Now, the battle begins over sales tax proposal" »
Four members of the House of Representatives, all representing parts of the San Gabriel Valley, have just issued a press release saying the sales tax hike that Metro wants to take to voters is inequitable. All four -- David Dreier, Grace Napolitano, Gary Miller and Hilda Solis -- also say the Gold Line Foothill Extension should receive more money in the sales tax spending plan:
"The Federal government has stood up and done its part to demonstrate support –- our local Congressional delegation has already delivered $27.1 million. If Metro would commit its share, we could fight for an additional $320 million in federal funds. Rather than join us, Metro said no to the San Gabriel Valley."
They also say it's insulting that Metro and Caltrans are going ahead with a plan to convert the El Monte Busway into a toll lane without giving Congress time to learn more details of the program and that the agency has shared too few details of it with the public.
The sales tax spending plan calls for $735 million in revenues to go to the Gold Line Foothill Extension, although more than $200 million of that would be for a rail maintenance facility. Overall, proponents of the sales tax say it could raise $30 billion to $40 billion over the next three decades.
I just spoke with Don Lyster, Solis' chief of staff, and he said that Solis "is exploring actively campaigning against" the sales tax effort.
Of course, it's not actually on the ballot yet, but things just keep getting more interesting.
The whole release is after the jump.
Continue reading "Four Congress members say sales tax, toll lanes are an insult" »
 This is the latest dispatch from The Times' Lauren Williams, a regular Blue Line patron:
The first time I commuted on the Metro, I was practicing how to get to The Times using public transportation. It was 10 p.m. and I was standing on the platform at the Imperial/Wilmington stop, where the Blue Line intersects the Green Line, and I remember a small, scruffy dog near the stop, walking uncomfortably close to the rail line. I figured it was a one-time occurrence and someone would surely pick up the lost dog.
As I later learned, loose dogs are a pretty common sight on the Blue Line, especially between the Florence stop (just past the intersection with the Green Line) and the Del Amo station. Regular riders probably see half a dozen dogs walking the streets each week.
Some have collars, although they often don’t, and usually the dogs look happy to be free, trotting down the street. In such cases I assume another Good Samaritan will stop and call the owner or a shelter and the dog will be back to regular meals and clean water in no time.
Such was not the case last week, when, riding the Blue Line, I saw a dog curled into a ball lying dangerously close to the tracks beyond the metal gate that, to humans, distinguishes between the safe side of the sidewalk and the all-too-close side, near the Metro’s tracks.
The dog was cute, medium sized, with longish black and brown hair lying in the shade under a tree — the kind of dog that looks like the ideal family pet. It looked as if though had been on the streets for a while and was ready to kick the bucket.
So, as I rode the Blue Line, near El Segundo Boulevard, just past the Compton stop, I decided I was probably the only person who noticed (or cared about) the dog and called information trying to reach animal control.
Other passengers looked at me like I was a lunatic. “She’s got to be kidding,” their expressions said. But the dog looked nice. After several minutes on hold and several transfer calls, the Blue Line I was riding had taken me several stops away from where the dog was and my description was shoddy.
I didn't see the dog on my way home. I assumed maybe it had been picked up — or he just wandered somewhere else. Either way I thought maybe I was on to something.
A few days later, though, a dead pit bull near where the black and brown dog had been proved to me that I wasn’t. Or, maybe, a few more calls to animal control were in order.
To report a lost dog, here are the numbers for different agencies in Los Angeles County:
City of Los Angeles: call 3-1-1, http://www.laanimalservices.com/
Los Angeles County: The Downey shelter handles most of the area near the Blue Line; 562-940-6898, http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/.
City of Long Beach: 562-570-7387, http://www.longbeach.gov/health/bureau/ac/
The other county shelters contract services to many of the other cities in L.A. County. Their numbers are:
Agoura Shelter, (818) 991-0071
Baldwin Park Shelter, (626) 962-3577
Carson Shelter, (310) 523-9566
Castaic Shelter, (661) 257-3191 or (818) 367-8065
Lancaster Shelter, (661) 940-4191
--Lauren Williams
Photo: Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times
Mass transit returns to Dodger Stadium this evening when city of Los Angeles DASH buses start running a new route between Union Station and the ballpark.
The flier, at right, shows the route -- it's basically from Union Station straight up Cesar Chavez and Sunset to Elysian Park. The buses run from 90 minutes before the game until one hour after -- for those who like to stay until the bitter end. The ride is free.
We wrote about this last month. The Dodgers wouldn't help pay for the service, saying that mass transit isn't their responsibility, rather it's a civic function. The team did promise to help publicize the bus, which it appears to be doing -- although I wonder if that trolley at the right can afford to eat at the stadium.
The Dodgers are also intent on developing some of the land around the stadium. That could mean to a loss of some parking or an increase in the number of people going up the hill, which perhaps is the reason that the team wants to get people on the bus.
Either way, it's intriguing that the team is embracing something that could cost it parking revenue. With parking at $15 a pop and the high price of gas, now seems the time to strike.
A prominent elected official once suggested to me that I bear a distinct resemblance to a rain cloud, and in that spirit I would like to suggest that another bus be added that picks fans up at some downtown eateries and bars. The last time I was at the stadium I whipped out a $20 bill to pay for two watery beers and discovered it wasn't enough; next time I'm eating and drinking before the game.
-- Steve Hymon
Flier: City of Los Angeles
 Some other impressions from yesterday's vote by the Metro board to move forward with a half-cent sales tax initiative:
Cyclists speak out
I liked the spunk of the several cyclists who, with a rare mix of clarity and humor, made their case to the Metro board that money in the sales tax plan should be set aside for bike improvements and pedestrians. "Bicycling is a solution; the more you integrate it into your mass transit plans ... the better service you will have," cyclist Ingrid Peterson told the board. She's got a point -- bikes are often the quickest way to bus and rail stops.
Fifteen percent of sales tax revenue ($4.5 billion to $6 billion if Metro's estimates are correct) would go back to cities and unincorporated areas and it would be up to them to spend the money as they see fit. The cyclists are worried that some cities may spend on cyclists and pedestrians while others may not. It's a legit worry. Damien Newton at Streetsblog Los Angeles is helping lead the campaign; lots more details at his blog.
The fare freeze
It's not surprising that the Bus Riders Union is against the sales tax increase because leaders say too much money would go to rail projects. The BRU has historically been averse to rail spending, wanting to see the bus system upgraded first to relieve crowding and long waits between some buses.
It was equally interesting, however, that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tried to head off some of this criticism by proposing to use expected revenues to delay next year's fare increase and to freeze fares for seniors, the disabled, students and Medicare recipients for five years.
The fare freeze mimics a move made by County Supervisor Kenny Hahn in 1980, when as part of that year's campaign for a sales tax increase he called for bus fares to be cut. Looking back, some transit advocates credit that with helping secure passage of the sales tax hike, while others say it cost the bus system dearly needed revenues.
The money for this fare freeze would presumably have to come from somewhere in the spending plan. Will a particular project take a hit to help pay for it? We'll see.
The fall campaign
A couple of supporters of the sales tax said privately that a fall campaign would probably cost $5 million to $8 million and involve substantial television time. Maria Elena Durazo, the executive secretary-treasurer of the 800,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, indicated that her organization would likely spend some money. The business community has talked a lot about the need to improve transportation in the Southland, but are they willing to pony up some dollars, too?
Villaraigosa's office has also met with AAA to try to win the auto club's support, since the sales tax plan has several billion dollars of road projects in it. A AAA spokesperson told me Thursday that the organization is looking at the initiative, but hasn't taken a position yet.
The mayor will likely do some fundraising, as will other local pols. Another factor here is that this could be a ballot heavy on tax increases. The L.A. City Council is already asking for a parcel tax to pay for more anti-gang programs and Villaraigosa is also pushing an LAUSD school bond. The obvious question: When the economy is tough, how much can you realistically ask voters to pay?
The Gold Line
It will also be mighty interesting to see how San Gabriel Valley officials play this. To their credit, they used all their political leverage to get some extra money for the Gold Line extension into the spending plan but still pushed for more money -- and more assurances the Gold Line would be first in line for the money.
The problem they're up against now is this: If they oppose the sales tax and it doesn't pass, they're not likely to get the seed money from Metro to get the project going. That's just plain old political retribution. On the other hand, if they do support the sales tax, there is the very real chance it may not pass, or that it may pass but funds will be slow coming to the Gold Line. In short, they've got to decide whether the sales tax is their best shot at getting the line built.
It's a tough position, particularly when subway supporters can point to expected ridership that is many times what the Gold Line would have. On the other hand, I think the point overlooked about the Gold Line extension is that it's an effort to get mass transit in before it's too late traffic-wise.
The equity issue
To boil it down to its essence, a lot of the arguing about the sales tax spending plan over the past several weeks has been about how to best spread the money around. Some people argue it should be about need; others say it should be on a per capita basis.
The per capita basis argument is a way to lock in dollars for certain parts of L.A. County. Here's why that's important: There are likely to be projects on the spending plan that never come to pass. The best example, perhaps, is the 710 tunnel, a project that is controversial and very expensive. The plan has committed $780 million to the tunnel. If it doesn't happen, the Metro board will have to divert that money to something else.
If there was a per capita formula in place, that money could stay in the eastern half of the county. Without a formula, the Metro board could theoretically send that money anywhere. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- but it's the belief by the eastern half of the county that the money will go west to the city of Los Angeles that motivated all the arguing.
Hey, that's how political compromises work. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky may have summed it up best: "This is not a perfect proposal, but I can't remember the last tax proposal that I supported that was."
-- Steve Hymon
Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times
Frazgo is no fan of the proposal to raise the sales tax in L.A. County by a half-penny to pay for more road and mass transit. He wrote: "I totally disagree with the approach. It favors the wealthy. It does nothing to improve traffic flow in ANY city I have ever encountered it Civil Disobedience. Use it. Don't pay. Litigate the issue."
First, I plan on covering the campaign -- should it come to be -- as fairly as possible. But I think Frazgo raises a good point. Does mass transit improve traffic flow? Los Angeles has a much larger transit system now than it did in 1992, yet if you look at Caltrans traffic data, most freeways are carrying more cars now than they did then.
Many cities and regions with expansive transit systems -- New York, Chicago, the Bay Area, to name a few -- have pretty bad traffic congestion. I interviewed Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper last year about an expansive rail system that the Denver region is trying to build by 2015 and I thought he made some deft arguments that avoided the we're-gonna-fix-traffic approach.
The trains may not fix traffic, he said, but they would provide an alternative to sitting in traffic and they would perhaps keep traffic from growing worse.
--Steve Hymon
The "no" votes were Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Duarte City Councilman John Fasana. Supervisor Gloria Molina, after suggesting she would vote no, decided to abstain.
We will have a story up on the website momentarily.
--Steve Hymon
The board just passed the sales tax measure amendment offered by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, delaying a fare increase that was scheduled for next year.
Various board members are making their last pitch on ordinance now. I think we'll have a vote within 15 minutes or so.
Supervisor Gloria Molina said she would vote against the measure because she believes it's not equitable and that the list of projects were thrown together too quickly. "I think we are really hurting ourselves in the long run," Molina said. "It would have been so much better to see everyone on this board supporting this measure."
She said her no vote comes with "tremendous regret."
-- Steve Hymon
Continue reading "Metro board meeting update: the vote is nearing" »
Bottleneck Bulletin: Cars are backed up 20 miles on southbound Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton because of a rollover crash involving a meat truck. Fuel tanks on the Vons grocery truck burst into flames when the big-rig overturned at about 5:09 a.m. It touched off a four-acre brush fire in a remote area of the Marine base along the highway. Southbound lanes were immediately shut down. The brush blaze was put out within an hour. California Highway Patrol Officer Larry Landeros says the trucker is seriously injured and had to be rescued from the demolished rig. The CHP says witnesses told officers the truck flipped over a few times. The left lane and an area along the center divider in the southbound I-5 lanes reopened at 6:12 a.m. -- Associated Press
Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) just spoke. He is sponsoring the state bill that would allow the sales tax to go forward. "This is a historic moment here," he told the board. "We know our residents are calling on us to seize this moment....This is an opportunity that won't come again -- not for a generation."
That was a reference to the expected high turnout in November forecast because of the presidential election. The thinking among Metro's pollsters is the election will bring a lot of people sympathetic to mass transit to the polls.
In an interview, Feuer said he has enough support in the Legislature for the companion bill that allows the county to take the sales tax hike to voters. He also decried efforts to spread the money around the county on a per capita basis.
"There is plenty of equity in what's before them now because this measure puts transit where the riders are," Feuer said.
More later.
-- Steve Hymon
One hour into the Metro board meeting on the sales tax hike proposal, here are the latest developments:
-- Several board members are circulating an amendment to the sales tax ordinance that they say would more evenly spread sales tax revenues throughout L.A. County.
"What is complex about fairness?" asked County Supervisor Gloria Molina at one point.
-- Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo told the board that 25 unions representing more than half of the federation's 800,000 members support the sales tax increase.
Later Durazo told me the federation considers the sales tax to be one of its top three priorities along with electing Sen. Barack Obama as president and State Sen. Mark Ridley Thomas as county supervisor. And she said the federation is prepared to open its war chest to campaign for the sales tax if it makes the ballot.
-- Manuel Criollo, spokesman for the Bus Riders Union, said the group would oppose the sales tax because it doesn't do enough to expand bus service and instead concentrates on building rail projects.
"You know that's not enough," he said to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about his proposal today to put off next year's fare increase as part of the sales tax package.
More later.
-- Steve Hymon
The Metro board meeting is underway, and the board is just taking up the sales tax issue.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is chairing the meeting, held a press conference earlier this morning to reiterate his view that the spending plan for expected sales tax revenues fairly spreads money to transportation projects throughout Los Angeles County.
"There are many who are going to argue they didn't get enough," the mayor told the board.
The mayor also asked the board to delay the fare increase that's supposed to go into effect next year and freeze student, senior, disabled and Medicare fares for five years as part of the sales tax spending plan.
So there's a lot on the table. And the next few hours will tell how many other board members believe the spending plan is fair.
More later.
-- Steve Hymon
I'm headed out the door in a few minutes to today's big Metro board meeting, so just a few quick hits:
- The sales tax proposal seems to have enough votes to pass the Metro board, but if enough folks from around the county leave the meeting unhappy, the sales tax can still be blown up in the state Legislature.
- Speaking of the Legislature, it has until Oct. 15 to propose and sign into law a bill allowing Los Angeles County to try toll lanes on parts of the 10, 110 and possibly the 210 freeways. The California Transportation Commission approved the lanes yesterday, basically saying it was worth a one-year pilot program.
- The Los Angeles City Council's transportation committee yesterday approved a proposal to give the car-sharing firm Zipcar some parking spots near UCLA and USC to park their rental cars.
- The price of a gallon of regular slipped again at the Chevron station we've been monitoring in Pasadena. As of yesterday (last time I checked) it was $4.499, down 4 cents since Monday. The state average in California has slid to $4.396 and the national average to $4.026, according to AAA.
Reader comment of the day from yesterday comes from James N., who took issue with a sentence in a post yesterday about my colleague's adventures on Metrolink. The offending sentence: "Taking mass transit in Southern California often means a lifestyle change. James' comment:
If by "lifestyle change" you mean having to plan your days around bus/train schedules and giving up the freedom of driving off whenever you feel like it, then I don't see how Southern California is so different from 99.9% of the rest of this country. Mass transit isn't synonymous with chauffeur service.
That's certainly a fair point. I do think, however, that one of the key problems with mass transit here is that in many places -- certainly not all -- taking it means spending a lot longer time commuting than driving. Getting to and from stations or bus stops can be a real time gobbler and converting to mass transit on a regular basis, at least for now, takes a big commitment.
Links to some other previous Bottleneck Blog items you may find enlightening:
A woman, a bucket of water and the Blue Line
A lot riding on sales tax proposal for transit and roads in L.A. County
Caltrans has a fix for 405-101 interchange, but doesn't have the money
That's it for now. I'm headed downtown and will try to post live from the Metro meeting from my semi-intelligent, first-generation iPhone.
--Steve Hymon
Good evening Bottleneckers. I liked the juxtopation of really old and kinda old in this photo of the vessel California as it fires one of its cannons Wednesday near the Bay Bridge. I think the bridge wins in this battle.
photo: Lance Iversen / AP/San Francisco Chronicle
Gas prices are up, traffic is down and mass transit ridership has gone through the roof.
With those issues on the table, the Metro board meets Thursday and has a big decision on its plate: should voters be asked in November to raise the sales tax in Los Angeles County by a half-cent for the next 30 years to pay for new mass transit and road projects?
Such a tax increase, if approved, is expected to raise $30 billion over the next 30 years and perhaps ignite a building boom for rail and road projects (that's the Gold Line's east L.A. extension in the photo above). But the board and other area politicians and officials have been quarreling over how to spend that money and the fighting, which has largely been along geographic lines, may lead to the sales tax effort falling apart.
If the sales tax is approved by voters, how much money would be raised and how would it be spent?
The sales tax increase would be in effect for 30 years and is expected to raise at least $30 billion, although that number could be higher or lower depending on the spending habits of Los Angeles County.
Thirteen mass transit projects and 16 road projects would split the pot. There would also be about $6 billion set aside that would be returned to each city in the county -- and its unincorporated areas -- for use on transportation improvements as they see fit. This could include everything from pothole repair to bike lanes.
Which mass transit and road projects would get money?
As currently formulated, here's a list of the big winners:
$7.9 billion for county-wide bus operations and expansion
$6 billion to local cities for transportation needs on per capita basis
$4 billion for a Westside subway extension
$1.1 billion for Metrolink operations and expansion
$1 billion for a mass transit project along the 405 freeway in Sepulveda Pass
$971 million for Crenshaw Boulevard light rail or busway
$925 million for completion of the Expo Line light rail to Santa Monica
$735 million for the extension of the Gold Line from Pasadena to Claremont
$906 million for interchange improvements on the 405, 110, 105 and 91 freeways in the South Bay
$780 million for a 710 freeway tunnel under South Pasadena
$590 million for 605 freeway interchange improvements
$590 million for 710 freeway improvements in south L.A. County
$400 million for Alameda Corridor East street crossing separations
$250 million for countywide soundwall expansion
You can find the complete spending list at this link to ordinance on Metro's website. The list is on pages 25 to 27.
That's a lot of projects -- is there enough money to finish them all?
 No. And this is an important point. The spending plan that Metro has put together for the sales tax revenue shows the estimated construction costs in 2008 dollars. Even now, most of the projects on the list would still need to get some state, federal and possibly private money to be finished.
It's also important to note that the sales tax revenues do not all show up at once - they would flow into local coffers over the next three decades. So the cost of some projects today could greatly rise by the time they are built and many would not be constructed for years, such as the proposed transit project along the 405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass (pictured at right). That one isn't slated to be done until, gulp, 2038.
Continue reading "A lot riding on proposal for L.A. County road and transit sales tax" »
The California Transportation Commission just unanimously approved the plan in Los Angeles County to convert the carpool lanes on parts of the 10, 110 and possibly the 210 freeways to toll lanes.
Don't get too excited or outraged. Now it's the Legislature's turn to kick the tires of the proposal. And there's no predicting the ways of Sacramento.
-- Steve Hymon
 I admit to having a weakness for tales of the odd things that are sometimes witnessed on mass transit. I just happened to be in the elevator earlier with Kent Zelas, The Times' assistant reader's representative. In a very short ride to the third floor, he spun a tale that I immediately decided had to be shared with Bottleneckers.
Hit it, Kent:
I see some unusual and sometimes unsettling things on the Metro, which I ride about two hours a day, but this was a new one, as the Blue Line was approaching Long Beach on Tuesday evening:
A passenger sits down in the row next to mine and plops a white 10-gallon plastic bucket on the seat beside her. It's sloshing with water, so I look up from my newspaper to assess the risk. It's smeared with mud and the water's a brackish yellow. There's also mud -- or something -- floating around in it. I glance at the passenger, a youngish woman, who's smeared all over with mud -- or something -- too. A streak across her forehead, and specks on her cheeks, but I don't look too closely because she's already made eye contact. She's smiling placidly.
There might be crawdads in there, or a recovered pet turtle, scrunched in a corner of that bucket where I can't see; I don't know for sure. But I'm thinking not, and I move to the front car, standing for the rest of my ride, joined by a migration of other passengers.
-- Steve Hymon and Kent Zelas
Photo credit: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times
 There's an intriguing item on the agenda today for the Los Angeles City Council's Transportation Committee: The city is considering handing over a few parking spaces near UCLA and USC to the car-sharing firm Zipcar.
The firm already has rental cars available -- cars are kept in various locations, such as parking garages -- so the issue here is whether the city wants to make the program more visible by allowing some cars to have street locations.
Zipcar rents cars by the hour. The idea is that people who live nearby can easily access a car when they need one without all the hassles and expense of car ownership. Zipcar's website shows that cars rent from $9 an hour to $77 for an all-day rental on a Mini. Other cars are $66 for the day.
The big argument for a car-sharing program is that it is a good way to help more people take mass transit because it allows them to have a car when they most need it. The rest of the time they can get around by walking, cycling or public transport. It seems like an idea that could catch on here as the area continues to grow denser -- it's basically a rental car firm spread out to more locations.
-- Steve Hymon
Photo: Zipcar
 This is the latest installment of Times copy editor Rubaina Azhar's adventures in Metrolink:
So it boils down to this: At 4:30 a.m., is saving a polar bear more important than sleeping for another half-hour?
Since 2004, I’ve lived in Fullerton and worked in downtown L.A. Until earlier this month, I chose to drive to work every day instead of taking mass transit. Typical Southern Californian. On July 1, though, I tried commuting to L.A. on Metrolink for the first time and had an easy go of it. Coming home that first day, though, I managed to get on the wrong train and wound up stranded in the City of Industry. I wanted to keep the faith in public transportation, however, so I took Metrolink again the following week. Twice even. A full 100% increase in use over my first week. And I took the train again once last week.
Now I'm on Week 4 and I'm proud to say I rode Metrolink on Monday. But not Tuesday. And not today.
For the last two days, at 4:30 a.m., my desire for sleep outweighed my desire to help a polar bear. Yes, I want to be a good citizen and curb global warming and stop Arctic sea ice from melting so quickly and preserve polar bear habitat, but I also want to keep my eyes open at work. And an extra half-hour of sleep goes a long, long way toward that modest goal, as any working parent with little ones will tell you.
By waking up at 5 a.m., I effectively don't have enough time to shower and dress, drive to the Metrolink station, park and catch the 5:59 a.m. train downtown. I just don't move fast in the early a.m. I've tried to cut corners to save time, believe me: I've packed my breakfast to go instead of eating it at home; I've let my hair air dry instead of blow-drying it; I've skipped my shower altogether. But I like to eat, I hate leaving the house with wet hair and I like to be stink-free.
Taking mass transit in Southern California often means a lifestyle change. I just simply have to wake up that extra half-hour earlier. Maybe I should keep a photo of a dead polar bear next to the alarm clock on the nightstand.
Related:
First-time Metrolink rider, longtime sleepyhead
My Metrolink mistake
-- Rubaina Azhar
Photo credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
San Gabriel Valley officials still not happy
The Metro board votes Thursday on a proposal to put a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot in Los Angeles County. There may -- emphasis on may -- be enough yes votes on the board, but the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and the Gold Line Phase II Joint Powers Authority are both saying they're against the proposal as it's currently formulated.
The hang-up is money. Both of the above groups say the sales tax ordinance, as written, doesn't ensure that an extension of the Gold Line east of Pasadena will be fully funded in a timely fashion. "We want to know without any doubt that the project will be funded and it will be funded soon," La Verne Mayor Jon Blickenstaff told me yesterday.
The San Gabriel Vally interests may not be able to stop the Metro board from going forward, but they could have more juice with state legislators, who must pass a companion bill to allow the sales tax to happen. There is going to be a lot haggling today and likely to be a lot of amendments offered to the sales tax plan tomorrow. I'll post more later.
Congestion pricing gets an airing
The plan by Metro and Caltrans to convert the carpool lanes on parts of the 10 and 110 freeways to toll lanes goes before the California Transportation Commission this afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. If the CTC approves, then the plan must get approval of the Legislature. A few more details about the plan may burp out at today's hearing at the MWD building at 1 p.m. The 210 between Pasadena and the 605 could also get the carpool-lane-to-toll-lane treatment if Metro and Caltrans can find the funds to do it.
More green lights?
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is holding a presser this morning to announce that a bunch of traffic lights in the LAX area have been upgraded to a higher level of synchronization. That includes some big streets such as Manchester, La Cienega, Sepulveda, Imperial Highway and Century. The work was actually completed a while back, but now it's show time. Darryl Ryan, a Villaraigosa spokesman, cogently pointed out to me yesterday that synced lights work a lot better when motorists pay attention and drive the speed limit -- and not crawl along at 20 mph trying to figure out how that Bluetooth gadget works.
Google Maps offers walking directions
The walking directions are a supplement to the driving directions Google Maps already offers. Grist has a fun little item. I just asked Google maps to provide directions from my house to a nearby restaurant and the driving and walking directions were identical, even though there's a way to walk that's shorter than the driving route. That's why it's called the Beta version -- still needs some work under the hood, I believe.
Some links to recent Bottleneck Blog items
Loud chewers on the train
New 405 south to 101 interchange in the works
Bike activists take to the freeway
A decade of pedestrian deaths in the U.S.
Should Batman move to L.A.?
-- Steve Hymon
Good evening, late night Bottleneckers. Nothing on TV, eh?
Tonight's fun photo comes from Beijing and shows a cab that appears to have become delayed in reaching its destination Tuesday. The good news, however, is that traffic is lighter now that officials have greatly restricted traffic in preparation for the Summer Olympics. The bad news, perhaps, is that people have space to drive.
--Steve Hymon
photo: Mark Rolston / AFP/Getty Images
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