$3 gas, Expo Line and sales tax smackdown: Ramping up, August 11

Gas slips under $4 a gallon

Gasbuddy is showing some stations -- mostly Arco, mostly in the south county area -- have fallen under $4 a gallon for regular. The Chevron station in Pasadena that I've been tracking is still running high at $4.279 as of Sunday afternoon. Will everyone go back to driving soon? Time will tell...

Oropeza says she may kill bill

The state bill that would allow the half-cent sales tax increase proposal to go to voters is stuck in the State Senate's Appropriations Committee. State Sen. Jenny Oropeza told me late Friday afternoon she may kill the bill because the Green Line extension to LAX isn't in the bill, although the project is in the MTA's spending plan for the sales tax. As for the committee, they could meet at any time this week and vote on the bill or keep it in the suspense file.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky are holding a press conference at 11:30 a.m. today on the Gold Line platform at Union Station to talk about the state bill and the sales tax. Oropeza got wind of that on Friday and wasn't happy about the prospect of being slammed in public -- the reason she finally called me back for an interview. I'll be there -- email me any questions you would like asked and I'll do my best.

High Speed rail lawsuit

A coalition of several groups filed suit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Friday, alleging that the agency chose the wrong route for the train between Los Angeles and San Francisco. As I wrote in the paper Saturday, it's all aboard time -- for the lawyers, that is. And, yes, the $9.9-billion bond to get the line started is still on the statewide ballot Nov. 4. More on this later.

Work begins on the 5-14 HOV interchange

If you live in the northern San Fernando Valley or Santa Clarita Valley, welcome to the next four years of Caltrans construction on the 5 and 14 interchange. They're building a ramp to connect HOV lanes on the two roads and the fun started last night and is scheduled to be complete in, gulp, 2012. There are going to be a lot of night closures of different parts of the roadway. I posted this week's jumbalaya of joy after the jump.

Expo Line grade-crossings hearings begin today

The state Public Utilities Commission is holding hearings all week in downtown L.A. on the remaining two grade crossings that still must be approved on the first phase of the light rail line (hit the link for location info) between downtown L.A. and Culver City. The two crossings in dispute are in South Los Angeles and both adjacent to schools and community activists -- some from outside the community (unless you consider Cheviot Hills to be part of South L.A.!) -- don't want the train to cross at-grade, saying it could be deadly. If the PUC agrees when they issue a decision, likely this fall, the project could be delayed from its projected 2010 opening. More this week.

Council wants to extend subway hours

Four members introduced a motion Friday asking that the subway run until 3 a.m. on weekends during the holiday season. But it's the MTA's call and the agency in the past have said money and time to do maintenance are why they shut down the subway just after midnight. The council members say they're going to get private sponsors to help fund it. Anyone want to take bets that is going to happen? Release after the jump.

Local blogs on traffic links

Amanda at her Urbandieter blog recounts some recent experiences with the always bouncy 720 rapid line on Wilshire and poses the question: is it okay to enter through the rear doors? Everyone else does when it's crowded, she writes. I thought some bus-addicted Bottleneckers could help her out.

Meanwhile, the always witty Angelcitynews blog continues their hometown roadtrip down Hollywood Boulevard. They ponder who may rent the office space above the Cheetah's strip club (hint: call Sam Zell), lavish praise on the taco stand Yuca's (it's one block over at 2056 Hillhurst), play with one of the Scientologists E-meeters and, then, predictably find a bar and start knocking them back.

Downtown Pasadena walkabout report

The Pasadena Playhouse District Assn. released a report on walking in downtown Pasadena. Nothing startling in there, but the group would like more signs for the Gold Line, more trash cans and bike racks, better looking storefronts and increased enforcement of pedestrian rights.

For what it's worth, I think this part of Pasadena is already pedestrian friendly. But if they want to send a message that pedestrians count, I suggest the Pasadena P.D. get out of its helicopters -- I've had more of them over my neighborhood than I've ever had police cars on my street -- and actually patrol downtown streets. It would be a novel concept.

Recent Bottleneck blog items you may find gripping

How Copenhagen became bike friendly

Is the City Council focused on traffic or themselves?

American driving habits and congestion pricing

Stray dogs along the Blue Line

Are California bridges ready for the next earthquake?

--Steve Hymon

Caltrans 5-14-210 closures

OVERNIGHT FRIDAY, AUGUST 15 TO SATURDAY, AUGUST 16:
·     Overnight from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. – One to two lanes of northbound I-5
from Balboa Boulevard to Sierra Highway
·     Overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. – The Sierra Highway on-ramp to
northbound I-5
·     Overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. – The southbound I-5 off-ramp to
Sierra Highway
·     Overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. – The southbound I-5 off-ramp to
Balboa Blvd.
·     Overnight from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. -- The southbound I-5 connector to
northbound SR-14
·     Overnight from 11 p.m. to 1 p.m. – One to two lanes of the northbound
I-5 connector to northbound SR-14
·     Overnight from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. – The northbound I-5 connector to
northbound SR-14
·     Overnight from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. – One lane of southbound I-5 from
Calgrove Boulevard to Sierra Highway
·     Overnight from 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. – One to two lanes of southbound
I-5 from Sierra Highway to Balboa Blvd.
·     Overnight from 11:59 p.m. to 7 a.m. – One to two (all) lanes of the
northbound and/or southbound I-5 truck lanes
·     Overnight from 11:59 p.m. to 6 a.m. – The southbound I-5 connector to
eastbound SR-210.

      In order to facilitate construction work as part of this improvement project, the entrance to the southbound I-5 carpool lane has been temporarily relocated south of SR-14 to just near the I-210 interchange.

      This project involves the construction of an elevated two-lane direct HOV connector at the I-5 and State Route 14 interchange and construction of HOV lanes in both the north and south direction of I-5 at the Interchange.
A direct HOV connector will allow motorists a freeway-to-freeway transfer without exiting the carpool lane.

      Construction of this direct HOV connector and HOV lanes will relieve congestion, improve traffic flow, enhance safety and improve traffic operations of both freeways at the I-5/14 Interchange. This important improvement project is helping to provide motorists with a seamless carpool lane network in California.

      Preliminary work on this interchange improvement project began in July, 2008.  Work is estimated to complete in the fall of 2012. Caltrans thanks the motoring public for their patience and understanding during this highway improvement project.  These closures are weather-permitting and subject to change.  Signs and detours will be posted to assist motorists.

*********************************************************************************

Councilmembers Present Plan to Extend Red Line Subway Hours

Motion seeks to assist cash-strapped residents throughout the city who
use the Valley-to-Downtown service during the winter holiday season

LOS ANGELES (August 8, 2008) – As Los Angeles residents struggle with
higher bills and increasing fuel costs in a shaky economy, four
councilmembers introduced a motion today to extend the Metro Red Line
hours during the upcoming winter holiday season.

The motion would extend Red Line hours from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from November 1 through January 3 to
give residents and visitors increased access to public transit during
the holiday season.

The motion was co-sponsored by Los Angeles Councilmember José Huizar,
Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Wendy Greuel, who chairs
the Transportation Committee, and Councilmember Jan Perry.

“As their dollars are stretched thinner and thinner, more and more
Angelenos are using public transit here in Los Angeles,”said
Councilmember José Huizar. “That’s why I brought this motion to my
colleagues. We wanted to make sure people get the most out of their
money during the holiday season.”

“Extending the hours of the Red Line in this pilot program is a
critical step in creating a seamless public transportation system and
will help reduce traffic throughout Los Angeles,” said Councilwoman
Wendy Greuel, Chair of the City's Transportation Committee.

“With gas prices rising we've seen a dramatic increase in public
transit ridership.  It's imperative that as ridership expands, we
continue to expand our public transit system as well.”

"If we're serious about reducing traffic, we've got to provide more
opportunities for people who want to get out of their cars, and
extending Metro Red Line hours is a great step in that direction,”
said Council President Eric Garcetti. “This pilot program will help
introduce more people to the Red Line and reduce traffic during the
holiday season.”

“By extending the operating hours of the Metro Red Line during the
holiday season, we are demonstrating our commitment to connecting the
communities of Los Angeles, supporting their efforts to get out of their
cars and into public transportation,” said Councilwoman Jan Perry.

If approved, a task force will be convened with Councilmembers whose
district include portions of the Red Line, LADOT, METRO and other
interested business partners to design a creative and immediate
marketing plan to promote the extended service.

Costs for the extended service will be partially funded by private
sponsorships.

The motion will next be heard by the Council’s Transportation
Committee.
                              

Comments

[Matthew]

I always find the maintenance argument from Metro a bit annoying, they disrupt service during the normal service hours for maintenance so frequently, that I find it hard to believe that running with extended hours would make a significant difference.

[calwatch]

The answer to the back door boarding question, by the way, is no. Ironically, she may be contributing to less service on the line, since the driver can't keep track of the number of people boarding the bus (and the automatic passenger counters are not optimized for back door boardings, either). The driver needs to count how many people get on the bus so no buses are removed from the line. It is a stretch to see more buses on the line, though, since the target number for bus cuts if the sales tax fails is 500,000 service hours, which is about how many hours of Sunday service Metro offers.

[Dana Gabbard]

AB 2321 (the feuer bill) dictates that the projects sales tax allocates funds to be in the LRTP, and Metro will amend the document to conform if the measure passes. You can read the text by doing a search of this database:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

[Straphanger]

Here's a couple of questions for the news conference:
Does the Draft LRTP (on the table for consideration by the Metro board in November) contemplate obtaining funds from the Feuer Sales Tax Bill? If not, what will MTA do with the money designated for projects already in the Draft LRTP should voters approve the half-cent sales tax? Is this double dipping?

Here’s how I see the sources of funding for the projects in the LRPT after reading the documents:

The draft LRTP assumes that Metro will obtain a total of $16.6 billion in federal funds between FY05 and FY30 (page 22) from the following sources (page 61 of the LRTP’s Technical Document):

1. SAFETEA-LU
2. Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ)
3. Regional Surface Transportation Program
4. Section 5307 Urbanized Formula
5. Section 5309 Fixed Guideway Modernization
6. Section 5309 New Starts ($80 – 100 million/yr assumed for new projects)
7. Transportation Enhancements ($13 – 16 million/yr for FY11-30)

The distribution of those funds will be as follows (pp. 70-72):
Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension $ 524.1 million
Expo 1 $ 15.6 million
Expo 2 $ 708.6 million
Crenshaw Transit Corridor $ 657.0 million
Total: $1,905.3 million
No further breakdown of the federal funds is provided in the draft LRTP or its Technical Document.

As for "local monies," the draft LRTP solely discusses Props A and C and TDA funds under local sales tax revenues. (pp. 62-63.)