710: Problems ahead

A stretch of the Long Beach (710) Freeway will be closed this weekend for filming, Caltrans announced today. All southbound lanes of the 710 will be closed between Valley Boulevard and the San Bernardino (10) Freeway from 10 tonight until 5 a.m. Monday. The northbound 710 will be closed between the 10 freeway and Valley Boulevard from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. (CNS)

Long Beach at the center of transit

Long Beach built its new downtown around the Blue Line light-rail system. Now, the area is getting a new transit information center in the heart of the city center, according to the Press-Telegram:

Bathrooms and mobility were reasons to celebrate at the groundbreaking ceremony for Long Beach Transit's new downtown information center on Thursday.

Construction for the $3.9 million project is set to begin in about a week and end in December, said Larry Jackson, CEO and president of Long Beach Transit.

"This is no small undertaking," Jackson said.

At First Street and Pine Avenue behind the Renaissance Hotel, the center's features will include real-time bus schedule displays, customer service representatives and an outdoor touch-screen kiosk that provides 24-hour transit information.

It will replace a smaller center at 223 E. First St., said Long Beach Transit spokeswoman Marcelle Epley.

Sepulveda mess

A landslide has blocked Sepulveda Boulevard in the pass area:

Drivers near the intersection of Montana Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard reported arcing power lines about 7:10 a.m., a sign of shifting earth, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The collapse of the hill sent a large tree tumbling onto Sepulveda Boulevard, which will be closed throughout the morning between Sunset and Montana because of "pavement disruption" due to the landslide," Humphrey said.

Bikes or rail line?

Officials are trying to determine a route for the Gold Line extension into San Bernardino County (if it is even built). One idea might not be too pleasing to some residents: using a Pacific Electric right of way that has been turned into a bike path, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

A proposed seven-mile extension of the Metro Gold Line from its planned terminus in Montclair to L.A./Ontario International Airport has garnered enthusiastic support from area officials.

Now, residents in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland will be asked the hard question: How will it get there?

The path by which the light rail veers to the airport will be up for discussion in public meetings next week.

Potential routes identified by Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority officials cut through the three cities to differing degrees.

"The Gold Line will be another transportation mode available to residents, and it could help revitalize the downtown area, so it's a good thing for Upland, in a general sense," said Anthony La, the city's public works director.

Can rail help that Santa Barbara bottleneck?

The long-discussed rail alternative for the crowded Ventura-to-Santa Barbara route is moving along, according to the Ventura County Star:

Straight, narrow and almost always empty, the rail line between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties has always been the route not taken by commuters.

Tantalizingly close as it parallels the often-congested Highway 101, the rail line now might go from the route less-traveled to an active commuter line within two years.

Advocates for commuter rail and dozens of government officials from both counties are working on a plan to tweak Amtrak train schedules and coax Union Pacific Railroad officials into changing the times they send massive freight trains down the line and building "sidings" to allow the freight cars to pull over and make way for commuter trains.

"I'm an optimistic person, so I believe we will work out all the problems and make it happen," said Mary Travis, manager for the intercity rail and Metrolink program for the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

Breaking: Delay on Pico/Olympic plan

The city of Los Angeles has agreed to delay for three weeks a plan to try to speed up traffic on Olympic and Pico boulevards on the Westside, according to the office of the city attorney. Implementation of the plan, proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was supposed to begin March 8.

Two groups filed individual suits last week to stop the plan, which they allege was not properly studied under California environmental law. The groups — the Westwood South of Santa Monica Boulevard Homeowners Assn. and the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce — fear that the plan will actually put more cars on both streets and affect businesses and residences.

The city’s plan is to synchronize traffic signals to give an advantage to westbound traffic on Olympic and eastbound traffic on Pico. In addition, the city wants to eliminate most street parking on both streets during the morning and afternoon rush hours to give an extra lane to vehicles.

— Steve Hymon

Subway to the Sea: Badge of honor

Not sure this gets L.A. any closer to the $6-billion price tag. But blogger the Overhead Wire is encouraging bloggers who support the Subway to the Sea to post this badge of honor (above):

In an earlier post I discussed blog support badges and listed some I'd like to see. I created one for the Subway to the Sea for kicks. Feel free to use it.

The BB isn't taking sides. But it will be interesting to see how many bloggers take up this cause.

Via Curbed LA

Traffic Alerts of the Week

710 Freeway: Three lanes closed northbound overnight at Rosecrans on Tuesday.

91 Freeway: Three lanes westbound closed at Green River, 7 p.m.-4 a.m.; two lanes eastbound closed, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. Monday-Friday.

5 Freeway: Three lanes closed northbound overnight in northern Orange County on Monday.

101 Freeway: One or two lanes southbound closed early in week overnight at DeSoto/Tampa avenues.

110 Freeway: One or two lanes southbound closed overnight at 101 interchange Thursday and Friday.

405 Freeway: Three lanes northbound closed overnight in Westchester area on Wednesday.

Fixing Reseda Boulevard

A tired stretch of Reseda Boulevard — the old "downtown Northridge — might be in line for a face-lift, according to the Daily News:

Ten years ago, shopkeepers and university professors launched a new business improvement district for aging Reseda Boulevard dubbed "Northridge Oasis — the Cultural Center of the Valley."

But many say the district dissolved because absentee landlords never coughed up enough to maintain improvements.

Now two north San Fernando Valley neighborhood councils are collaborating to seek a new vision for the old-fashioned main street from Lassen Street to Roscoe Boulevard.

"We have a lot of restaurants, but we don't have any sidewalk cafes or outdoor dining. We have wonderful restaurants ... but where is the ambience? We have fantastic weather, but where is the dining?" said Steve Patel, chairman for the NE/W Vision Committee, founded in January.

Q & A with L.A. traffic guru

Chances are you’ve never heard his name. But if you live in L.A., Benjamin Chan controls your day. He can make your commute a nightmare or a walk in the park.

The engineer oversees the city’s Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system four floors below City Hall East. In this futuristic hideaway, computers spit out information about 3,300 intersections while huge monitors display traffic snarls beamed instantaneously from overhead cameras and underground sensors. It’s up to Chan, 49, to make sure traffic flows 365 days a year. It’s no easy job:

Can you give us an idiot’s guide to Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control?

We receive signal information from the field. We filter it. We analyze it. And if we need to, we make the changes. It’s the control center.

How does it feel to control the movements of 4 million people?

Great. I love it. There are not many engineers in the country who have the power that not only I have but the people around here have. You can actually make changes instantaneously.

What are the fastest-moving east-west streets in the city?

Adams Boulevard. Or Venice Boulevard. If you drive around 25 to 30 miles an hour, you should hit a lot of the signals.

What’s the worst intersection in L.A.?

I would say Wilshire-Sepulveda, Wilshire-Veteran — the Westwood area.

When a traffic jam pops up on your screen, what do you do?

We determine the cause and swing into action. We change signal timing or deploy traffic officers to stop people from clogging up intersections.

Even with this ATSAC system, as sophisticated as it is, can you solve traffic problems?

We’re getting to a point of diminishing returns. Maybe by 2050 or 2060, we’ll have to automate the vehicle itself. Each lane would have more and more cars. Cars would follow each other much, much closer.