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Scheduled maintenance work will force the closure of the heavily traveled 101/405 freeway interchange in Sherman Oaks for about five hours on Sunday, Caltrans announced today. Beginning at 6 a.m. Sunday, the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway connectors to the east- and westbound Ventura (101) Freeway will be closed.
Also closed through 11 a.m. will be the Burbank Boulevard onramp to the southbound 405 and the Haskell Avenue offramp from the westbound 101, according to Caltrans. (CNS)
We all know that L.A. parking enforcement officers are not the most popular folks in L.A. Now on YouTube, one person has shots of these city workers in action. Here's another.
There is also one of an L.A. officer directing traffic on Sunset Boulevard that seems a little bit nicer.
The Daily News reports today that MTA officials are quietly seeing how people feel about a tax to jump-start its long-stalled transportation agency: Faced with an overwhelmed and incomplete transportation system, the Metro agency has quietly polled Los Angeles voters on whether they would support a sales tax hike to help fund everything from building a subway to the sea to repairing pothole-ravaged roads. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority commissioned a $65,000 poll of Los Angeles County residents late last year to gauge support for a half-percent sales tax increase, although agency officials declined Wednesday to release details of the results. One person familiar with the survey, however, said the results showed that the measure would likely garner the two-thirds voter support needed to pass. Angelenos already pay the second-highest sales tax rate in the state at 8.25percent, 1percent of which goes for transit projects. And if Metro pursues a ballot initiative to further increase the rate, at least one taxpayer watchdog group said it will likely fight it.
Remember when Whittier Boulevard was the cruising capital of L.A.? Well, parts of the street have fallen on hard times. But now, according to the Whittier Daily News, Montebello has restored the proud boulevard back to its former glory: However, as residential and commercial centers were developed, the luster of the boulevard, immortalized in song by Thee Midniters, had faded by the 1970s. "It's important we bring back the boulevard to prominence," Molinari said. The first phase - which included sidewalk improvements, installation of new decorative street lights, benches and landscaping - was completed during the summer. It also included the planting of more than 100 trees, and the adding of storm drains and monument signs, said Sam Kouri of the planning department. Phase Two began last year and includes more road and sidewalk renovation. "Our goal is to have it completed by the end of 2008," he said.
Photo: City of Montebello
We continue to hold meetings on the Pico/Olympic one-way idea. Here's the latest: Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl will host a town hall meeting on the proposal to change traffic flow along Olympic and Pico boulevards. Engineers with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and members of the West Los Angeles and Mar Vista neighborhood councils are also expected to attend. Daniel Webster Middle School, 11330 W. Graham Place. (CNS)
Heads-up on some major delays over the next few days on Interstate 5 in the San Fernando Valley. Details here
How to pay the $5-billion+ to build the subway to the sea? Here are a few ideas:
BiofromTroy examines the idea of a tax.
LAist looks at private funding: They say everyone can agree on three things. One, a subway between downtown and the Westside is absolutely need; two, the subway system doesn't go places to make it viable for many people; three, "there is no realistic prospect of public funding from the federal, state, or local governments to pay for such a subway." So let's get out of the box, they say, and look into public-private partnerships. Like in Chicago, a private firm could hold a long-term lease to operate the subway. Up front, the contract could put up fair rules on fares increases and expectations of service and quality. Or a private firm could invest by building the subway and operating it until they recoup costs and earn a return on investment.
Can it really be happening? Toll roads in L.A.? Here's the latest from The Times' Steve Hymon: If they can win a huge federal grant, Los Angeles County transportation officials said Tuesday that rush-hour toll lanes could become a reality on three local freeways by spring 2009. The prediction underscored what has been a radical turn-around for leaders who only eight months ago were reluctant to do anything more than study "congestion pricing" as a way to discourage drivers when freeways are clogged. That hesitation caused Los Angeles to miss out last year on a share of more than $1 billion in federal assistance. But another round of federal money will be in play over the next two months, and officials hope their change of heart will help them snag the $648 million needed to set up the toll lanes and make other transportation fixes. During a briefing for reporters, officials with Metro and the state agency Caltrans acknowledged that toll lanes remain controversial in Los Angeles, even though they have been used for years on one freeway in Orange County. But the time is right, they said, to try something new in a region with worst-in-the-nation traffic.
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