Comments on: Metro’s Runaway Gold Line

By: bruinfan53

bruinfan53 — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:38:00 +0000

I live in Monrovia and work in Pasadena. If I could pedal my bike to the Metro Station and ride from there to the Holly St station and walk to work, I would. However, it may be that won’t happen until 2038 at the earliest for that to be started. Metro has said any eastward construction would not start until after the west side construction was completed. LA City gets all of the funding first. That info came directly from Metro to me.

By: frazgo

frazgo — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:49:34 +0000

I have to agree. Buses are street traffic dependent for moving masses quickly. Rail is limited only by the number of stops on a route. Buses are best used as feeders in and out of the main rail stations.

The problem with the Gold Line as it exists at this moment is that it goes no where to benefit me or most of my neighbors. I don’t have a commute. My wife commutes to Pomona and would use if there was rail that could do it, but the planned route does her no good. Of my neighbors only 2 actually have to be in Downtown LA. The remaining are either going to jobs in the Valley (studios or areospace around Burbank), heading into NOC or into the IE none of which is served by the existing lines, or proposed lines where it makes sense to use over freeway.

By: Jason Burns

Jason Burns — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:00:24 +0000

Marcotico – A bus is a bus is a bus. Even grade separated BRT’s like the Orange Line have to stop at red lights, which kinda defeats the purpose. With rail, you also have the capability of reducing transfers.

By: marcotico

marcotico — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:46:45 +0000

Hey.. watchit!!! BRT is not “just” a bus. There are multiple grades of BRT. But technically BRT is grade separated like the Orange line. Faster buses with fewer stops are rapid bus. So if they are proposing a grade separted system, like an extension of the Orange line from NoHo to Pasadena, well that makes as much sense as light rail.

By: lezgull

lezgull — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:16:16 +0000

I commute from Sylmar to Arcadia everyday. I have looked up how to take public transportation to save mileage on my car and some gas money. Estimated time of arrival…… 3 hours later. :(

By: Oren

Oren — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:51:14 +0000

So is Expo to Santa Monica dead?

By: Space Cowgirl

Space Cowgirl — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:30:39 +0000

This idea would be awesome. It’d have to be some sort of busway/railway that is built into the freeway like the Gold Line does along the 210 or the bus lanes on the 110, however. The 134 is conveniently really high up above any actual homes here in Eagle Rock, so it’s not even noticeable, and it’s all nature preserve and mountains to the north of the freeway. And that seems a lot more feasible than trying to run anything down Colorado Blvd. I would totally do the extra walk towards a rail station at the 2/134 intersection to get myself to Burbank without any transfers, though.

By: waltarrrrr

waltarrrrr — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:55:57 +0000

Doggone preview-less posts… (oh well, you get the gist.)

By: waltarrrrr

waltarrrrr — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:53:02 +0000

I use the Gold Line daily. More than once, I have had a fellow passenger at the Villa Station in East Pasadena, ask me how to get to Burbank, Pacoima, or Van Nuys. And every time I have to offer them my pity, and try to list the necessary metro lines to do due west. (Take the Gold Line South, to the Red Line North to Orange Line or the 724, or the 780 to the 794 etc., etc...) There is definitely a transit gap between the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. However, I must argue that the Foothill Extension to the east is the most important route, simply because it will put us within walking distance of . Imagine... A world where you can take the train from King Taco in EastLos to Donut Man in Glendora!

By: frazgo

frazgo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:04:58 +0000

Fucking politicians. Sheesh. This whole thing is enough to piss the pope off.

You are absolutely correct that one of the biggest traffic nightmares in need of serious mass transit and rail answers is the 101-134-210 from Ventura to San Bernardino…but nooooooo.

Instead you get pinheads like monrovia mayor and others spending tons of our hard earned tax dollars to set up a pac. Yes, a pac. “The Gold Line Contstruction Authority” is nothing more than 12 little cities screwing up transit for the whole region by constantly lobbying for their precious little gold line in hopes the transit villages that our tax dollars are subsidizing developers (ie taking out the risk on failed projects) around stations for a line that may not even get here until 2030.

In the mean time we are looking at no relief for the region. Worse…tax dollars diverted out of the general fund into redevelopment money hurting our city ability to provide fire, police and schools.

Sorry for my rant, but I am as passionate about functioning mass transit for the region.