You Should Like This

Before The Event That Never Was, I wrote about the need for a rail line along the 405 corridor. I exchanged a few emails with Bart Reed of the Transit Coalition, who shared some insight as to how to get such an important piece of the transit puzzle off the ground (or rather, under.) He said they have been in talks with Los Angeles Council Districts 6 and 11, and that they would begin promoting through social media sites.

The Valley-Westside Rail project is now up on Facebook. You should like it.

I asked Bart how people could get more involved. He said that we need to start by garnering support from neighborhood councils. So, that’s where I began, with a few emails of my own:

This past weekend, the closure of the 405 and the media attention it received resulted in a ripple effect on the entire freeway system. Drivers got lucky. Businesses did not. This further illustrates the need for viable transportation alternatives. Specifically, a more comprehensive regional rail network.

As a contributing author for Blogging.LA, I wanted to get your input on a newly envisioned Metro rail line from the Valley to the Westside, by way of the 405 corridor.

Current proposals by the Transit Coalition would have the first phase of the North-South line connect the Expo and Purple lines on the Westside to the Orange Line, Van Nuys Metrolink/Amtrak, and Sylmar Metrolink/HSR in the Valley. Phase 2 would connect with LAX and onto Long Beach.

What is your council’s position on such a line? What would your constituents stand to gain/lose from it?

I think we can agree that comprehensive transit system is vital to the future of our city. I would like any feedback you could give, as we begin an open, honest dialogue on how to better connect our communities.

Judy Price of the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association was the first to respond:

Personally, I think we must start working toward a transit solution in Los Angeles. I was an early proponent for the Orange Line, although many in Valley Glen fought it. It is a poor substitute for rail or subway but is better than nothing and has been a great success. Thank you for the nudge on this important issue.

Then there was the response from Tony Braswell of Neighborhood Council Valley Village:

We have repeatedly gone on record in favor of more public transportation options to link SFV to the rest of the city.  I  believe our Board will  look favorably on this “newly envisioned Metro rail line”, and will share it with our City Services Committee at their next meeting.  Anything that links SFV to the west side and eventually to LAX would benefit our stakeholders.

Maybe things do start with a Facebook page. Or an email. Have you written your neighborhood council lately? Find yours by entering your address here at EmpowerLA.org.

The Little Subway That Could

8 days and counting until the traffic apocalypse. The 405 freeway is closing, and millions of people will be cut off from each other. Doomed to stay in their own neighborhood. Forced to eat, shop, and play local. Sure, this bus is free, and so is that other one, and that subway over there.

I used Metro’s trip planner to figure out how to get from the Valley to the Westside by 6:30AM that Saturday. I would have to leave today.

I once read somewhere that the reason the Gold Line is on a runaway course to Texas is because it is easier to get funding for an existing line. OK, fine. Let’s play that game.

Once the Purple Line reaches Westwood, let’s turn North. AND South. A subway connecting the Green Line extension at LAX, Expo Line, the Orange Line busway, and Van Nuys Metrolink & Amtrak.

The Transit Coalition gets it. Are you Carmageddon it?

We will attempt to produce two identical festival weekends. That means same lineup, same art, same place, different people.

What could possibly go wrong?

The good news: CicLAvia is expanding into South Los Angeles and deeper into Boyle Heights. More room for more people doing more things. Sounds like this thing is a hit. Since you guys are taking time off to do a little more planning, maybe we could get this thing up to Hollywood and the Valley? Pretty please?

The official post is after the jump.

CicLAvia Expands in October, Forgoes July

May 24, 2011

CicLAvia has exceeded all expectations. When the streets were opened last October and again in April, Angelenos of all ages, shapes and sizes flooded in. CicLAvia connected the city in an entirely new way.

Due to overwhelming success, and the need to expand, CicLAvia and the city of Los Angeles have decided to focus our energies on expanding the CicLAvia route on October 9, 2011 and to forgo the announced July 10, 2011 date.

With such huge crowds in April, Los Angeles experienced its first bicycle traffic jams!  CicLAvia and city staff have decided to expand the route to accommodate the overwhelming demand. The goal is to allow all participants to share the road. This includes pedestrians, skaters, wheelchair users, and, of course, all kinds of cyclists – from beginners to experienced. Due to lead-time for planning and permitting, it was too difficult to re-tool for July, and it would be difficult to focus both on October expansion and anticipation of even bigger crowds in July. So, July is off the table, and October is going to be bigger and better than ever.

For October 9th 2011, we plan to:

• expand the existing route by introducing new spurs:
  1. South L.A. (including Fashion District, Central Avenue and Exposition Park)
  2. Additional Boyle Heights neighborhoods
  and maybe new connections with El Pueblo and Chinatown
• introduce new features, areas, and signage that will better welcome more families and pedestrians
• include more music and other activities along the route
• revamp and expand the CicLAvia website
• and a few more surprises still in the works!

And since a lot of us already have July 10th on our calendars, we figured we’d plan to do something fun that day… though not quite as big a production as CicLAvia. We’re planning to host a preview ride to introduce Los Angeles to the new October route spurs. The streets won’t be closed. It won’t be CicLAvia, but it will be a chance for Angelenos to gather and bike and explore parts of our city that we may not be as familiar with.

Cinespia Status: Destroying our brand.

Another big change for movie night at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery has created a WTF kinda backlash.

I should have known Cinespia’s days were numbered in 2009 when they screened Daze and Confused and it turned into amateur hour. You know the event to which I’m referring. One where the new new hipsters would appear in their ironic T-shirts and proceed to get hammered and search for burial plots to relieve themselves. Then came the news that this year’s screenings would be a retread of years previous.

Now this.

Cinespia, an event that has traditionally been “first come, first serve,” is now selling advance tickets online. Oh, they’ll still sell them at the door – if there’s enough left. The problem with this, is that the event is more than the movie. Half the fun is lining up early, meeting your neighbors, and experiencing something called “community.”

Not anymore.

Why ruin a perfectly good thing? From the looks of the comments on Cinespia’s Facebook page (to which they do not respond,) I am not the only one who thinks this was a terrible idea.

REDRUM

Cinespia. Classic films, under the stars, on the hallowed grounds of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It is an experience that is unrivaled in a city that is chock-full of things to do.

So why the reruns?

for our tenth season, cinespia will be bringing back some of our favorite movies from past seasons

Checking the schedule so far, I’ve already seen two of the films at cinespia in the past 5 years, and a third has been shown by the LA Conservancy at a recent Last Remaining Seats. So what gives?

I know that many of cinespia’s patrons are returning customers. And some of those patrons probably go to LRS as well. (Can we cross-check our screening calendars, please?) With such a short season and so many films from which to choose, I find this baffling. Especially in Hollywood. And especially when cinespia asks fans to make screening suggestions on their own Facebook page.

I’m still going to go. It’s still my favorite thing on Earth. But, I am very, very disappointed.

Vertigo? Again?

But, if you’re looking for a cool last-minute gift idea for Mother’s Day that does not involve a spa or Mimosas, take her to see Burn the Floor at Pantages.

20 champion dancers from the hit Broadway show will blow your mind. It’s billed as “ballroom reinvented,” but, it sure didn’t feel like ballroom. It’s a phenomenal show, that makes you want to Patrick Swayze into the aisle.

Did I just type that? Ahem.

It’s a great gift for Mother’s Day, or a great date. And there are only 5 shows left.

Burn the Floor at the Pantages Theatre.

Tonight at 8:00PM
Tomorrow at 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM
Sunday at 1:00 pm, 6:30 PM

I’m hoping what has quickly become a very popular biking/walking/whatever event will go on as planned. I guess we’ll know more in the next week.

Well… Apparently, some unfriendly militants have been setting up shop just 136 miles South of Los Angeles, in Tijuana.

Meet Hezbollah, “recognized by many experts as the “A” team of Muslim terrorist organizations.”

The group is blending into Shi’a Muslim communities in Mexico, including Tijuana. Other pockets along the U.S.-Mexico border region remain largely unidentified as U.S. intelligence agencies are focused on the drug trade.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Apparently, the recent takesies-backsies of the Los Angeles Dodgers by Major League Baseball has quiet a few suits talking. Their discussions are starting to get interesting. Yahoo Sports takes a look at how the baseball power struggle may help L.A.’s bid for an NFL franchise.

In short, the Dodgers could move to a new baseball stadium downtown on the site of the currently proposed new NFL stadium. A new football facility would go up in place of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. Stadium swap.

It’s a fascinating idea. Football fans would now be able to tailgate outside a brand new stadium, as opposed to the downtown site. It would also provide an opportunity to correct an injustice done decades ago – a new stadium could be situated to face Downtown Los Angeles instead of turning its back on the heart of the city. The new Dodger Stadium could also boast DTLA as a dramatic backdrop. Baseball would become more a part of the urban fabric of the city.

Take the subway to a ballgame? In Los Angeles?

What do you think?