Roads & Rails

Meet the New Face of LA Streetcar, Inc

By Samantha Page — January 30, 2009 — 4 Comments

Dennis Allen

Last Friday, Dennis Allen was appointed Project Manager for LA Streetcar, Inc., the newly-created non-profit charged with spearheading development of a streetcar for Downtown. On Thursday we sat down with Allen to get his perspective on the project, which backers hope to see in service by 2014.

Allen is still getting up to speed on the history of the streetcar initiative, but he was enthusiastic and eager to take on the challenges of what looks to be at least a five-year project that will end with a streetcar running up (or down) the newly renovated Broadway, looping through downtown to connect Bunker Hill and LA Live.

The next six months should bring determination of the streetcar's route. "It's important to identify that early on," Allen said, in order to move forward with other components of the project. — Continued Inside...


Council President Garcetti Leads First Ride for Car-Free Fridays

By Eric Richardson — January 30, 2009

LACBC Car Free Fridays

This morning Council President Eric Garcetti led several dozen cyclists on a ride from Hollywood to Downtown for the kickoff day of "Car-Free Fridays," a new campaign by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) to get commuters out of their four-wheeled rides and onto just two.


4th Street Freeway to Lessen Impact of Afternoon Teachers March

By Eric Richardson — January 29, 2009
4 Comments

4th Street

Teachers union UTLA will be holding a "Fight Back March and Rally" this afternoon that will be sure to disrupt Downtown traffic, but the route's use of the 4th Street Freeway should lessen the march's impact on those working in the Financial District.


Transportation Commission Asks One More Year for Hail-a-Taxi to Take

By Eric Richardson — January 28, 2009 — 10 Comments

Hal Ed Fuentes

Six months into the Hail-a-Taxi program, there's been a "relatively modest" increase in the number of passengers hailing cabs, but that's enough for the city's Transportation Commission to recommend a one-year extension to the pilot program that hopes to create a "street hail" culture in Los Angeles. — Continued Inside...


Streetcar Effort Names Dennis Allen Project Manager

By Eric Richardson — January 23, 2009
3 Comments

Red Streetcar

The effort to return a streetcar to Downtown took a major step forward today, as Dennis Allen was named Project Manager for the non-profit Los Angeles Streetcar, Inc.. Allen was Director of Acquisitions for the Kor Group from 2004 to 2008, and has a background in real estate development.


Dodger Trolley Update Presents a Funding Stalemate

By Eric Richardson — January 22, 2009 — 15 Comments

Dodger Trolley Los Angeles Dodgers

Funding for a 2009 version of the Dodger Trolley continues to be a contentious issue, with the team refusing to contribute funds even as it suggests service changes that would significantly raise the program's operating costs. In a report filed last week, LADOT updated City Council on negotiations but had little to offer in terms of concrete progress. — Continued Inside...


Regional Connector Set to Go to Metro Board

By Eric Richardson — January 21, 2009
1 Comment

Regional Connector Render: 2nd Street Looking West

The Regional Connector is set to take a major step forward tomorrow, when the project's Alternatives Analysis is presented to the Metro Board of Directors for approval. The Board is also asked to fund $11 million in engineering and outreach costs.


Metro Offers Report on Late Night Rail Ridership

By Eric Richardson — January 19, 2009

Late Night Red Line Press Conference Eric Richardson

The Late Night Red Line Holiday Pilot attracted approximately 1000 riders per night, according to data reported Thursday by Metro. The six-week program extended service until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights. The $54,000 needed for operation was funded by businesses and property owners along the route.

While the report did not make any judgments as to whether the pilot was a success, organizers were pleased. "A thousand riders a night is a great result for a small pilot program that got off the ground against the odds, and which had an incredibly compressed time frame for getting the word out," Bringing Back Broadway Executive Director Jessica Wethington Mclean said Friday in an email. "That it happened at all is a testament to the city's business community which funded it and made it happen." — Continued Inside...


Another Accident Waiting to Happen?

By Ed Fuentes — January 13, 2009
12 Comments

7th and Fig

Last Wednesday's DASH accident has left Downtowners mindful of pedestrian safety, making this scene at 7th and Figueroa stick out as a potentially unsafe situation. For most of the day, a Department of Water and Power truck blocked the crosswalk on the eastern edge of the intersection, preventing pedestrians from seeing the traffic signals across the street...


Regional Connector's Impact on Downtown Streets Detailed

By Eric Richardson — January 09, 2009

Regional Connector Render: 2nd Street Looking West Metro

Two build options for the Regional Connector are headed to Metro's Planning and Programming committee, a step necessary to approve engineering funds allowing the project to move forward. The report presents one alternative that is largely at-grade and one that's mostly underground.

While the two options are the same as previous presentations, the document paints a more detailed picture of the negative impacts the at-grade approach would have on Downtown's streetscape. Lost traffic lanes and restricted turns would reduce service levels at multiple intersections to the lowest grades, and up to 88 parking spaces would be removed along the route. — Continued Inside...