February 8th, 2010 by Sirinya Tritipeskul
Bruins for Traffic Relief Launch Party. Source: Bruins for Traffic Relief FB Invite/Facebook
What: Bruins for Traffic Relief Launch Party
When: Tonight; 6PM-8PM
Where: John Wooden Center – Games Lounge
Why: This is the kickoff event for a newly restored Bruins For Traffic Relief. Come out to hear our platform, see how you can get involved and enjoy refreshments (aka, free food) while doing so.
BTR is not only a transit club whose mission is shared by every Angeleno stuck in traffic, without a reliable ride and every commuter, but is also a representative of urban change here at UCLA. Come and join our movement and club to make change, have fun and explore Los Angeles on the nation’s 3rd largest Public Transit System.
RSVP at bruinsfortrafficrelief@gmail.com.
Posted in General Rideshare | No Comments »
February 8th, 2010 by Sirinya Tritipeskul
From the LA Times: Jaime de la Vega looks on as LA Times columnist Steve Lopez looks at the tires of De La Vega's Hummer. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times / February 5, 2010)
After three years (or more) of mocking, Los Angeles’s deputy mayor for transportation says he has stopped driving his H3 Hummer to work. Instead, Jaime De La Vega has begun carpooling with his wife in an Acura or (gasp!) takes public transit.
Timeline:
- June 2006: First of many digs at De La Vega about his Hummer in Bottleneck Blog.
- January 2007: “Don’t Ask Me About My Hummer” – NYStreetsblog write-up of Steve Lopez’s first interview with De La Vegas, who refuses to answer any questions about the Hummer. (Actual column is no longer available for free online.)
- January 2007: Steve Lopez’s first column attracts lively Letters to the Editor.
- June 2008: Gas prices have escalated to nearly $5 a gallon; Lopez spies De La Vega’s Hummer in a city parking garage, later offers De La Vega $75 for said Hummer by e-mail, which De La Vega ignores.
- January 2010: First verification that De La Vega gave up the Hummer.
- February 2010: Lopez and De La Vega race to see who gets to City Hall first (Lopez via De La Vega’s Hummer), De La Vega by train.
- De La Vega wins by 10 minutes and is “yammering about the wonders of rail.”
- Lopez’s offer to buy De La Vega’s Hummer for $75 is still unaddressed.
Posted in General Rideshare | 1 Comment »
February 5th, 2010 by Sirinya Tritipeskul
MTA Expo Line Looking North On Flower St At 23rd St. Source: Metro Library Archive/Flickr.
After listening to four hours of public comments, in addition to reading through 9,000 written comments, the Exposition Construction Authority voted 7-to-0 to approve a route for Expo Line Phase 2 and 6 to 0 (with one abstention) for its accompanying environmental impact report, according to reports on LAStreetsblog, the LA Times, and the @expolightrail Twitter feed. Read the rest of this entry »
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February 4th, 2010 by Sirinya Tritipeskul
Note: Signing off at 5:45pm, even though the Expo hearing is still going on almost four hours later. Oh my.
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Thank you, Twitterfall, for enabling me to keep up with Expo-related tweets in the Twitterverse
As noted earlier today, the Exposition Construction Authority is currently meeting to vote on whether to approve the final Environmental Impact Report for phase 2. It took awhile for the call-in number for the proceedings to work, so I gave up opted to follow the meeting via a bunch of keyword searches on Twitterfall.
The meeting started at 2; it is still going on as of this writing (5:35p.m.)
The Twitterverse reports that citizens from both sides came out, including about 100 LA-area college students (including our UCLA student bike and transit advocates); representatives from Friends 4 Expo and Neighbors for Smart Rail; and Damien Goodmon, a loquatious twenty-something transit activist who has been actively lobbying Expo to build below-grade crossing by Dorsey High and several other locations.
Readers, I present to you the highlights, in chronological order – and special thanks to Damien Newton and the person behind @expolightrail:
- @expolightrail – Damien Goodmon blasts Expo Authority Board. Neighbors for Smart Rail cheer. (Note from Sirinya: You know it’s going to be a long, raucous affair when your critic with the most name recognition gets up to the podium, excoriates you, and gets loud applause from his allies.) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: expo
Posted in Transit Editorials | No Comments »
February 4th, 2010 by Sirinya Tritipeskul
Proposed alignment for Expo Phase 2. Source: www.buildexpo.org
Students from Bruins for Traffic Relief and the UCLA Bicycle Coalition are heading downtown today to show their support for Phase 2 of the Expo Line, which could bring residents of communities in South LA, Mid-City and Culver City conveniently to UCLA (with quick shuttle bus connections).
The Exposition Construction Authority will be meeting today to vote on whether to approve the Final Environmental Impact Report for Phase 2 of the Expo Line. If the FEIR is approved, it seems like only a court order could really stop things. Zev Yaroslavsky, the 3rd district county supervisor, has already vowed to vote yes and the LA Times editorial from this morning also supports the project (and snarked big time on Cheviot Hills homeowners in opposition.)
Speaking solely for myself, I am hoping for the approval of this project, especially if it provides good rail-bus connections at the Westwood station and ensures good bike connectivity to our campus. A future Westwood Expo station would be just 2.5 miles away from UCLA, which is very bikeable provided that Westwood Boulevard makes it safe for cyclists to do so.
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Rendering of the Westwood Expo Station
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Current aerial view for Westwood Expo Station. The bus currently serves the Big Blue Bus 8 and 12, and passes by somebody’s home.
The meeting starts at 2PM, at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration at 500 West Temple Street. Damien Newton at LA Streetsblog notes that you can listen to the proceedings by phone: at (213) 974-4700 or (877) 873-8017. Spanish language call information and more details at the meeting can be found at the Expo Construction Authority’s website.
Alternatively, you can follow the proceedings via Twitter. Damien Newton will be live-tweeting @lastreetsblog. Diana Chi, our marketing coordinator, and I will be providing our own commentary and relevant re-tweets @uclacommute. I’ll announce here and via Twitter if there is a dedicated hash-tag.
-Sirinya
Tags: Expo Line
Posted in Public Transit, Transit Editorials | No Comments »
