Results tagged “blueline”

A woman in her 50s died this afternoon after she was struck by a northbound Metro Blue Line train in Watts. The incident, which occurred at 1:20 p.m. is being investigated by Sheriff's Deputies. Trains were delayed by 15 minutes and are now running on schedule.

Thanks to a U2 concert at the Rose Bowl this Sunday evening, train service will be extended into the wee hours of Monday morning. 100,000 people are expected to descend upon the stadium and officials with the Rose Bowl and Live Nation--both which paid for the extended service--are encouraging fans to take public transit.

If Metro's regional connector project is built, passengers will be able to commute between Pasadena and Long Beach without transferring from the Gold Line to the Red Line, then the Blue Line. Likewise, those traveling between East LA and Culver City (and maybe someday Santa Monica) will be able to skip a similar transfer process. That means faster travel times and more accessibility car-free.

A series of public meetings about the Crenshaw Corridor (you know, a train from Wilshire Blvd. to LAX) have ended, but there still plenty of planning (and dreaming) to be had for public transit in the Los Angeles region. From bicycling to bus lanes to subways, here's a wrap-up of meetings that remain this month.

Metro is sure putting on a good number of community meetings in October. From the Wilshire Bus Lanes project to the Crenshaw Line to LAX and now another one is set for a plan to overhaul the pedestrian experience at the second busiest rail station in the system (Metro/7th in downtown being the busiest) where the Blue and Green lines converge.

An option for Metro's Regional Connector in downtown won't be officially chosen until sometime next year (probably summer or fall), but Little Tokyo community members are severely concerned over one of the proposals that would bring some major changes to the neighborhood. The regional connector would connect the Blue, Gold and Expo lines into a more seamless system. Trains would travel from Culver City to East LA and from Long Beach to Pasadena making Metro's rail system more efficient. Currently, the Blue Line and future Expo Line end at the 7th Metro Station and the Gold Line circumvents the eastside of downtown through Little Tokyo.

The memorial for Michael Jackson tomorrow will require shutting down a large area around the Staples Center. Metro's Blue Line Pico Station sits at the corner of that closure and while they are preparing to run service as normal, they are prepared and warning commuters of the worst case scenario, meaning massive crowds forcing the trains to operate between Long Beach and the Washington station. "We're going to run the blue line until told not to," explained Metro Spokesman Rick Jager. "The biggest impact is the busses because they've cornered off a large area." Over 50 bus lines will be re-routed (details below). "We're really urging people to plan ahead tomorrow. They will probably be a lot of delays," said Jager.

Starting next week and for four months after, Blue Line train service is going to be impacted as crews integrate the Expo Line, which will run between 7th/Metro station and Culver City, sharing two stations and track. Service will run every 30 minutes instead of the usual 20 on weekdays after 8 p.m. as crews work between the Washington and 7th/Metro stations. Weekend service will not be affected. The 8.5 mile line is expected to open in 2011 with the line extending to Santa Monica in the future.

A collision between a Metro Blue Line train and a vehicle, possibly a pick up truck, left at least one person injured and transported to the hospital. At 1:25 p.m., the two collided near Washington and Main just south of downtown, but no train passengers were hurt. Two other people were in the vehicle, but their condition is unknown and the circumstances of the crash are under investigation. Last week, two pedestrians were killed when crossing the Blue Line tracks. If LAist is keeping tabs correctly, this is the 827th incident on the Blue Line since it opened in 1990. In the past, some LAist commenters believe this is purely an issue of survival of the fittest and others think Metro's safety standards are not up to par.

After the death of a man crossing the Metro Blue Line tracks yesterday afternoon, a 49-year-old woman was left in critical condition when she was hit and trapped beneath the train shortly before 8 p.m. near Flower and Venice in downtown. Yesterday's incidents increase the train line's statistics to 93 deaths and 826 accidents, according to transit advocate Damien Goodmon who today is calling for Congressional investigation and hearing. "It is the deadliest light rail train in the nation," a news release from his Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line group said. On Wednesday, a woman was killed by a Metro bus downtown when she was hit near City Hall

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a northbound Blue Line train at about 2:30 p.m. in South Los Angeles. The man, estimated to be approximately 50 years old, was crossing at a marked crosswalk, but it is unknown if he was doing so legally, according to the LA Fire Department, who gathered the information from witnesses. The 47-year-old train operator was shaken and asked paramedics to evaluate her condition, but she declined treatment and transportation. A Sheriff's investigation is underway. This is the second Metro related death within a day's time. Last night, a woman was killed near City Hall when a bus hit her.

Another set of meetings for the Regional Connector, a project that could make a ride from Pasadena to Long Beach, or East LA to Culver City (and eventually Santa Monica) a reality without transferring, has been announced. "By providing continuous through service between these (light rail) lines, the regional connector will improve regional mobility, minimize transfers, reduce station crowding and improve access to both local and regional destinations,'' reads a Metro statement.

A car was hit this morning when it crossed the right of way of the Metro Blue Line near 1384 E. Washington Blvd., just south of the 10 Freeway. Luckily, "it was so minor, [the driver] declined treatment and transport," explained d'Lisa Davies of the LA Fire Department. The light rail line has experienced over 800 incidents and accidents since it opened 19 years ago.

Metro (not Metrolink) will be offering 24-hour service on all its rail lines (that's Red, Purple, Blue, Green and Gold) tonight in celebration of New Year's Eve. They'll be running every 20 minutes from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and you don't have to pay for a fare between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (and that includes buses, too). Then, Thursday morning to facilitate the large crowds for the Tournament of the Roses and the game, Gold Line trains will run every 7 to 8 minutes between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m., every 10 minutes between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and again every 7 to 8 minutes between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Enjoy your night!

        

The 30,000 square-foot museum, estimated to house a collection of sports memorabilia and real estate worth $30 million combined, is a product of years of collecting and a wife who said to get it all out of their house. That makes sense since the 10,000 pieces were overflowing. So Gary Cypres, who made his money in the finance, mortgage and travel agency businesses, took the challenge to an extreme and opened a museum.

With much excitement, the six-week late-night Metro Red Line subway service begins tomorrow. Every Friday and Saturday night until the end of the year, you'll be able to ride the train until 3 a.m.

"It depends on how you look at it," Steve Hymon at the Bottleneck Blog said. In October, Metro's ridership increased when you compare it to October's 2007 ridership. However, on a month-to-month basis, ridership in general--except for the subway--is dipping as gas prices continue to fall.

Today, the Mayor and the four councilmembers who represent the South LA region will be presenting a 96-page common agenda called the South Los Angeles Initiatives (.pdf). They are "intended to facilitate the eventual completion of targeted economic development projects in the area," a brief press release states. "The strategic plan defines, sets targets for, and measures the progress of projects in 10 initiative areas. These areas include business development; jobs and workforce development; increasing housing; improving retail opportunities; and improving neighborhoods and quality of life."

Two men in their twenties died when a gunman drove up to the Metro Blue Line station at 275 Willowbrook Ave. after 6:30 p.m. last night and fired an automatic weapon into the crowd. Two other women and a man were also wounded.

   

This morning's empty Metro Bus vs. southbound Metro Blue Line train crash left 13 people with minor injuries around 6:15 a.m. near Washington Boulevard and Griffith Avenue. Since its opening in 1990, the Metro Blue Line has had an atrocious record, demonstrated by the Bottleneck Blog's information request. There have been 652 train vs. vehicle incidents leaving 26 dead and 169 train vs. pedestrian leaving 64 dead. This all totals up to 821 incidents/accidents for the Metro Blue Line. Keep in mind that all a train operator can do in these cases is apply the breaks if a person decides to cross the tracks at the wrong time.

13 people sustained minor injuries when an empty bus and Metro Blue Line train collided around 6:15 a.m. Metro put an alert on their website warning people about the bus bridge but stayed silent on the crash. "Friday, September 19, 7:30 a.m. Metro Blue Line service is operating between Seventh and Metro Station and Grand Station downtown and between Washington Station and Long Beach. A bus bridge is shuttling passengers between Grand and Washington stations until further notice."

As the gas prices fell last month, so did ridership on public transit. Metro documents show that people are riding less on a daily basis, but numbers are still a lot higher than usual when compared to 12 months ago or even earlier this year.

Speaking to poor planning and development, an opinion piece from last week in the St. Petersburg Times talks of bloggers moving from idea maker to action taker. "Many of us are angry about the impoverished environment we've inherited... Because of this brutal lack of place and community in our real world, those who Richard Florida calls 'the creative class' have been agitating for positive change by using the Internet to exchange ideas... it's just a question of time before some of these folks enter the local political scene."

A man at a station in downtown Los Angeles has died after being hit by a Metro Subway train in an apparent suicide this evening.

Yesterday, all the buzz was about the Orange Line's record ridership last month. Today, Metro released the June 2008 numbers for all their rail lines, which had an increase in daily ridership, up 12.8 percent. Around 309,000 people rode the rails, most of them, 153,928, on the subway system. Steve Hymon at the LA Times broke down the numbers nicely:

The idea is already in Metro's long range plan, but it's not a priority. The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. says it's only 3-miles and if connected to Burbank Airport and the Burbank Metrolink station (therefore, downtown Burbank), ridership would surely increase. Road Sage Steve Hymon questions what if the Green Line went all the way to the Norwalk Metrolink station (we'll add in, "how about LAX?").

A crash involving a Metro bus and a car has resulted in 9 injuries, 7 of whom were transported to the hospital. It occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of 5th St. and Vermont Ave. Earlier this morning a collision between a Blue Line train and a vehicle occurred at 219 W. Washington Blvd. near Grand Ave. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the driver turned in front of the train, but the train operator saw this and quickly used the emergency brakes, therefore limiting the impact of the crash. Save for the driver, there were no other injuries.

Metro is looking into connecting the three light rail lines that hit downtown -- Gold, Blue and the soon-to-be Expo -- so that one day, a commuter may be able to travel from Long Beach to Pasadena or from East LA to Culver City -- all without transferring.