Results tagged “busway”

The first of four public meetings about the Crenshaw Corridor project was last night, with 50 to 60 people reportedly showing up. Out of those who attended, "about a dozen spoke their two minutes — with nearly every public speaker in favor of the light rail option," wrote transit blogger LA Wad on MetroRiderLA. That included LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas who paid a surprise visit to the meeting in support of the light rail option.

Not owning your own property can be a bitch. And such is life when leasing from the government, one who will now be using some of the land for a transportation corridor. The Orange Line busway extension from the Warner Center up Canoga Avenue to the Chatsworth Train Station is slated to break ground this June. That means the businesses that have been leasing right-of-way property from Metro--some have for 50 years--will be booted or have their lease properties be chopped up into small ones.

The gas price spike may be over, but it would seem that some are sticking to public transit. The latest numbers coming from Metro show that the Orange Line continues to grow in popularity. September saw the highest ridership ever for the Orange Line in the Valley at 28,000. Which has us asking, when will that feared and applauded (depending on who you are) proposal to turn the dedicated busway into a light rail happen?

Have you ever noticed that Google Maps displays Metro Subway and Light Rail stations but not Orange Line ones, even though the buway pretty much acts like train on rubber wheels (yeah, cheesy description). We posed that question to Google and a spokesperson quickly responded saying those stations would be marked on the map if Metro joined the Google Transit program.

What? So, Metro is set to vote this week on a mixed-use residential/commercial development that will literally be feet from the Orange Line Sepulveda station in Van Nuys (you know, in that huge parking lot no one uses). "When they first came to me about it, it was supposed to be all residential," Councilman Tony Cardenas, who represents the area, is quoted saying in the Daily News. "Now they are talking about having commercial development." Cardenas also voted against a sales tax increase that could go towards public transit projects such as the "Subway to the Sea."

Ever feel like you're cramped in a bus of 100 people? Imagine a bus where 100 could fit comfortably. As reported last week, the Orange Line in the Valley got a new bus to play with today. The gigantic 65-foot bus that will be in service for a one year pilot began taking passengers back and forth between the NoHo Arts District and Woodland Hills late this morning. To alleviate the high usage of...