We spent the past week in NYC gallivanting around on the subway system, gleefully reaching each destination in a timely manner and with minimal walking distance. Yes, we do ride the Red Line occasionally, however we would ride the Metro subway more often if it provided better access to all parts of the city.

We recently covered a citizens' initiative to further develop the LA subway system (Get LA Moving), but the ongoing political banter of city officials suggests that such dreams will never come to fruition. Until then we will waste hours of our lives sitting on the jam-packed, gridlocked Rapid bus.

Sigh.

Photo by Henry David for LAist

Here we are on the day Metro makes another set of changes that they refer to as "Service Enhancements." And yes, these are enhancements, but that does not mean service cuts, excuse us, "discontinuations," are happening too.

For the new toy collection comes the Rapid Express system. It's not local service, it's not rapid service, it's express. That means only a handful of stops for peak hour riders to endure between Wilshire/Vermont Red Line Station and downtown Santa Monica on the new 920 along Wilshire with stops at Vermont, Western, Fairfax, Beverly, Westwood and 4th.

For those in the Southbay, Metro has implemented the peak period 940 Rapid Express with stops at South Bay Galleria Transit Center, Hawthorne Metro Rail Station, La Brea/Manchester Av, King/ Crenshaw, King/Vermont, Broadway/6th and Union Station/Patsaouras Plaza.

Two new regular Rapid routes have also been added. The 704 will operate on Santa Monica Blvd. and the 760 will go between downtown and the Artesia Blue Line Station.

For a complete look at the changes, check Metro's website. Note that many of the changes and additions go into effect tomorrow.

Photo by ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓜⓞⓓ via Flickr

Universal City, CA - Announced last fall, it is supposed to be the Century City of the Valley. And according to a group named The NBC Universal MTA Project Working Group (a coalition of the surrounding community organizations), it will have 1.47 million square feet of new commercial and residential space, office towers (up to 24 stories tall), a 34 story (445 feet tall) condominium & hotel tower.

They also contend that there will be no additional parking for MTA commuters (for the Universal Red Line station), new production and post-production facilities, “supergraphic” or other large scale animated and non-animated signage and the possible “alteration and or removal of non-historic features of the Campo de Cahuenga site” (one of the most historic sites in America and the birthplace of California).

And hey! It will be done all within a whopping three years and it has nothing to do with the planned additions to the NBC Universal property – just across the street. LAist is happy for this project, but we think its true success will be built on the surrounding communities embracing it.

The coalition is spreading the word because they say the City only planned one "scoping" meeting for public input and sent notices only to those within a short distance of the Universal City property. Whether it is true or not about holding one meeting, we think it is good order to spread the word.

Monday, June 25, 2007
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center (Van Nuys City Hall)
6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys (at Sylvan Street)

Free parking is available (enter from the ramp on Sylvan Street)
Questions? Call the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce at (818) 761-6594

Get Ye Back to the Red Line: From trolley to hearse, take the last ride on the infamous Holly Trolley before it shuts down at 2:30 a.m. tonight.

Fly me to the...: Van Nuys, Union Station and now Westwood are easy ways to get to LAX. But don't expect to be able to park in Westwood while you pose on the Spanish Steps since there is "no overnight parking is permitted Monday – Thursday."

Expo Line's Solid Vice-Chair: Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (CD 10) was elected Vice-Chair of the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority last week. The line, slated to open in 2010, will have four stations in his district: Crenshaw Boulevard, La Brea Avenue, La Cienega Boulevard, and National/Washington Boulevards.

Big Metro Changes: Starting a week from tomorrow, Metro will do its bi-annual shake up of changes, additions and deletions to service. Notably, there will be the new Metro Rapid Express Lines 920 (Wlishire Blvd. Rapid Express) which will serve between the Wilshire/Vermont Red Line Station and downtown Santa Monica during peak hours Monday through Friday. It only has six stops: Vermont, Western, Fairfax, Beverly, Westwood and Fourth Street.

Photo by paytonc via Flickr

To be exact, the number is $39,404,362 and it comes from the Department of Water and Power for overcharging utility costs according to a press release from Metro.

Metro along with several other governmental agencies have won a joint lawsuit against DWP, charging that the DWP was over billing the agency for utility services over an eight year period. DWP is to pay back approximately $225 million in overcharges to several government agencies that include the Los Angeles Unified School District, the University of California at Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Community College District, the County of Los Angeles and California State Agencies.

With $40 Million, what would you do with LA County's Transportation Agency? Keep in mind, $40 Million really doesn't go that far. For example, the Orange Line expansion to Chatsworth (that's about 5 or so miles of busway, not even light rail) will cost an estimated $135 Million. But hey, ever million helps.

With one-third of the worst freeway junctions in this land o' freedom according to Forbes Magazine, somehow, this city still runs. It must be due to the fact that Los Angeles is economically successful: that is, if we go by the theory of economist Anthony Downs who said in the Washington Post that more economic activity equals more cars and more driving. He continues to say that "congestion will remain a fact of life for most Americans."

Unfortunately, Forbes does not mention a lick about public transportation or even question it. Questions we would like to know answers to are what kind of effects will the completion of the Expo and Purple lines have on congestion (if that happens)? Why is there about zero talk of any public transportation over the Sepulveda Pass along the 405? And is congestion pricing the answer?

Perhaps the most poignant question raised in the article was by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters: "[The National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network] supports leaders with the wisdom and courage to develop plans that will cut traffic now, not years from now." Has Los Angeles' representatives done anything significant to help it right now? And we're talking about action said today, done tomorrow (not the 3 years of construction brand of "now").

Little things have been done seemingly quite fast: like Wendy Greuel's ban on street construction during rush hour or the Mayor's Tiger Gridlock Team. But those solutions are small-scale. We're looking for someone with big cajones. Someone who is going to be bold enough to have a crazy and great idea that will be controversial, yet bring a working solution to the table (Zev's Pico/Olympic plan perhaps? At least it got people talking). And maybe that person is not a politician, and someone like Eli Broad who should donate his money to traffic problems instead of the arts -- after all, traffic is one of the many reasons many people do not engage in arts patronage.

Whatever the outcome of our standstill will be, with comments like "expect things to get worse before they get better" and "America's heart of traffic pain" in regards to LA, Forbes seems to think our town is hell.

Find LA's 4 bottlenecks, including the complete list after the jump...

Hi plane that crashed into some houses in Upland!

Hi LAist. Ow.

Whats up?

Not me, I'm crashed into the roof of some guy's garage. Oooo.

You sure are. What the heck are you doing up there?

Hurtin', bro. Hurtin. Eff! I was minding my own business flying around here in Upland and we were making our approach to Cable Airport and the flight instructor said "ok now watch, this is how you do it." And the two student pilots were all, "ok we're watching" and then bam. We hit this one house and skipped off another, and landed on this garage.

The flight instructor said, "ok now watch?"

I'm paraphrasing, LAist, gimme a break. I'm in pieces over here.

A lot of people have been telling us they want to ride their bikes more, but that bike rack on the bus gives them goose bumps. They don't know how to do it, what if the bus driver gets mad, what if my bike falls off, what if the bus leaves before I get bike off are all questions that worry people.

And it worried us too, until one day we said damnit, we're too tired to ride home at 12 pm. And you know what? It was easy as pie. And here's how:

1. First check out this video.

2. It's not on YouTube, but the best video on how to "rack n' roll" is from our neighbor friends from the north in Santa Clarita.

3. On Metro's website, they give a three-step process shown with the above photo:

1. Squeeze handle to lower the rack.
2. Load your bike in an empty slot.
3. Raise the support arm up and over the front tire. Board the bus and pay your fare.

Make sure your front wheel is placed on the side with the support arm. Lifting the support arm can be the trickiest part as it is just not raising, but pulling it out to raise. Pull it up and over your front tire to the top (doing it half way is no good).

4. If you loaded it, you know how to unload. Just don't forget to put the rack back up if you're the last bike (the bus driver will yell at you for this one).

So get out and give it a try. You might be a little slow the first time, but who cares, you've got to learn at some point and all it takes is one try.