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Imagine L.A. Beyond Traffic: Now Get Your Ideas Moving!
Image via railLA
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By Carren Jao/Special to LAist
The birthplace of cruising and Grease-like fascination for all things with four-wheeled, Los Angeles has become synonymous with its cars and freeways. But what if the roads could become a little less congested and the commute a little less frustrating?
RailLA, a non-profit advocating for the “timely and efficient implementation of the high-speed rail with Los Angeles’ Union Station as its hub,” is inviting anyone with a great idea to take a few minutes to write down on their site what their Los Angeles would be like without cars. Will it have centralized housing to encourage walking to work? A shopping mall by the high-speed rail hub? What about a simple one-way train ride that goes straight to LAX?
The most creative ideas will be sent to 25 collage artists, whose renderings will appear in an upcoming book. An exhibition envisioning a new pedestrian-based Los Angeles is also in the works. “It’s basically everlasting fame!” Jonathan Louie, Program Director of railLA.
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Louie says not to overthink the idea, but take the plunge and simply write it. “A few sentences or a paragraph would be awesome. We've found some of the best and unique ideas [so far] from very unlikely sources.”
If you’ve ever complained about the frequent traffic jams in L.A., now is the time to start daydreaming a solution. What would you like to see grow in Los Angeles?
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