More Progress on Passenger Rail between Los Angeles and Palm Springs

The Desert Sun has reported that the Riverside County Transportation Commission had selected a passenger rail route between Los Angeles to Fullerton to study even further.

That route would run from Los Angeles to Fullerton, swing north to Colton, and then continue southeast through the San Gorgonio Pass to Indio.

According to the article, "If the train only stopped three times between Los Angeles and Indio, officials believe the trip would last around 3 hours and 10 minutes — only about 40 minutes slower than traveling by car."

Well, I don't know about you, but I'd happily bring a laptop and a Kindle and enjoy my journey even if it takes 40 minutes longer than being behind the wheel.

The article also states that "in earlier studies, Coachella Valley officials have suggested three stations, in Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Indio."

So cannot wait.

West Hollywood's New Flyer to Advocate for Metrorail

As a current member of the West Hollywood Transportation Commission, I cannot and will not discuss items appearing before the commission in my blog.  However, I was told at last night's meeting that I can share the following with you.

Below are two sides of a draft flyer that West Hollywood will be disseminating to advocate for bringing Metrorail to West Hollywood -- in this case as the connecting link between the Crenshaw/LAX line and the Red Line station at Hollywood/Highland.  The proposed connection with the Purple Line would be a transfer between a proposed SanVicente/Wilshire station and the coming LaCienega/Wilshire Purple Line station.

Fun huh!.

West Hollywood City Council Candidate Sends Mailer on Public Transit (They all should)

City Council Candidate John Heilman is seeking to return to the West Hollywood City Council.  I was so excited to see a council candidate fully engage on the topic of public transit I jumped for joy when I saw this in my mailbox.  

We have a tremendous opportunity for West Hollywood to discuss and debate improving public (and bicycle/pedestrian) transit prior to the June 2 special election.  Transportation was unfortunately narrowly discussed around the issue of traffic and parking meters for single-occupancy automobiles in the general election in March.  Let us have the fuller transportation discussion we should have had then in the remaining two weeks of the campaign for the special election for West Hollywood City Council.

I look forward to the other candidates mailers and campaign materials on public (and bicycle/pedestrian) transit.

I also invite any of the candidates who wish to submit their public (and bicycle/pedestrian) transit platform to me which I will happily post on this blog for your consideration and discussion.

Exciting Transportation Questions to ask West Hollywood City Council Candidates

As I stated in my prior post, West Hollywood City Election 2015: The truth no one will say about traffic and parking, it was very depressing to watch a West Hollywood City Council election where the only transportation issues discussed, if at all, were about traffic and parking for single-occupancy automobiles.  How retro.

It is not 1987 anymore, and Measure R passed in West Hollywood by 85% of the vote, more than any other city in Los Angeles county.  While the well-being of driving and parking single-occupancy automobiles is obviously important to many people, it should not be the only discussion we are having about transportation in this city.

Here are examples of transportation issues that I, and you, can ask the City Council candidates, and discuss among your friends and neighbors, in the upcoming West Hollywood June 2nd special election directly:

• Do you favor a transit option that connects West Hollywood to the Red Line in Hollywood directly, without requiring people to transfer, perhaps running non-stop between West Hollywood and Hollywood/Highland or Hollywood/Vine (my preferred option)?

• Should that option be extending the Pickup Line to Metro, or reconfiguring West Hollywood's CityLine Shuttle?

• Do you favor reconfiguring Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood so it is no longer a "speedway" and gives up a lane of traffic for bike lanes and more residential parking?

• How would you help bring Metrorail to West Hollywood?  

• Should we hold out for a below-ground Metrorail option that make take a few decades to be built or an above ground option that can be built in a few years?

• And if it is an above-ground Metrorail option, should it be like the modern streetcars soon coming to Downtown Los Angeles, or an elevated light-rail option that will allow for speed, but take away lanes for parking and possibly traffic?

• Should we partner with Hollywood, SilverLake, and Echo Park to create a transit line from Downtown to West Hollywood along Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards?

• She we create transit-only lanes for buses on Santa Monica Boulevard, similar to what is coming very soon to Wilshire Boulevard?

• How can we partner with neighboring cities and neighborhoods to create transit projects that will serve this whole region?

• Where else can we add bicycle lanes to West Hollywood and how else can we improve bicycle infrastructure?

• As West Hollywood is considered a very "walkable city", how can we continue to improve the pedestrian experience?

• How does West Hollywood adapt to the world of  Uber/Lyft and its relationship to Taxi and Limosuine services?

• How do we add mobility to the Sunset Strip? 

• Are parking meters on Santa Monica Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. really the most efficient use of that road space and should we try relocating that parking, by acquiring or building new parking, to free that space up for more mobility?

So if these questions are at least as interesting to you as the same old debates about parking meters for single-occupancy automobiles, feel free to ask them of our candidates, so that our transportation discussion for the special election is much more well-rounded than the general election we just completed.

A Sunset - Santa Monica Blvd. Light Rail Line would be popular. Should we advocate for one?

The Expo Line project, the second-half opening of which we are eagerly awaiting within months, began as a grass roots advocacy project.

One project idea that people talk to me about as a dream of theirs is a rail project on Sunset Blvd. between Downtown and Sunset Junction, which then continues on Santa Monica Blvd. toward West Hollywood. Such a project could then potentially be extended further west on Santa Monica toward the beach or south on La Cienega.

I think such a project would be nifty and very popular, and I know I would ride it almost every day.  Here is what a sample map might look like for such a project:

Does this idea have any grass roots support?  Such a project would likely need to be above ground if enough money were to be raised to build it.  This means taking road space away from parking and possible traffic in places.  I think that is a price worth paying, but there would be some community opposition as there is to every transit project.

What do you think?  Do you like this idea?  Are you willing to work for it?  We'd have to bring political, business, community, environmental, labor, and neighborhood leaders of every variety aboard in a coalition to make this happen.

The important thing to remember is that the Expo Line has already proven that it CAN happen.

Silliest Question of the Election Season: "Where are we going to park (in Downtown L.A.)"? - Gloria Molina

One candidate made me laugh at loud with a question so utterly ridiculous that I was literally stunned speechless (but not for long).

After complaining about "too much density" in downtown Los Angeles, former Los Angeles Supervisor Gloria Molina asked the question "where are we going to park?"

I am frequently baffled by people who genuinely still expect a 1970's Southern California style low-density, low-traffic, car culture transportation experience in 2015 in the middle of popular urban neighborhoods, as opposed to in the genuinely low-density suburbs.  But for any politician who's been in office for as long as former Supervisor Molina to imply that Downtown has "too much density" in hope of extending her political career just a little longer is among the worst form of NIMBY-ism I've seen in awhile.

Here is a hint to Ms. Molina and anyone else who may be upset about "too much" density in downtown Los Angeles.  Downtown is where density is SUPPOSED to go.

The Red and Purple heavy rail subway lines are there.  The Blue and Gold and Expo light-rail lines are there.  The regional connector is being build there.  Union Station and Amtrak and Metrolink is also there, along with the DASH bus system and buses from every transit authority in the County.  Even modern streetcars are coming back there soon.  Every major metropolitan city in the world has a vibrant downtown area with lots of density and lots of transportation options in addition to driving an automobile and parking a car.

So let me answer the question for the former Supervisor with sincerity rather than being snarky -- for it is entirely possible that someone who is still caught in the old car culture mindset is genuinely baffled about how to respond to the changes taking place to Southern California transportation to make it multi-modal as every other world metropolis.

The answer to "where do I park?" in Downtown Los Angeles is as follows:

• You leave your car at a Metrorail or Metrolink train station, or an express bus park and ride and commute into downtown.
• You leave the car at home and hop on a bus heading downtown with millions of others, or grab a Taxi or Uber or Lyft.
• You use a mode of "active transportation" and hop on a bicycle and walk part of the way.
• You use one of the downtown parking lots with expensive parking rates because the law of supply and demand rations those limited spaces according the laws of capitalism.

To find out more about Metrorail and Metro buses, click here.

To find out more about Metrolink Commuter Rail, click here.

To find out more about Los Angeles Department of Transportation Commuters Buses and Dash circulator buses, click here.

Your local transit authority probably also has an express bus going to/from Downtown.

Is this really so hard?  Downtown Los Angeles is NOT a suburb.

Some thoughts on the West Hollywood City Council Election and where we go from here

First, let me say I love living, working and playing in West Hollywood.

I correctly predicted the top five candidates, but had no clue about the order of finish, but believed Mayor John D'Amico would be the top vote getter and he was.  Here are the totals at present.  There are still 700 provisional ballots to count, and with less than one hundred votes separating the second, third and fourth place candidates it is still conceivable, though I am not sure how likely, the outcome could change. So these numbers are not final, but this is probably but not definitely the order of finish, which we should definitely know by Monday (incumbents are starred, top three are elected):

John D'Amico*               1,892
Lauren Meister               1,750
Lindsey Horvath             1,692
John Heilman*                  1,664
Joseph Guardarrama          1,525
Larry Block                          826
James Duke Mason              307
Matthew Ralston                  283
Christopher T. Landavazo    276
Tristan Schukraft                  224
Brian Funnagan                     79
John Allendorfer                    73

I heartily congratulate Mayor John D'Amico on his re-election to the City Council, and to likely City Councilmembers-elect Lauren Meister and Lindsey Horvath.

No matter how any of us voted, we should all thank John Heilman for 30 years of devoted service to West Hollywood.  That's 30 years of dedication to the city we love.

A word to Joe Guardarrama.  You came so agonizingly close.  I hope you will consider running in the special election in June to replace Jeffrey Prang.   But please do not go away.  West Hollywood needs you.

A word to James Duke Mason.  Most great politicians did not win their first campaigns.  Your heart is clearly in the right place, so here is a tip.  Every candidate in the race was a progressive champion.  Just running as a progressive wasn't enough to distinguish you in a progressive city like West Hollywood.  Local elections in general are about land use planning, economic development, social services, public safety, transportation, and quality of life issues.  You have a future, and I am sure you learned a lot in this race, so do not be discouraged.

I thank ALL of the candidates who ran no matter how many votes they received.  Most candidates who run for office do not win, and politics is a experience of disappointment and heartache more often than not.  Whether we agree with the platforms of any or all of these candidates, they all deserve our thanks for putting themselves forward to take the slings and arrows.  Every city should have the caliber of candidates we have for West Hollywood City Council.

Clearly from the results in thus far, many voters of West Hollywood are concerned about what they fear are too large developments, and they fear the changes brought by increasing density, and want to ensure West Hollywood keeps its unique character.

However, here is what will not change in West Hollywood no matter whom is elected when the final numbers are released: Increasing traffic and density.  That's correct.  I said it out loud.  Anyone who thought they were voting for any particular candiate because they could bring back a low-density, low-traffic, suburbanesqe experience in West Hollywood was only living in the past and hiding from an inevitable future, not just for West Hollywood, but for its environs.  Sorry to break the news to you.  Well, I'm not so sorry actually, because I don't ever want to go through another West Hollywood election where it appears as if traffic and parking are our only transportation concerns.

I compare West Hollywood in Los Angeles County to Luxembourg in the European Union.  West Hollywood is an extremely desirable part of it, but has very little actual control over the politics and economic forces determining the whole of it, and must ride the wave of whatever it happening.  Increasing density and traffic is happening throughout Los Angeles, especially in Hollywood and mid-City and "Manhattanization" will continue. (Disclaimer:  I lived in New York for several years and there are very desirable parts of Manhattan.  There is a reason why so many people want to live there, so do not fret.)

It is my contention that the golden era of the single-occupancy automobile in California, where we all drive cars on clear, low-traffic roads, and treat people who ride public transit as the marginalized poor who can be ignored, and dismiss cyclists as freaks who should be avoided, is over.  In fact, West Hollywood already knows that to be true, and voted 84% for Measure R in 2008, more than any other city in Los Angeles County, because it wants transportation alternatives to simply sitting in their car in heavy traffic.  There will still be millions of cars in Southern California, but it will be multi-modal, like every other major metropolitan region in the world.

So now is the time for all of us, whomever we voted for in this election to come together and find transportation solutions for not just West Hollywood, but all of Southen California that work for the 21st Century.  Here are some policy questions to begin discussing:

• Do we remake "Fountain Speedway" with bicyles lanes and traffic calming so that it serves our residents best?  
• Do we remove curbside parking on Santa Monica Blvd. to create transit lanes that could also be used by a streetcars or light-rail that connects to SilverLake and downtown, and if so, were can we put alternative parking?  
• Do we wait possibly twenty years for a subway to be built here, or, do we take away parking or a traffic lane on Santa Monica Blvd. for an above ground mass transit solution that can be built in within five?  
• How do we reduce the pedestrian accidents that have plagued our city recently?  
• How do we work cooperatively with Beverly Hills, Los Angeles City and County, the neighborhood councils of Los Angeles, and other entities to solve those problems and create opportunities that benefit all of us?  

This blog will continue to explore those questions that were not even discussed in this election.

On a personal note, like many, I started as a angry young man in politics and policy.  But, as I have grown older and matured, I have grown into someone who is focused on finding solutions and improving the quality of life for all of us.  If someone wants to keep looking backward at a West Hollywood and a Los Angeles County and Southern California where only cars mattered in transportation, and everyone else was simply marginalized or ignored, then this blog probably isn't for you.  In fact, the future of Southern California probably isn't for you.

But, if you want to find solutions that work for everyone -- motorists, cyclists, transit riders, pedestrians, all peacefully co-existing and mobile -- let us find those solutions, because they future is already upon on us, and West Hollywood, the creative city, will likely be in the forefront of it.

West Hollywood City Election 2015: The truth no one will say about traffic and parking.

Sometimes I feel like I am speaking up for the forgotten people of WeHo. 84% of us voted for Measure R in 2008, more than anywhere else in Los Angeles County. People here want more and better transit and cycling options. Yet nearly all the City Council candidates when they talk about transportation issues, if at all, they talk about making parking easier and cheaper, which will only attract even more cars here, making it even harder to get in and out of WeHo, under streets still designed for the 1970's, not the 21st Century.

Since I am not running for any office, I can be honest and tell some hard truths about traffic and the future that need telling, that yesteryear-looking NIMBYs do not want to hear.

Here is the cold hard reality. Traffic is only going to worsen in WeHo in the future as we are a small island surrounded by Los Angeles, regardless of what West Hollywood plans for itself.  Think of us as like Luxembourg in the European Union.  We are a desirable part of it, but have very little influence over the economics and politics of the whole of it. West Hollywood can make changes to its transportation planning in order to ride the wave of the future, and retool WeHo's streets for the future, with bus lanes, bike lanes, and possibly even streetcars or light-rail, and a subway in the future.  Hey, throw in synchronized lights if you want.

But ANY candidate for City Council promising a return to a 1970's era low-density, low-traffic, suburbanesqe lifestyle for West Hollywood (and this goes for Hollywood, Mid-City and its environs as well) is just being dishonest and/or delusional and/or pandering to voters who only see, "gee it is getting harder to park in Boystown without paying".

Such populism may be politically effective and it may even work for this election cycle.  We will see on Tuesday.  But the reality is that the glory days of personal ownership and operation of a single-occupancy automobile in Southern California are behind us even if WeHo doesn't develop another thing, and we need to think of a transportation vision that includes not only cars, but multi-modes of transportation to/from and within West Hollywood.

In no way am I arguing against trying to preserve WeHo's character by rejecting oversized developments.  That is important.  I am instead advocating an acceptance of what we can and cannot change -- and talking about how we plan for a future that isn't even being discussed this city election.

I've been in a place in my personal and career life where I have not been able to keep up this blog as much as in the past, but I wish I had done more this election to bring public transit, bike lanes and Metrorail front and center into the campaign.  It is utterly disheartening to see candidates talk about traffic and parking as if it is still 1987, and as if the future won't happen.  But the squeaky wheel is what gets the grease, and parking advocates squeaked the loudest.  I wish I had done more, perhaps formed a local organization which could have squeaked a little louder to bring transportation alternatives to the forefront of the election.

In any event, West Hollywood is an amazing city -- beautiful, creative, fun, fiscally healthy -- and I am glad I live here... no matter who wins on Tuesday.

P.S.  Let me again recommend the books "Human Transit" by my friend Jarrett Walker, who also writes a great blog about transportation planning.  I also recommend Don Shoup's "The High Cost of Free Parking".