Grand Park: Half-Way There

August 1, 2012 1 Comment

LA’s newest park opened this week with a splash (literally… there were tons of people, myself included, splashing around in the fountain’s membrane pool), but it’s only half way there.

I say this not to be negative, but because the park is actually only half open. The first two blocks (which are really contiguous as one) opened this week, but the final two will open later in the fall.

It’s hard to accurately judge the park before it’s completely open, but I’d like to give a quick review anyway.

With the lighted fountain and City Hall in the background, Grand Park feels like the open, public, and civic space Los Angeles had been missing.

First of all, I love the park. It’s been compared to Central Park in New York and Millennium Park in Chicago, with some push back from those involved in making it happen as well as those who are critical of the new park. Instead of focusing on “this one’s larger” or “this one has more art” and similar specifics, though, I think that the parks all accomplish a similar thing regardless of how different they may actually be. Its still opening week and the awe hasn’t worn off, but I’ve spent one afternoon and another evening at the park and it’s been full of people walking around, sitting at tables, reading, eating, playing in the fountain, taking pictures, and more both times. What the park does is give residents, employees, tourists, and anyone else a place to relax, a place to come together for events, a place to enjoy the beautiful weather, and a place to sit and appreciate the city. In this way, the park is very much like both Central Park and Millennium Park.

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The Downtown LA Streetcar Should Travel on 9th Street

July 12, 2012 3 Comments

The most effective route for the streetcar would travel east on 9th Street, not 7th.

I’ve written a couple times about the streetcar being planned for Downtown LA. First, examining all of the suggested route options and then praising the selection of the locally-preferred-alternative. As I said in those pieces, I think the LPA that was selected is good, but after looking at it further, it’s certainly not best. Upon more reflection I’ve come to believe that taking the route east on 7th Street instead of 9th Street would be a particularly unfortunate decision for both mobility and development reasons and wanted to explore the options further. (Click here for a pdf of both routes from the city.)

Here’s why:

7th Street Doesn’t Gain You Much

The key reasoning behind taking the streetcar up to 7th Street is access to the 7th Street/Metro Center station. That’s all well and good, but what does this actually get us? We must first remember that this portion of the route will be a one-way loop headed east and then turning north on Hill.

With this in mind, it will certainly be useful for travel from Staples Center/LA LIVE/Convention Center to connect to the Metro Red/Purple lines. However, with a probably similar fare, the more frequent combined northbound service from the Metro Blue/Expo lines at Pico is probably a better bet anyway. It’s a block or two further from LA LIVE, but closer to the Convention Center and Staples south entrances.

What about the other direction, though?

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A Multi-Modal Independence Day

July 5, 2012 1 Comment

To celebrate America’s independence, there are a few things that come to mind in Los Angeles… the beach, bike rides, fireworks, barbecues, friends, and music. I experienced all of them yesterday, while also celebrating my independence from another thing… the personal automobile.

I didn’t necessarily set out to specifically spend the day without a car, but it was actually the easier and better way to get to most of my destinations for the day, which ranged from Downtown to the beach, with roughly 19 miles in between them. By the end of the day, I had traveled a total of nearly 50 miles by heavy-rail subway, light-rail, bike, bus, and foot. I exercised on bike, had tacos and margaritas by the ocean, grilled chicken, corn, and beer on a Downtown rooftop, and watched fireworks from a lawn in the shadow of the Coliseum.

Exposition Park hosted an hour-long fireworks show, easily accessible from the Metro Expo Line.

Read on for more detail of the fantastic Independence Day celebration and how it’s possible to experience an incredible range of Los Angeles without getting in a car.

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Expo Line Review: First Rides and First Impressions

May 3, 2012 3 Comments

The following is my first-impression account of the Expo Line after one workday trip in each direction. I wrote it last night while commuting from Culver City to Downtown.

I’m sitting on the Expo Line, literally zooming past cars on the street (and they’re not even in traffic) as I write this. I rode the length of the line on Saturday during the grand opening, but even more significantly, I rode it on the first workday Monday morning to my office in Culver City. Today is my first day riding the return trip from work.

There were cars in this photo when I clicked the button, but by the time the iPhone’s shutter snapped, we had already flown by them. They were moving quickly too.

To be honest, I was slightly surprised at how many people were on it Monday morning. Of course, it wasn’t full like the other lines during rush hour, but the number of people on my train did seem to rival the other lines during off-peak hours. For the first real day of service, that seems like a major success. The numbers will always grow.

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