Over the Labor Day weekend, the MTA also ran two to three simultaneous Gold Line trains along the Extension at vehicular traffic speeds. Metro is a little behind on their projected schedule of opening the Little Tokyo / Arts District Gold Line station in August, and unfortunately, they now won't provide a specific, let alone ballpark, date for full operation.
The MTA also released copies of fliers (in English and Spanish) that will be provided to “Rail Safety Ambassadors” and distributed to local schools.
I don't understand why Metro can't invest a pittance to design better outreach materials.
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As far as the Eastside Extension is concerned, from what I understand, they ran across some technical difficulties during early testing. They're fixing those problems now.
The schedule may have been thrown off a little bit, but it's safe to say that Little Tokyo residents will be riding the Gold Line, and people will be using the Gold Line to get to Little Tokyo, before too long.
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As far as the Regional Connector is concerned, the at-grade design for Alameda and Temple just doesn't make any sense for Little Tokyo or for Metro Rail riders.
At-grade would mean a lot of construction disruption, it would mean slower trains, it would mean having to wait for trains at a lot more intersections and it would mean that Little Tokyo wouldn't get the new station near the library/ budokan/ Kyoto Grand.
The much better choice is the First and Alameda option.
James,
Your argument against at-grade construction causing disruption is exactly why the "Underground" alignment is not ideal for Little Tokyo either! It is underground until it surfaces to AT-GRADE in the middle of a vibrant Little Tokyo block.
Your words: At-grade would mean a lot of construction disruption, it would mean slower trains, it would mean having to wait for trains...
Much better choice? I guess if you would rather cause economic and environmental strain on Little Tokyo alone... then yes.
I'll be honest. Construction is always messy.
However, the underground option will only cause problems during the construction period.
After the construction is over, Little Tokyo will be rewarded with a much better transportation system, one that will encourage more people to come visit and spend money in Little Tokyo.
Expensive parking and traffic jams do not encourage people to come visit!
The at-grade option, on the other hand, will cause permanent damage to the area. Would you rather have a light rail tunnel, or tracks down the middle of the street?
Given the choice between a TEMPORARY mess and a PERMANENT one, I'll choose the temporary one... and I hope that others reading this blog do, too.
I would say neither option is ideal.
As for your perceived which is better argument. In terms of the so-called "underground alignment" in Little Tokyo:
A tunnel with 22 different trains running every 1.25 min. during peak hours is not temporary it is PERMANENT. A triple-decker intersection on a key Little Tokyo intersection with the added trains is not temporary, it is PERMANENT. The loss of profitable and popular businesses that bring people to Little Tokyo until the late hours of the night is not temporary, it is PERMANENT. The removal of the block from Little Tokyo to service greater LA and the MTA is not temporary, it is PERMANENT... and there are cultural, historical, and community consequences for all of it. You see, it is not just about you in Long Beach trying to get to Pasadena and being too lazy to transfer- it is about what the MTA has decided to do with a community that has given up so much already.
I could go on, but I want to make it clear to readers that James presents a very one-sided point-of-view that doesn't consider the full picture of this neighborhood community.
Any opinion is, by definition, one-sided.
The block in question is the Office Depot block. What's so historic about that?
Weiland's (a brew pub) and Senor Fish (a Mexican restaurant) may be popular places, but they have no cultural or ethnic connection to the Japanese American community that built Little Tokyo in the first place.
Take out these properties and you still have JANM to celebrate the history of the Japanese American community (in a building that is very modern in design), you still have JACCC for current Japanese American cultural events, you still have Japanese Village Plaza and Weller Court for shopping, you still have the shops and businesses on First Street undisturbed.
How about this: Take out one block of Little Tokyo, and you have a chance to make life better for the rest of Little Tokyo. Take out the Office Depot and replace it with a park for the residents of Little Tokyo to enjoy.
Build the Budokan for Little Tokyo (near a subway station at Second/Los Angeles). Build the Nikkei Center at the corner of 1st/Alameda.
Build a new PEDESTRIAN bridge over 1st/Alameda to connect the (Japanese-American owned and operated) Nikkei Center with the rest of Little Tokyo.
Do these things and you will be able preserve the Japanese American ethnic cultural heritage of the neighrborhood, while still ensuring that Little Tokyo has a vibrant, and economically sound future.
I have chosen to use my full name on this blog as a way to demonstrate that I care about the FUTURE of this neighborhood and about the Japanese American community as a whole.
A vibrant neighborhood changes, but still retains its spirit. An unchanging neighborhood is a WAX MUSEUM.
"The loss of profitable and popular businesses that bring people to Little Tokyo until the late hours of the night is not temporary, it is PERMANENT." - Wait a tick...didn't the businesses come back to Hollywood and Downtown LA with the creation of the Red Line? Look at how more economically prosperous these two districts have become due to efficient mass transit. You're using a scare tactic that is unproven.
Neel,
The Hollywood subway didn't have an at-grade crossing and a triple decker street greatly restricting pedestrian and vehicular access to the area's gateway.
I think there are ways where Metro can both have a totally underground crossing AND significantly reduce disruption during the construction phase of the project.
Second part of that post should read...
...but they're not considering that now.
Damien, I think you've got your facts wrong.
There's not going to be a "triple decker street" as you described it.
There's going to be an underground underpass (Alameda). There's going to be an at-grade street crossing (the Regional Connector).
And there's going to be a pedestrian bridge over the intersection. The bridge will make it extremely easy for pedestrians to get through that intersection and it will add a bit of artistic color to the gateway.
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