April 2007 Archives

After receiving complaints from Metrolink passengers, the transit system’s board of directors will postpone a vote to raise fares until next month, officials said Thursday.

Previously planned for Friday, the vote will now take place May 11. Meanwhile passengers can speak out about the rate plan Friday during a public hearing scheduled during the board meeting, said Denise Tyrrell, Metrolink spokesperson.

Commuters have argued that they have not have enough time to respond to the staff proposal that could raise fairs 10 percent, and up to 30 percent for long-distance passengers, over the next three years. If approved, the first fare increases start in July. Next fare hikes are scheduled for 2008 and 2009.

Notices were left on train seats April 3 and posted on Metrolink’s Web site to alert passengers about the plan.

The board meets at 10 a.m. inside Metrolink’s main office at 700 S. Flower St., Los Angeles.

In a weird juxtaposition of L.A.'s notorious traffic and its legendary filmmakers, hundreds of motorists are videotaping their experiences on the region's roadways and posting them on YouTube.

Experts say it's a sign that people are looking for answers to the maddening traffic on the roadways. Focusing on something creative while stuck in gridlock is also a good way to relieve stress.

The Daily News has launched a contest about this phenomenon. Film your commute and send it to us on a CD. We'll post the clips online and viewers will pick a winner. That person will star in the Along For the Ride column and win some free gas cards. Whatta deal!

To read more, click HERE.

What are your experiences on the roadways?
What drives you crazy about traffic?
Tell our blog!

Five traffic officers and three tow trucks are patrolling an 8.5-mile stretch of Ventura Boulevard from the 405 Freeway to Topanga Canyon Boulevard for illegally parked cars during morning rush hour, city officials announced Monday.

From 6-9 a.m., the team will ticket and tow cars parked illegally. It's part of the city's efforts to make commutes smoother for motorists and relieve congrestion.

Known as the anti-gridlock Tiger Team, the group last year began patrols on Wilshire Boulevard. As a result, the team has cited more than 17,000 motorists and towed more than 5,100 vehicles.

Underinflated tires contribute to car crashes that result in 660 deaths and 33,000 injuries annually. To bring attention to the deadly matter, Pep Boys is testing tires for motorists, according to the Auto Channel.

Get the scoop HERE.

The buzz word these days in transportation is: ethanol, ethanol, ethanol. Deemed a significant tool to reduce global warming, ethanol is the savior these days. And now companies are pushing to create ethanol empires throughout the west, reports the Sacramento Bee.

Read more HERE.

What are your thoughts? Share them with our blog.

A carpool lane on the westbound 170 Freeway is open to all cars during construction of a new ramp at Hollywood Way and the 134 Freeway.

Although CalTrans officials say its use as a regular lane is only temporary, that could mean it stays open for all until the summer of 2010 when construction ends.

Some pleased commuters hope it always stays open. What do you say? Tell us on our blog.

Gas costing more than $3 a gallon is hardly news for California. But what's interesting to note is that only five states in the country, including California, are seeing gas prices spike over $3. And consumers are paying these steep prices with little complaints, leaving analysts to believe the sticker shock for many is long gone.

Get the story HERE.

What are your thoughts on gas prices? Are you accepting these costs as the new norm? Tell our blog.

Residents concerned about plans to increase fares on MTA buses and subways can speak out during a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 24.

After hearing the public testimony, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors will consider adopting the fare changes.

If adopted, the new fares will be phased in July 1, 2007 with a possible second adjustment on January 1, 2009.

The public meeting takes place at MTA headquarters, at Cesar Chavez Avenue and Vignes Street. The building is located next to Union Station.

Two people escaped with minor injuries Thursday from a Cessna aircraft after it cartwheeled off the runway and into a field at Whiteman Airport, officials said.

After coming down hard during its landing at 10 a.m., the plane bounced in the air. The pilot, Dan Grahek of Palmdale, then gave the plane full throttle to make it airborne, but it stalled. A wing then hit the ground and propelled the plane off the runway, said Gary Boz, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Grahek and the passenger Charles Currey of Monrovia were the only two on board. Boz did not know the extent of their injuries.

The plane was damaged beyond repair.

Pacoima's Whiteman Airport is one of five airports managed by the county Department of Public Works.

Alternating lanes of Topanga Canyon Road will be closed intermittently from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, April 16 to Friday, April 20, as part of a $5.5 million construction project that stretches 11 miles on Route 27 from Route 1 to Mulholland Drive.

The project replaces existing pavement with rubberized asphalt concrete, includes rewstriping, new metal beam guardrails and roadway shoulder widening. The entire project will be done by this summer.

There were 23,243 daily weekday boardings in March on the Orange Line. The figure tops March 2006 ridership by more than 27 percent. It also breaks a former record set in May 2006 by 6.5 percent.

Built on a former railroad right of way, the Orange Line guided busway's success surprises Metro transit planners, who initially projected an average weekday ridership of 17,000 by 2009, rising gradually to 22,000 weekday boardings by the year 2020.

What are your thoughts about the Orange Line? Let us know on this blog!

Like other clever species, seasoned L.A. commuters have adapted to their environment. Drivers often add 10 to 30 minutes to each trip, knowing that a highway headache is likely.

"We have to imagine it and give ourselves extra time before going anywhere," said Rabia Kahraman, 25, of Northridge, who gives herself an extra half-hour to get downtown on Friday afternoons.

Getting on the road earlier than your neighbor gives many of us a buffer in coping with unpredictable traffic. But when your neighbor catches on - and more and more are - the buffer simply evaporates. That's one of the reasons Los Angeles commuters spend a total of 623,796,000 hours a year sitting in traffic, says Tim Lomax, research engineer for the Texas Transportation Institute.

To read more, click HERE.

What are your commute survival tips? Do you travel off the beaten path to get to your destination on time?
Tell our blog!

A controversial plan to let solo drivers use carpool lanes on all freeways in Orange County during off-peak hours was endorsed Monday by county planners, sending the proposal to Caltrans for consideration, reports the Los Angeles Times.

At the same time, the Orange County Transportation Authority asked Caltrans for permission to let drivers who use carpool lanes pull in and out of the lanes as they wish. Typically, motorists can enter and exit the lanes only at designated spots.

Liberalizing carpool rules has been a recent theme of transportation planners in Orange County, who are looking for creative ways to ease freeway congestion.

Get the story HERE.

What do you think of these plans? Should Los Angeles transportation officials follow lead? Share your thoughts on this blog.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is hooking up with the MTV reality show "Pimp My Ride" for a special Earth Day episode April 22 that he hopes will boost the street cred of low-emission cars, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

Typically, the program features everyday people who have their trashed rides tricked out into bling-mobiles with built-in espresso machines or lava lamps. But for this episode, the crew will transform a 1965 Chevy Impala into a clean, green biodiesel machine.

To read more, please click HERE.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts on this blog.

The future of the American automobile will be at stake Tuesday when a showdown over greenhouse-gas emissions and global warming begins in the unlikeliest of places -- a courtroom in Vermont, where fewer cars are registered than in any other state.

Automakers will ask a federal judge to throw out Vermont's adoption of California's tough carbon dioxide emissions limits on grounds they are illegal, too expensive to engineer and certain to deny many drivers the chance to buy the SUV or pickup truck of their choice.

Vermont and its allies -- New York state and five environmental groups -- will defend the rules as a legal, reasonable, affordable and necessary step to combat global warming.

To read more of the Burlington Free Press story, click HERE

The northbound Ventura Freeway from Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard to Victoria Avenue in Ventura will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Wednesday, April 11 through Friday, April 13.

Southbound lanes will close from Vineyard Avenue to Victoria Avenue nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday evening, April 12 until Friday morning, April 13 and Sunday evening, April 15 until Tuesday morning, April 17.

The freeway closure -- for overhead sign erection and electrical work -- are part of a $100 million improvement project that began in 2002 on U.S. 101 from Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard to Johnson Drive in Ventura.

The whole project will be done this summer and includes construction of a full diamond interchange at Oxnard Boulevard, the addition of north and south lanes to U.S. 101 and a new bridge over the Santa Clara River.

Tired of making oil tycoons even richer by paying these ridiculously exorbitant gas prices?

I don't know about you, but I really resent giving a significant chunk of my paycheck to these greedy folk and want to stick it to them as much as I can by telling as many people as possible about where to buy CHEAP gas.

Click HERE for a Web site that guides consumers to lower prices at the pump.

Have a good location for cheap gas?? Please share it with our blog!

Gas prices continued rising by almost a penny a day in most Southern California cities over the past week, coming within 15 cents of the all-time record prices set last May, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.260, which is 5.5 cents higher than last week, 38 cents higher than last month, and 42 cents higher than last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.291, which is 6.6 cents above last week's price, 38 cents above last month, and 47 cents above last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.287, 6.3 cents above last week, 40 cents higher than last month, and 45 cents higher than last year.

"California still has by far the highest gas prices in the country, but other states' prices rose even more rapidly than California over the last week, and Nevada has just become the second state with a gas price average over $3 a gallon," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "Crude oil prices have come down in the last week, but recent international incidents in the Middle East have added another layer of volatility to the market."

Source: The Autochannel

Feeling pinched at the pump? Get it off your chest and write to our blog!

The world's largest natural gas producers are expected to announce the formation of a cartel next week and no one is certain what the new organization will try to achieve, according to Forbes.

Curious? Read more HERE.

Share your thoughts with us about the new cartel and write to this blog.

A high-speed rail promises to whisk residents from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a mere 2.5 hours for about $70. But before construction begins, planners need to hear from you.

Public meetings with the California High-Speed Rail Authority happen this week and next around Los Angeles:

--Glendale Public Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale, CA 91205 on Wed., April 4, from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.

-- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority Headquarters (Board Room), One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 on Thursday, April 5, from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. This will be a joint meeting with the “Los Angeles to Anaheim” Project-Level EIR/EIS process.

--Sylmar Park Recreation Center, 13109 Borden Ave., Sylmar, CA 91342 on Tuesday, April 10, from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.

--Palmdale City Hall, Council Chambers, 38300 N. Sierra Hwy.,, Palmdale 93550 on Thursday, April 12 from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.

-- Los Angeles River Center & Gardens (Atrium), 570 W. Avenue 26, L.A. 90065 on Tuesday, April 17, from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.

Curious about the fast-moving rail? Read more HERE.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro says the U.S. push to use corn for gas to run cars will raise prices and create devestation in developing countries. Because those countries lack water, they can't grow corn or other grains to make ethanol and won't be able to compete in the market, he says.

Click HERE to read more of the story from BBC News.

Click HERE to learn more about biofuels

By Sue Doyle, Daily News columnist

Driving, riding and even walking along local thoroughfares, Southern Californians frequently find themselves confused by a transit line, puzzled by interminably long stoplights, mystified by a bumpy road that never gets repaired. In search of answers, readers have come to us with their pet peeves. If you have questions about roads, traffic or commuting in Southern California, write to our transportation blog at: www.insidesocal.com/theride.

Q: Richard Cassel of Calabasas notes that riders can be fined for playing the radio on buses, so he wonders why he has to listen to Transit TV blaring on MTA buses.

"It's a constant assault of commercials about gray hair, mortgage rates and the weather in Atlanta," Cassel says.

A: Transit TV generates about $100,000 annually for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, broadcasting commercials, weather reports, trivia, classic TV scenes and public-service announcements on screens mounted in its buses.

The agency received about 40 complaints a month, mostly about the noise, after the service debuted in June 2005. Complaints subsided after audio levels were lowered - something riders can simply ask the driver to do.

Spokesman Dave Sotero also said the TVs are intended to be an amenity - not a nuisance - to passengers.

Q: Glenn Bailey of Encino and Joe Sims of Woodland Hills both wondered about work being done on the bike path paralleling the Orange Line, which opened to great fanfare in November 2005. "What were they thinking when they resurfaced the bike path near the Canoga Station?" Sims asked. "The resurfacing job is very bad. Those paths used to be an improvement to the community."

A: The simple answer: It's being redone. Again.

The problem started months ago when a contractor restriped the bike path for cycling and walking but made the lines off-mark, MTA official Roger Dames said.

To correct the problem, the contractor last month repaved the stretch between De Soto and Variel avenues. However, some portions were sloppily repaved and have to be redone, Dames said. Pedestrians and bicyclists can use the path while repairs are being made.

Once the project is complete, the path will be turned over to the city of Los Angeles for maintenance.

However, it's interesting to note that the path is on MTA-owned land. So if the MTA ever wants to build a rail system that needs wider lanes, it can reclaim the bike path, Dames said.

Q: Finally, Richard Haviland of Tarzana loves the DASH (Downtown Area Short-Hop) shuttle buses in the Valley and hopes the service will be expanded. "They only cost a quarter to ride, and we need transportation at that price," he said.

A: Sorry, but no new DASH lines will be added anytime soon.

In fact, the city Department of Transportation is facing a $200million deficit in operating its DASH, Commuter Express, Cityride and Charter Bus programs, and it has put the brakes on adding routes, transportation planner Phil Aker said.

In the next six weeks, the department will complete a report recommending ways to eliminate the deficit. Possible alternatives include raising fares and eliminating underperforming lines, he said.

Once the budget is under control, two new Valley routes are in the pipeline to be added: along Van Nuys Boulevard, across Oxnard Street, then north on Whitsett Avenue; and Sepulveda Boulevard and Hubbard Street, from Sylmar to San Fernando.

The Valley already has five DASH routes that serve Warner Center, Northridge, Panorama City, Van Nuys and Studio City.

Most DASH fares are 25 cents - the same price since 1985, when the city took over the bus service from Mini Ride. Seniors and disabled riders pay just a dime.

REIMS (AFP) - France's TGV fast train set a new world speed record on rails Tuesday, hitting 574.8 kilometres per hour --357.2 mph -- on a specially prepared stretch of track east of Paris, according to official monitors.

The record -- easily beating the 515.3 kph set by a TGV (Traine a Grande Vitesse) in 1990 -- was made by an experimental version equipped with two supercharged locomotives and extra-large wheels.

However the TGV narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581 kph --360.8 mph -- reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.

Manufacturer Alstom arranged the exploit to test its latest engineering designs in extreme conditions, and also to display the TGV's technological prowess to clients in a growing world market.

Facing stiff competition from German and Japanese rivals, Alstom is angling for future bids from Argentina, China and Italy, as well as from the US state of California.

--Agence France-Presse - Francois Nascimbeni

SAN FRANCISCO — A Honolulu-bound Delta Air Lines Inc. jet was diverted to San Francisco on Tuesday when a female passenger became unruly after smoking in the lavatory, federal officials said.

Delta Flight 511, a nonstop from Cincinnati, was over the Pacific Ocean when the passenger had “a complete meltdown freakout,” said a fellow passenger who called The Associated Press from the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.

The flight was turned around after the woman hit a pilot who had left the cockpit to quell the disturbance, said Elizabeth Oglesby of Atlanta.

“She appeared to be out of her mind. Upset. Belligerent,” Oglesby said. “He threatened to handcuff her if she didn’t calm down. At that point she hit him in the chest.”

The woman was given oxygen and was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the plane landed.

Officials with the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately release the name of the passenger and it was not clear if she would face criminal charges. It’s a federal crime to smoke on a commercial flight.

Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly said the Boeing 767 landed safely at about 1p.m. and resumed its flight about an hour later.

“I wish I was on the beach right now,” Oglesby said before the flight resumed. “I think Delta did the right thing. You don’t hit a pilot in an airplane.”

--Associated Press

LONG BEACH - Work began today on a $20 million, 25,000-square-foot security command and control center to be built at the Port of Long Beach.

The structure, slated for completion in the fall of 2008, will house officers from the
port’s police force, Long Beach Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Port of Los Angeles’ police force.

Funding came from the Port of Long Beach and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.

“This command and control center marks the beginning of a new era in port security,” Long Beach Harbor Commission President James Hankla said. “The facility will give us the room to house a growing security division, room for the new tools they need, and room for our partners to work with us in an emergency.”

-City News Service