The LA Subway of 1925

LAist covers the 1925 LA Subway and plans for a subway network that were scuttled and given pushback. Something that is still happening to this day.

As plans rolled forward, the city's charter was being revised to allow for a subway to run parallel to a street, an action prohibited at the time by the charter in place. By August, PE was on board, provided the additional capital could be located, to have the station built under the Olive side of Pershing Square, in the hopes that the subway would one day extend further to travel beneath Olive ("Subway Extension"). So it was underground at Pershing versus at-ground level at Hill Street, with citizens registering agreement and disagreement on all sides. By mid-August 1924 action on either plan was delayed until September while all concerned parties weighed their options. (To those of us looking back from where we stand now with transit expansion, the delays seem all too familiar.)

China Has Same Issues

I was talking to my friend Julie who lives in China and she seemed a bit worried about the American economy. She's seen a significant downtrend in orders to her business (computer parts tech etc) due to the slowdown. She's also been driving less because of gas prices. Apparently they are having similar problems which points to a coming economic dive. But its not just anecdotal, its in the news:

A computer engineer in Beijing, who goes by the surname Zhu, is one of them. He said he recently gave up driving and switched to taking the subway to escape from the fuel price increases. He estimated he would have to pay about 200 yuan more at the pump if he continued to drive.

He has also found it's very convenient for him to commute between home and work through the north-south subway Line 5.

It's getting bad out there. And by out there I mean around the world. There are options...

Country Club Disguise

So some Country Club members are against the purple line, so they decide to set up a "grass roots" movement. Why couldn't they just oppose it on their own? What are they afraid of? I'm guessing being seen as a bunch of country club folks against a transit line. isn't as good as a grass roots movement. It might look like they are thumbing their nose at commonfolk. Kind of like this guy.

Stripping on the Subway for Justice!

Warning: Not Safe for Work or Children

Apparently a stripper in Chile has taken it upon herself to protest the lack of tolerance in South America's most conservative country. Rueters has a news article, and below is their report.

The professional pole dancer worked quickly all week to avoid arrest, getting on at one station, finding a subway car with no children on it and stripping in time to exit at the next station.

Chilean media dubbed her "La Diosa del Metro" or Subway Goddess. She called her performances "happy minutes."

"Chile is still a pretty timid country," said her manager Gustavo Pradenas. "People aren't very extroverted and we want to take aim at that and make Chile a happier country."

H/T KF and RTRider

Draper Trax Line Moves On

As JMD states, it was a victory against nimbys. I think we need more of those.

Ridership Posting, Charlotte Almost at 2025 Number

The Charlotte Observer reports that ridership on the Charlotte Blue line is 16,479. The 2025 ridership for the line was projected to be 18,100. Getting awfully close. This is far from the doom and gloom that was projected from opponents who got drubbed when the sales tax was kept on a vote of 70% to 30%.

So this continues the trend in which the FTA has massively underestimated ridership recently on new lines. Cases in point.

Minneapolis - 24,000 Projected 2020 26,000 Q108
Houston - 39,000 Projected 2020 40,000 Q108
Denver - 38,100 Projected 2020 36,000 10.07

In other ridership news, Gold Line ridership in LA is up 31.8%. From bottleneck blog:

Seems to me that it's easier to ride and more convenient than other busways that only increased by 4% in a corridor that has greater population. Also, we got a comment from a reliable anti-rail buddy Tom Rubin in the last Orange Line post. He's most recently been trying to work in Milwaukee for the Reason Foundation but was shutdown by Len Brandrup of Kenosha Transit. I thought his joke at the end of his comment on the last Orange Line post was quite funny. What do you all think?

"OK, now I'll say something nice about BRT in this alignment -- it wasn't nearly as dumb as LRT would have been."

$1.6 Billion Profit for French Railway Agency

Not bad at all.

Pepy, SNCF chairman and chief executive (PDG) since February, says that, unlike his predecessors who had to manage a railway recession, he is presiding over an accelerating boom. The state-owned SNCF delivered a net €1.1bn (£875m) profit last year and first-half figures, due next week, are said to be sparkling. Pepy envisages up to 80m extra passenger trips this year or an increase of around 8%.

"This change will speed up because we are facing a twin energy and environment crisis," he says, pointing to surging fuel costs and growing personal worries about carbon footprints. "People want sustainable mobility and, in France, more trains and more SNCF."

I think we need to look ourselves in the mirror and think hard about what we're in for, although the folks that need a reality check most, probably like what they already see.

H/T Americablog

Seattle Might Soon Join the Space Race

Here's the map for votin'. Coverage is here. Keep your fingers crossed.

The American Dream

:Warning, this is a track post:

Most of the time we talk about the American dream of owning a house in the suburbs. That is starting to change to a location efficient home close to good transit and amenities such as grocery stores. But when thinking about that, I think about guys like Jorge Torres who's parents came to the United States for a better life, and along the way their children become more American than many of those that talk more than act. I highly recommend watching this video. It's quite inspiring and a testament to what hard work can accomplish.

Light Rail Cheerleader Bill Passes

It has no binding authority or funding but it's a push. An extension to Virginia Beach got a slight nudge when it passed the legislature. It's kind of sad actually. These types of projects are needed sooner rather than later and this just proves that things in this country are just going too slow. There's no real urgency among lawmakers and its up to citizens to push harder. Obviously there are obstacles and neanderthals in the way but big ideas and plans should prevail.