I have added the ParkMe blog to the list over on the left hand column. They write this week about the new light rail line that is opening up between downtown LA and Culver City, and its wonders. There are a number of interesting articles including a review of the parking issues in the Dodger sale, SF Park, and new apps that are coming out way.
I’m just skeptical that Los Angeles is built for this type of rapid transit and if we can survive the costs. The distances are so great here — its what 14 miles from Santa Monica to downtown LA. This new line is 7 miles long. Can the stations be close enough so people can walk from the stations to their destinations? That is the case in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Paris, and other places where such transit systems are in place.
Of course, time will tell. They have been building the London system for over 100 years, the most recent line opening about a decade ago (Jubilee extension to the docklands, for those who care). So maybe in 100 years, underground rail and light rail will be so pervasive here in LA that it will work.
The problem is always who will foot the bill. I’m not sure its the responsibility of a taxpayer in Kansas or Maryland to pay for rapid transit in Los Angeles. And at what, I have heard numbers of up to $1 billion a mile, it ain’t cheap.
The blogger loves the new line but he lives walking distance from a new station. I find that I’m a good two miles from the nearest station, a bit further than most want to walk, and if I get in my car, why not just continue to drive to where I’m going?
As one wag told me a few years ago — he was against the metro, however he would probably be its most avid supporter after it was finished. I’m probably the same.
JVH
