California

[Max Rockatansky]

Apparently Fresno is bringing back red light cameras:

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/fresno-red-light-cameras-return/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KSEE24_News&fbclid=IwdGRjcASq4GRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeYyCjAkZlb9VR3yh0J8NbhhOlCEmNxy3_QiXYAEhdr4j4R4T2LAvsi44u2MU_aem_Bpy2GWsoweGfw9Iopd3vAw

[splashflash]

Right now, much as you don't personally like it, the goal is to get people out of their personal vehicles and onto mass transit (which serves to benefit those who must drive).

With mixed results, at best.  BART ridership, for example, has not recovered well since COVID. Tom Rubin, became convinced in the 1990s that the emphasis on rail starved road based transit of fumding.  In 2011, he wrote that passenger rail consultants were the big winners in the shift away from buses, not the users. https://www.pbssocal.org/socal-focus/transit-for-the-system-not-for-passengers

Road pricing, as governoral candidate Steyer pitched, could provide effective incentive to modify people's behavior, whether more people end up using transit or not.

[Plutonic Panda]

Unfortunately, as with all other inner-city freeway projects, the number of homes and businesses that would've had to be destroyed would've been too great. If only it weren't so expensive to build tunnels, then some underground freeways maybe could've been constructed.

That happened with a lot of highway projects though. It seems like it was just the rich areas that stopped this stuff.

The rich areas had the ability to protest.

But that's in the past. TODAY, and I emphasize that again, TODAY, the lines on the map that were proposed urban freeways wouldn't be constructed. Cost, of course is a factor (and the cost in terms of property acquisition and community impact). VMT and environmental impact is a factor as well. Right now, much as you don't personally like it, the goal is to get people out of their personal vehicles and onto mass transit (which serves to benefit those who must drive).

I wouldn't be as mad about it if we had actual practical options to be able to use alternative transportation I know this isn't the best example because it's not a high ridership line a man I was in the valley the other night dude after working a construction job and I mentioned this on another thread I don't really like talking about it because of my drug addiction problems I wanted to do the responsible thing and not drive so I took the bus bro I was waiting on that motherfucker for three hours, bro. And I'll just tell you right now if I would've known that, I would've just driven intoxicated. Like that shit is not right. We need a better mass and public transportation system that works for people. I said that bus stop for three hours man and I don't wanna talk about what happened potentially I'm looking at something serious. ' cause of what someone tried to come up and do to me, but you know this isn't a joke, man. I know we talk about it on this form like but I think a lot of people here a privilege and I'm not one of them. I mean, I do come from a good family, but they pretty much disown me and I'm doing what I can do to make it. If there was a more robust transportation network, then I could kind of sort of agree with you but the fact that number one I'm already biased cause I love cars and I want bigger roads and highways. But even if I don't have that option, we still have a shitty fucking public transportation network.

[cahwyguy]

Plutonic - Thanks for your honesty in that last post. Understanding those you talk with is a big factor in having productive conversations.

I'd agree with you completely about the problems with public transportation in Los Angeles, and in other cities as well. This really isn't transit forum, but history rarely goes in straight lines, and there is a clear connection between historical transportation in LA and the road system. I guess that's true in most cities. In Los Angeles, the problem is worse if you're outside downtown or West LA.

I've always said that the worst crime with the demise of the PE and LARy systems was the loss of right of way. The cars were old and outdated. Once we lost the right of way -- and that includes in-street trackage -- we lost the ability to refresh the system.

The bus system we have today still shows the legacy of the early PE bus system (yes, PE was more than trolleys) and systems like Asbury. The private bus lines got consolidated into LAMTA (the first) when PE died; that became SCRTD, and morphed into the LAMTA, which became the Metro we have today. The routes themselves surprisingly stayed the same with their strange routings. Only the numbers changed. Frequency got worse.

In the valley, it is even worse. Lines are further apart from each other, and run even less frequently than in the urban and west LA cores. Forget trying to get a bus if you are north of Devonshire. When I was a kid living near the airport, I could take a bus to my synagogue on Airport Blvd (54). Growing up, I could take a bus along Sunset to my parents office in West LA or UCLA. I have no options today if I wanted to take a bus to my synagogue near Rinaldi. No busses run on Rinaldi. No busses to Porter Ranch. And with 20-30 minute frequency, they would take too much time.

So, I completely agree that the bus system in LA doesn't really serve the people. And it's a vicious circle: you won't get a better system until demand justifies it, and you won't get demand until there is a better system. So people stay in their cars, because LA was designed for the cars. Yet the truth is that LA needs to get people out of their cars. There simply isn't the real estate to expand the system; it also pulls the land from more productive uses (housing, business) that support people and the tax base. Oh, and there's also the environmental cost.

The problem was public transit is that is it expensive to run and operate, and it is impossible for it to break even on fares. It requires larger and larger public subsidies in an era of constrained public funding. That makes the system worse, and the cycle starts. Unless you live in a city that was dense to start with, and built dense public transit from the start (cough, NYC, cough), it is a losing battle. People also don't see how much they subsidize cars -- not only the gas tax, but other taxes as well. They also don't realize how much government investment over the years has given us the road system we have today. Especially with credit cards and no receipts, they don't see the gas bills or compare those numbers to transit.

This is a long way (because I never say things shortly) of saying: I hear you on your complaints on public transit. I'm not sure there are any good solutions.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah, the bus system in the valley is absolutely horrendous. Specifically, I was in Sunland though I'm still grateful that they were running bus service at three in the morning, but still it was just completely unreliable because it was supposed to come once every hour or so and it didn't come for three hours. Yes I was mad, but you know that's part of the grind man. I just wish they would enforce the rules more on Metro and have kinder operators because one time I was working at the Galen center doing a conversion project and I was sitting waiting for the number two bus and when I waved the operator down he flipped me off and kept on driving in. The next bus didn't come for another hour which wasn't too bad but I just said forget it I'm gonna walk to Hollywood and it took me a couple hours maybe three I don't remember but I guess the positive way to look at it as it was good exercise, but I was already tired because converting is not easy. I think Metro could do a lot without capital expansion which I do think is very needed, but I think there's a lot more they could do first that would entice a lot of riders back to their system. I've been riding the Metro D line and it's been nice but obviously it won't see. It's full potential until it's extended to UCLA and even then I don't think it will see it's full potential until the Sepulveda pass line is built.

[Plutonic Panda]

And I deleted my post on the mental health thing cause I just don't wanna put too much on my business out there I probably shouldn't have said that but another thing I'll add and again I'm not looking for sympathy, but I've been homeless since January. Thank God, I've had a car to sleep in but today I'm gonna park my car on the street. I'm familiar with and Hollywood that I know it won't be messed with and I'm gonna hop on the B line and go to downtown to the Grand Central market meet a friend of mine and rent some bikes and ride around downtown. I do think we need to expand our active and mass transit network for sure. And being in the position that I've been in, I've actually appreciated it because it's given me a new perspective and it makes me realize how valuable this stuff is. Then when I see people that say oh well, like you know who starts advocating for getting rid of Amtrak because it doesn't post the profit doesn't see the value in it because I don't think they've been in other people shoes, but I could be wrong.

[moabdave]

Video of a train crossing on the Pit River Bridge (double decker bridge, Union Pacific Coast line on lower deck, I-5 on upper deck) VID_20260502_164010 by David from Moab, on Flickr

[TheStranger]

Was on Artesia Boulevard/Redondo Beach Boulevard yesterday..nice to see a few Route 91 signs still left westbound in those final few blocks before PCH!  One looks super old and weathered, the other (closer to the west terminus) in much better shape

[kkt]

Unfortunately, as with all other inner-city freeway projects, the number of homes and businesses that would've had to be destroyed would've been too great. If only it weren't so expensive to build tunnels, then some underground freeways maybe could've been constructed.

That happened with a lot of highway projects though. It seems like it was just the rich areas that stopped this stuff.

Him what has the gold makes the rules.

Or, rephrase as "Why should we build a multibillion dollar tunnel in order to save a million dollars worth of tract houses?"

[moabdave]

More dash cam footage. I did a roadtrip down US-395 to the LA area. I intended to capture the descent from Conway Summit to Mono Lake, and the ascent up Devils Gate Pass. But those two had too much glare for me to take any pride in them. These are not what I intended to capture, but didn't turn out too bad. (I'm learning this about dash cams. It's a bit like the film camera era. You push the button to take the picture, but don't know if the picture is any good until after its too late . Anyways this is approaching Conway Summit (at 8,138 feet, the highest point on US-395 and the highest point of any federally numbered highway in California) and CA-14 driving through Red Rock Canyon State Park, between California City and Inyokern.

US395Conway by David from Moab, on Flickr

CA14Redrockcanyon by David from Moab, on Flickr

[ClassicHasClass]

We always stop at Conway Summit to get a view of the lake and see what new stickers have gotten added to the guard rail. 

[pderocco]

Just north of Conway Summit is a valley off the east side of US-395 that is spectacular in the fall.

[ClassicHasClass]

You mean like the Virginia Creek valley? Yeah, that's gorgeous too.