LA Metro Gold Line: The New Train to the Beach Faces a Bottleneck Down

[TinCan782]

Regarding the upcoming inauguration of Gold Line service to Santa Monica, I found this interesting: "MTA says it's up to the city of Los Angeles to decide whether to allow trains to preempt vehicle traffic, and L.A. has decided not to."

"To a transit advocate, this is craziness. Why should a three-car train, with maybe 250 people on it, sit and wait for vehicle traffic, which carries 1.1 persons per car?"

http://www.laweekly.com/news/the-new-train-to-the-beach-faces-a-bottleneck-downtown-6833580

 

[jis]

Why should a three-car train, with maybe 250 people on it, sit and wait for vehicle traffic, which carries 1.1 persons per car?"

Because this is 'Murica where car is king?

 

[fairviewroad]

Lots of light rail routes around the country suffer from this same problem (in varying degrees). Even Portland's vaunted MAX train sits and waits for traffic lights in downtown PDX. It's a trade-off of lower up-front costs.

 

[leemell]

It is not the Gold Line that goes to the beach, it is the Expo Line. The Gold Line runs from East LA to Union Station to Pasadena and out the San Gabriel Valley to Asuza.

 

[TinCan782]

It is not the Gold Line that goes to the beach, it is the Expo Line. The Gold Line runs from East LA to Union Station to Pasadena and out the San Gabriel Valley to Asuza.

Whoops...that is correct! Maybe an admin can edit the title for me!