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Old Posted Jan 6, 2022, 4:35 AM
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Location: South Pasadena, California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by craigs View Post
LA will likely remain autocentric for the foreseeable future, because of the physical cityscape and entrenched car culture. But that doesn't mean transit will never increase its share of local trips, or that someday in the future transit will play a much bigger role in LA's mobility and culture. It is entirely possible that younger generations of native Angelenos as well as newcomers from other places will come to embrace transit more than their predecessors, as the system becomes more comprehensive and is seen as an established part of the cityscape and one of the reliable, available mobility options. In fact, I think it's likely--but not right away.

In the meantime, transit capacity is especially useful for large one-off events, which LA has a lot of (street festivals, major league sports events, concerts, etc.). It's possible that transit leaders can convince many people attending such events to use transit on such days, rather than brave traffic paralysis--if transit leaders can both sell it to the public, and set things up right (enhanced day-of service, bus-only lanes, etc.). This is what happens in the Bay Area--suburbanites who usually drive everywhere for everything nevertheless pack BART to the gills when they come into SF for ballgames, festivals, large protests, etc.
That has already been happening in LA for quite a number of years now, definitely pre-pandemic. LA Book Fair at USC and USC football games at the Coliseum, would always make the Expo/E Line crowded, as well as the LA Auto Show with the Blue/A Line. Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game would make the Gold Line/L Line crowded; in fact this recent Rose Parade/Rose Bowl Game, my partner and I noticed the Gold Line was very crowded, with plenty of riders wearing red sweatshirts (I guess Utah and Ohio State are both red). Metro Rail doesn't go directly to the Rose Bowl, but there were shuttle buses running between the Memorial Park Station/Parsons lot and the Rose Bowl.

Chinatown Summer Nights, CicLAvia, New Year's Eve at Grand Park, protests, etc., would also make for crowded Metro trains.
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