Local Buses: Part One

The other evening I was on my way home from Northridge when I saw a gentleman sitting on the northwest corner of White Oak and Saticoy waiting for the 239 bus to come. I was rushing home because I was about fifteen minutes late as far as getting ready to have dinner with a friend at a sushi place, which somewhat conveniently, was in the same block I was passing.

The only inconvenient things when my friend and I came back an hour later only to see the same gentleman sitting at the same spot, occasionally getting up and into the street, wondering where the bus was.

It's not rare that I'm in that same position. Sometimes it happens when I'm on Sunset Blvd waiting for the 2 (a line that I praise quite frequently), which can run ten or so minutes late heading west because traffic is awesome. (Very rarely does it run late coming from Beverly Hills.) But even though it's annoying when it happens, at least the 2 runs ever twenty or so minutes.

That said, an amount of local lines in the Valley run every 40-60 minutes midday, with a more than fair percentage of them being north-south buses. I really don't understand the reasoning behind it, and haven't for quite a while. If you've read here recently or at all, you know that I've come to the conclusion that local service needs attention if Metro's apparent goal of reducing fuel emissions and lessening traffic is ever, ever to get off the ground.

I only found out recently that there are local council meetings held in the Valley the first Wednesday of every month. Knowing that it's short notice, I still feel it worth mentioning that one will be held this evening at 6:30 pm at the following address:

Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center
6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406

The intended agenda is highlighted in full here, per Metro.net.

I almost challenge next month for local service to make its way on the agenda, or at the very least, an item not on the agenda open to discussion. Why? It's because the squeaky wheel (or brake, or chain) that gets the grease, gets the lube.

I also challenge that anyone who is affected by local service in the Valley - whether you drive, cycle, walk, or bus it - attend and take in the information, if not join in the topics. And if you're not in the Valley (and if you are) check out and see if there is a meeting you can attend soon. Being informed and having a voice are the strongest tools a person or collective group can have.

Local service in the Valley is not the best, and during rush hour it is far from the worse. Thank goodness for the Orange Line and Rapid lines 741 (Reseda Blvd), 750 (Ventura Blvd), and 761 (Van Nuys Blvd). But what about Topanga Cyn Blvd? Winnetka Blvd? Balboa Blvd? Sepulveda Blvd? Laurel Cyn Blvd? Vineland? These streets heading in the north-south direction are just a few of the streets that benefit from local lines, but not frequently enough to efficiently serve the local areas. There are malls, schools, businesses, recreational facilities, bridges over the hill and accessibility to Metro itself that the having of more efficient local service would greatly benefit the economy. I don't even think the ways need counting. Aside from that, there are homes in which people hope to get to without having to walk three to five miles at the end of a work day.

I don't think I've left much out, and I'm not sure what else can be said at this point.

But if able to attend, whether tonight or next month, I highly encourage it. And if not, make use of Twitter regarding your thoughts and use the #metrolosangeles hashtag. Send an email. Write a letter. Start a blog. Take pictures. Get the grease, get lubed. It's a serious issue and I think it would be pretty cool to see local service boom.

Local Service Still to Improve

I am really excited at the thought of Metro expanding its rail service. The Orange and Red Lines have been really awesome in the years of their operation, and to be honest, the more the better.

However, the cost going towards the expansion of rail is depleting the function of local service. Let it be said, rail is awesome. But I feel that this is catering to the car culture even more.

Look, and cars are great, too. They definitely serve a purpose, especially since local service is virtually disappearing.

But if we're ever going to be reliable sans cars, or ever really achieve a 'car-optional' culture, local service needs a friggin' chance.

Back in March, The LA Times announced Metro's plans to cut local service in order to better transfer funds to the rail projects. As of June 26, these changes were implemented, which included the discontinuation of weekend lines, the shortening of lines in general, and some schedules have been changed to hourly. And yes, while others were extended or combined, the decrease of service is the most noticeable and is not the first change of its kind in recent months, nor will it be the last.

It almost seems like a moot point to even say anything about this because they are changes that will happen no matter what, in some capacity, at least. But I've always believed that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Hourly service does not cut it. Cutting lines doesn't cut it. Mediocre service doesn't cut it. Rail is awesome, but unless you have a car or are willing to pay exorbitant rates for a taxi, how exactly does one plan to get there?

If it's important enough (read: if it's bothering you enough), say something about it already.

And maybe, maybe in thirty years we'll see less backwards movement.

Photo via The Transit Coalition

Creative Muscle

Poetry. No new formalism views here, no emphasis on rhyme scheme or the like. Just writing. I used to think that poetry wasn't really my thing. Poetry, like narrative writing, isn't easy to write. Both require the extension and flexing of a fine portion of the creative muscle. Like most anything else, practice makes perfect, and in an effort to do so, I figured I'd pick up where I left off - with an open mind and ready to be critiqued my peers and the like.

So this concerns a poem I wrote most recently on assignment, which in my opinion is still in much need of revising. However, the general idea of the poem happens to be about the public transportation system in Los Angeles. Me, I'm just wondering if you can pick up on any references.

reinforced

your arteries took a while to form
and you were born without bones
but your brain came before you

your heart had been on ice for a century
but the procedure went well. it’s beating
without the aid of machines

your nerve endings reach then recoil
due to bruised pockets of heat
with nowhere yet to go.
that will correct itself on its own

as for the skeleton, there’s a waiting list
another ten years at best

your arteries, metamorphosed into intestine
are pushing out the waste
but you’re sure to get new ones soon


- Lindsey D.

Updates to Adventures of a Carless Valley Girl in Los Angeles

So I've been writing here for a while, and I plan to continue writing for a long time. I really want to thank everyone who's been reading and providing feedback - you've been so inspirational and as a result I'm seriously contemplating a major goal shift (at the very least, a side-by-side concerted effort) along the lines of taking more active steps to get the word out about transportation planning in Los Angeles.

On that note, I've been thinking of some changes to make to this blog, which will largely include the addition of photo galleries. One, this will give me more reason to take my camera with me everywhere, and two, I've grown to love Los Angeles so much in the last year. I swear I didn't love it five years ago, but now? There's so much to do, to see, to eat, to experience here. There are so many people and so many stories - I friggin' I love LA. Also, there must be some kind of adventure bug that bites you at some point in life if not merely in your twenties, and I decided I wasn't going to let not having a car get in the way of it. How easily it can be to forget how much room there is to explore. Thankfully, interested parties frequently correct my thinking.

The Metro Red Line goes through LA from North Hollywood to Union Station and back many times a day, and one of its highlights is its stations. What makes them stand out one from the other is their individual artwork and construction. Also, I have a thing for station entrances and exits, their overall construction. In the rare instance that I'm not bounding down the steps to catch the last train, I've been able to stop and admire the artwork, and in many cases I'm surprised that I haven't noticed it before. (Well, not really. Catching the last train is more often than not the highest priority.)

Also, a friend and I were walking around downtown a couple of weeks ago and stumbled upon some artwork on Grand Ave that I swear to some deity took us both by surprise. I demanded he photograph it because, per the rule of 2011 it seems, I forgot my camera at home. If I can locate the photo I will, partly because I'm leaping and making a silly face but that's somewhat besides the point...

...the point being that very soon I will color up the joint with what Los Angeles has to offer in a visual sense, on bicycle, via transit. With this, perhaps the thought that expanding our reaches or at least working towards it with more wide-reaching public transportation (hello, high speed rail proposals and, of course, the Chatsworth Orange Line and Westside subway extenstions), better bikeways and better roads will follow even more.

Hoof It or Bus It

It's one thing to now own a car and it's another thing to not know how to drive, both of which are admirable in their own right. In either case it's a good idea to know what works for you, and more importantly, to own it as an extension of yourself. The other day I came across an article quoted by LiveJournal community Oh No They Didn't! about celebrities who do either or both - that is, don't own a car, and/or don't know how to drive. My personal favorite quote from the article has to be this, from Vincent Kartheiser (from AMC's Mad Men):

[... the star] takes two buses or the L.A. Metro to the set of his Emmy winning AMC show. "Instead of driving and being stressed out about traffic, you can work your scene, you can do your exercises or whatever on the bus," Kartheiser told The New York Times recently.

The massive cutie that he is besides. Check out more celebrities who hoof and bus it - like a lot of us in LA - via direct link at Oh No They Didn't.

Dating in Los Angeles, Part Two

The last few months have involved my actively dating again. Not one person in particular, mind, but many people. I'm still not sure how I like it, but it's not the worst thing in the world. There have been a number of mediocre instances and so far only one bad date, but the rest of it has been rather peachy. Entertaining. I've made a new friend. And in all that I haven't screwed anyone over, that I know of. Bonus points for me.

The other night I met up with a guy in West LA. I took the Orange Line to the Red Line to a Rapid bus and walked the rest of the way to his place. The route was a little out of the way but wasn't impossible to bear, mainly because I had a thick book for school to tear apart on the way. But I did compare the route to the time of day involved in getting there (he lives alongside the 405), and without a vehicle I went very much out of the way in order to get there. I'll have to check again because we met up later in the evening, but I believe that I could have taken the 761 - which goes on the 405 - a fair share of the way there.

This is just me pondering and wondering about better planning. One of the many reasons I'm glad I'm looking around for a car is because I am making these comparisons. These comparisons lead me to wonder why anyone in any place of authority thinks it beneficial to have such indirect ways of service in a city that is so spread out to begin with. The time of day shouldn't matter. In fact, I had a conversation with someone just yesterday about who thought it was a good idea to have some lines stop service at an obscure time, like 7:23 in the evening or something.

Metro, you've raised your fares and have cut your lines. I'm tired of asking, but I'll ask again without the million details: where is the benefit in this maneuver? Who really is benefiting? You have greatly emphasized the issue of class, and perhaps race, and tax bracket in the way that you have chosen to operate... a statement that is best for another post for another time, but still needs saying. Someone must think it's funny. But it's not.

Anyway, on a more positive note and to tie in the overall theme, I need to enter a little math into the love-connection equation---

All of my 'interesting' (loosely-termed) dates have been from online dating site OkCupid. The ones where I could see the end from the beginning. The ones I'll be writing a book about.

However, the ones where I actually got somewhere, I met the guy in real life. This most recent one I met at a party. Now, granted I found out about the party through friends online, but still. I'm more at a position where I can see the second date from the next block, and not a mile away. Perhaps. Maybe. Who dares know? (Rhetorical question.)

I really don't think I'm cut for online dating, but I won't rule it out entirely. There are some kinks to work out - such as, first of all, how willing am I to date so actively in general. I've got great people in my life and I'm okay with being single. That and I don't like the idea of going through a million people, but I guess that's where the whole needle-in-a-haystack imagery comes from. Pearl in an oyster, maybe?

I've made a few other good connections via OkCupid - including but not limited to a guy who wants to make a bikini for me to wear to the beach this weekend (long story, but kind of cute) - that, perhaps, having a car in due time will make easier to jolt, at least on my end.

Perhaps. It's just a thought.

Dating in Los Angeles

In case it wasn't painfully obvious, I am a single twenty-something in Los Angeles.

For the time I have been single I guess you can say I've enjoyed it - at least in the sense of not yet being married or having children. I like getting to know people with the potential of a relationship more so than not - as far as that's been concerned, however, it's been rather hit or miss. Some efforts have resulted in dates. Others have resulted in purely physical relationships. Every now and then, though, I'm surprised to get waist-deep in that "getting to know someone" phase with someone I'm super excited about. Like anyone else would, I go for chest-deep, then chin-, then eyeballs-deep. Sadly, whether a native or a transplant, Los Angeles is full of flakes. Dates can be fun. Slimy rejection after concerted effort... mmm, not so much. It's only then that I tend to go back to square negative one - a place where I'm not really a fan of being single anymore.

However, seeing as I live for the thrill of the gamble, my friends suggested I try one of two things: OkCupid (I've had an account for a long time; re-started a few weeks ago), and going out and just being around people, with no real aim to hook up or find someone. I've fallen into relationships that way before. So naturally I've been doing both.

Oddly enough, I've been able to meet a lot of people on account that I ride my bicycle and make use of public transportation in LA. It has made for some alarmingly interesting inquiries and overall conversation. I've also met a few people while riding my bicycle on rides arranged by the folks over at Midnight Ridazz. It's actually only then when I don't mind guys saying things in my direction while on my bicycle, being that the ratio of women to men on such rides is generally pretty low. If that's not enough motivation to go on more group rides, I don't know what is.

Everyone wants to feel special. No one wants to feel cheated or lied to. Such are the things we deal with when putting ourselves out on the line, and in reality we're all capable of being the latter to someone else. Sure, I'm totally adding fuel to the fiery topic of dating/attaining relationships and the politics involved, but I guess part of me is also sending a message to the universe: which mainly is to keep jerks disguised as nice guys at bay this go-round.

But first I think I'll need a better radar.

I Love NY

Today I had a meeting in Hollywood, which despite any topic of conversation - personal or business - is most always a pleasure. Heading home during somewhat-rush-hour (just after 5:00 pm), stopping at Hollywood/Vine at Trader Joe's (I was out of cereal!), and jumping back on the subway without having to wait for more than five minutes each time reminded me of New York. When I was bringing in more money I would visit my brother in New York twice a year, for a week to week-and-a-half at a time. Of course I loved eating, shopping, and wandering around the museums, but what I loved more than anything was taking the subway.

At any time of day or night, the L would get me from Brooklyn to Union Square and back without me having to wait more than five minutes. Sometimes I'd run through the turnstiles and past the closing doors without a hitch. I loved the rush at four in the morning heading back from a club, feeling a strange sense of calm at a time of day when I am anything but. Most times, if I'm heading home on the subway after midnight in Los Angeles and walking the mile or so to my house in the dark, I'm super on-guard. Sure, there's a very slim chance someone will jump from out of a bush and knife me, but I'd like to think that if something similar happened to me in a better lit part of Brooklyn, perhaps someone stumbling home in close enough proximity would hear me scream. Maybe that's just wishful thinking, but whatever.

Suits, artists, musicians, bums, models, schoolkids, wanderers, concert/theater-goers, writers, janitors - everyone and their mother was on the subway today. No demographic was singled out, no ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic class. The subway was for everyone this afternoon, as it is most times of day in New York (not always in LA). Naturally, the question among my East coast friends then and now seems to be that unless you live in Long Island, why have a car? Answer: not everyone lives in the city. Sometimes, "a car is necessary".

My West coast friends feel the same. I've come to grips that the Valley is one of the more obvious suburban areas complementing the "big city" we have here - although plenty of surrounding cities could easily fight for the title. When it comes to the question of going elsewhere besides the hustle, bustle, and glitz of the city, how else are you to get to the beach and the mountains (mad sucker that I am for day trips)? So faint the whisper of a car tickles my ears - a car as an option, and not a necessity. Ding ding ding ding ding... if only in a perfect world.

Anyway. Gotta love Hollywood, Los Angeles proper, and anywhere else that welcomes the use of two legs and bicycles as transportation (even if said Trader Joe's on Hollywood/Vine has no bicycle parking - a post on that soon). If I had more money, I would move. Los Angeles will never be New York, but it is still one amazing city. I hope to never leave. And if I did, it wouldn't be for long.