An article by Steveland Harris
June 1: Meet up at Libros Schmibros featuring GOOD LA and the ‘special interest group of reasonable people.’
No amount of pictures could have captured the electricity in the air and the palpable tension for change and hopefulness for the future.
When I first came to Los Angeles I’ll be the first to admit it was more for a change of scenery than a fight to try and change the world.
If it were true that “so goes California so goes the United States” then Los Angeles must be a city capable of changing the world and status quo on the whim– with its reach extending with near-absolute might into households near and the extreme far into reaches of the globe. Nonesuch before has more proven the case that we live in and enjoy an interconnected system. But it’s sad to say that we don’t gather to rub shoulders on the laurels of yesterday but we have gathered to build a new tomorrow from the ashes of what was torn out from us and to mend our withered social contract to our brothers and sisters as native or none, together as Angelenos original and citizens of the world and makers of a better tomorrow to forge near and far a vision that America and yes, Istanbul too, for the world to see as a responsible and sustainable example of the world of tomorrow and with it the lessons and legacies of those many before us. We will say yes to improved mobility with transit, aye to walkable streets, agree with a 21st century education system, and accept nothing less than healthy, sustainable, and social and call the curtain for the old status quo, the old guard, and the “good old times.” Today and every day hereafter will be the sweetest days, the “good new times.”
An article by Steveland Harris
Better notifications
It’s a shame that my iPhone forgets what ever notifications that come through Push Notification when messages come through from another app. For example, you receive a Facebook notification then another from an instant message app, then 3 text messages. The current configuration of iOS will forget the 2 notifications from displaying on the Swipe to Unlock screen but it will keep and aggregate the text messages with a message like “Text Messages (3).” Sure all apps have the ability to have their icons updated but at a glance for Swipe to Unlock Screen the experience falls short.
More after the jump.
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An article by Steveland Harris
First let’s establish a working definition of the ‘transit’ in public transit. Public transit (transportation) is widely accepted as shared vehicles that can move masses of people quickly. There are many technologies that permit this:
Bus routes are the most common system in America of moving masses of people; some modern buses can carry close to 100 people. When buses arrive at frequent enough intervals the bus route generally is referred to as a ‘line.’ Various factors can improve the reliability of a bus over a traditionally local service (close stop spacing) route. Most beneficial of such things is an exclusive traffic lane; others include further stop spacing and traffic light synchronization or priority (Metro Rapid buses use mixtures of these).
Light rail, modern descendent of streetcars that typically have stations more than one-half mile apart on a route (alignment), has greater capacity than buses, multiple trains can be coupled together and run in street medians or on an exclusive pathway altogether from traffic.
Metro rail, or heavy rail, is a high capacity third rail powered train that is generally separated on an exclusive pathway and can be coupled into long trains.
Commuter rail is transit that utilizes most commonly diesel locomotives to carry high capacity railcars on tracks shared with intercity operators like Amtrak or freight trains.
Los Angeles utilizes all of these technologies in some form. There’s also an excellent PDF from The Transit Coalition explaining this further.
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An article by Steveland Harris
It’s the first weekend of summer, put down that BBQ and dance it away with some up-to-the-minute favorites in electronic music.
You tell ‘em girl!
RIP Gil Scott Heron, thank you for the amazing music
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An article by Steveland Harris
Found it difficult to properly title this article– the Exposition light rail transit service to Culver City is not open yet the bike lane is painted in place and I’m not quite sure how a bike lane is introduced.
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An article by Steveland Harris
An idea that I’ve been kicking around with friends for creating the destination for what we get out of using public transit, more than getting where we’re going, a social experience. I hope it will be the national or even global destination to upload videos and stories about your travels on public transit systems and the people you meet along the way. I know the announcement trailer is a tad cryptic, but bear with me.
The Metro Diaries
An article by Steveland Harris
I have not been keen on Amazon Music or Amazon Prime Video as competition to Apple iTunes and Netflix Instant Watch because they were not high quality experiences that integrated the way that Apple or Netflix integrated into iPods, iPhones, and TV sets. Who wants to sit at a computer and watch Amazon Prime Video when Netflix has the same offering but you can watch it on your HDTV or while riding on a bus?
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An article by Steveland Harris
In this annotated video a two-car Siemens Expo Line light rail train crosses Expo/Crenshaw without gates and is assisted by flagmen. Read more…
An article by Steveland Harris
Is the American Way to blame for public social patterns?
When I go back in my mind thinking about why I feel socially inept I try to blame it on factors in my life like that my family are a generally quiet people, or maybe I missed a lesson along the way in school, but what I have experienced tonight may prove other. I think it is because I am an American. It sounds silly on the surface that something like a nationality can cause a people or more specifically myself to behave a certain way in public, right? I’ve had no problems sitting next to a person on a bus or on a subway train. Well, this is no problem because I was brought up using that system living in Memphis with my parents. But, given the chance to sit alone I will. And I’m not alone; people who don’t know other people will not sit next to them if other seats are available. However, when free seating is not available most people will sit next to other people and more quickly so for normal or attractive looking folks. That’s enough for another story though. But, the plot thickens, in a shared environment like an eating area people; specifically Americans grow yet even more fickle. I will sit alone and eat, or eat with my friends; there is no compromise.
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An article by Steveland Harris
The Brookings Institute trotted out a report analyzing public transit systems across America ranking them and including statistics for access via coverage and average frequency. As the nation’s second largest city Los Angeles fairs very well taking the #2 spot for coverage, behind guess: Honolulu and with an average wait time for public buses or trains ranging from 6 to 10 minutes. Very good, but it falls apart with trip times, where the average commute on the high end goes up to 90 minutes, average. So the article presses for something Los Angeles doesn’t have much of, wait for it, express buses. You can read the full article here.
This is blueprint for building a better express bus system from pieces that are already in place in Los Angeles.
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