>> Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA has a nice recap of the L.A. Street Summit, complete with audio of the talks — and this recap post’s just the first of three.
I got there early in the morning; the proof’s in the group photo! Find Siel under the gray arrow. Shortly after that pic, I ate a free vegan lunch before heading to The Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show.
>> L.A. Times’ columnist David Lazarus tried taking the bus for a week — and concludes “it’s almost as if the dozens of entities that constitute the region’s public-transit network are conspiring to make the system as unwelcoming as possible.” While I do think David would find more feasible and even pleasant public transit routines if he made bus-taking a more regular practice, I do have to agree that the strange incompatibility of each transit agency’s fare system and the time-consuming difficulties of transferring between bus lines can seem extremely overwhelming to the newbie bus rider.
This is exactly why I advise newbies (or those who’ve been burned by L.A.’s transit system in the past) to pick a line, any line, and slowly expand from there.
>> Tracy Hepler of Your Daily Thread ran the L.A. Marathon over the weekend — and shares her green running tips. Congratulations, Tracy!
Photo by Damien Newton / Streetsblog LA
Thanks for the shout!
Did you find the Lazarus piece frustrating to read? It’s like he thought he had a real ah-ha! moment with Sotero and it’s also like he never heard of the TAP program…
Comment by Damien Newton — March 23, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
I did find it a bit frustrating and annoying, but on the other hand, felt it did in many ways reflect the first out-of-car experience (and attitudes) of many Angelenos. Which is to say that a part of me sometimes wants to smack these people who seem to think public transpo should somehow pick them up from their doorstep and magically bypass all traffic to drop them off exactly wherever they need to go — for free, no less.
On the other hand, I would indeed love a more robust public transpo system that picks me up from fairly close to my doorstep (thanks to good local bus systems), magically avoid all traffic (yay subways!), and drop me off close to where I need to go (perhaps via better bike-transit combo options, incl. bike infrastructure). And if taxpayer money that goes to freeways went to making buses and trains free (or cheaper), I’d be even happier.
Comment by Siel — March 23, 2010 @ 5:27 pm
This was a great summit. Learned a lot and looking forward to staying in touch with the people I met. Trying to make Beverly Hills a more pedestrian and bike-friendly city. “If New York City can do it…” I had the vegan lunch, too!
Comment by Anonymous — March 24, 2010 @ 4:18 am