Traffic is a loathsome word that has become synonymous with uncontrollable rage and suicidal and homicidal thoughts. To most Angelenos, it is a life-draining reality that is the lesser of two evils. What’s the other evil, you ask? Public transportation, better known as the MTA.
The services rendered by the typical MTA bus leaves lots to be desired and to a person that either doesn’t have a car or doesn’t want to use one, it also poses as a huge time waster. The average bus ride from Downtown LA to Santa Monica is about two hours. Two Hours! This is a trip that takes the average driver about 45 minutes on a bad day. With the expansion of the Expo Line, which now takes you all the way to the beach, people have a better and more efficient alternative. Sure, it’s not the fastest way to get from Downtown to Santa Monica, but it’s way faster than a run-of-the-mill transit bus.
The expansion of the Purple Line (subway line that will run from Union Station in Downtown LA to UCLA – Westwood) will be a huge benefit to LA commuters as it will give them access to a part of town that has no highways running through it. In LA, highways are the clogged veins by which the cars run like bloodstreams, so if an area of the city doesn’t have highways, it becomes a hot mess of traffic.
Other rail projects that will benefit LA will be the connection from the Expo Line onto a rail that will take passengers directly into LAX. Both the Blue and Expo lines will have direct connections to the Gold Line. To anyone who hasn’t tried to connect to the Expo line from the Eastside, you essentially have to get off the Gold Line get on the Red or Purple Line and then get off to catch the Expo Line. Again, a hot mess.
One of LA Mayor Garcetti’s pipe dreams during his campaign for Mayor was to connect all of LA through rail. Many critics laughed at the idea stating the age-old and tired stereotype “Angelenos love to drive”. Under his watch, the Gold, Purple, and Expo lines have or will be expanded and the Crenshaw to LAX connector was initiated.
What does the future hold, in terms of rail in LA? There is a huge project that may be on the ballot for Angelenos to vote on this November that will essentially create a rail from the Orange Line to the future UCLA Purple line stop. To anybody who has ever said or thought “Fuck my life!” while on the 405 freeway en route to the Westside, this will be a huge time and money saver. Imagine being able to go from the Valley into the Westside in a matter of minutes and not hours. LA, rail is good.
Jose Oseguera 