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It’s hilarious that LA is building out a ton of track but they put all the stations in highway medians, guaranteeing that it will never be a useful mode of tran

It’s hilarious that LA is building out a ton of track but they put all the stations in highway medians, guaranteeing that it will never be a useful mode of transportation ever.

asiachick 4y ago
It's particularly sad in LA because LA used to have the best public transportation in the world. https://www.amazon.com/This-Pacific-Electric-Stephanie-Edwards/dp/B01KBFJHFC https://www.amazon.com/This-Pacific-Electric-Stephanie-Edwar...
brnt 4y ago
There are no footpaths (tunnels?) that let you go there? They are surely reachable, right?
- presentation 4y ago
  There are, but if you have to walk 5 minutes through tunnels up and down flights of stairs just to get out of the station, and then another 10 minutes to walk to whatever is actually of interest (since nice things don’t tend to be positioned right next to a noisy highway) then nobody is going to ever use that transit as a preferred mode of transportation. You’re adding 20-30 mins of misery to any transit experience. Even if LA is betting that the areas around stations will get developed because of the presence of the station, they put them in the middle of highways, which guarantees they can’t even develop on that land without destroying the highway or with some engineering heroics. So all in all, it’s a huge waste.
  - brnt 4y ago
    A few minuten to exit the station and a 10 minute walk (who lives next to a station?) do not seem unusual or badly designed to me. Can you park your bike at the station?
    - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
      that does soilund terrible. Look at london, there is a metro station right in front of the BigBen, and other landmarks.
      - brnt 4y ago
        Sure, it isn't ideal, but there is something in between dense urban PT and no PT at all: sprawl goes pretty well with (light) rail combined with busses or bikes.
        presentation 4y ago
        Crappy PT means they won’t build good PT pretty much ever since they already made the bad capital investment. It’s like sealing the fate of LA to never have good PT.
        brnt 4y ago
        It's the nature of the problem. In suburbia, station must be further away on average, the difference in density with a major inner city imposes that. A 15 main ride on each end is something that is nothing unusual here, and millions travel that way.
    - presentation 4y ago
      You’re doing this wherever you arrive too, and then you’re doing it again when you return. It sucks, as someone who lives in a city that actually values transportation. So, how would you like it if I said that the nearest parking to both your home and your favorite store is a 15 minute journey away? And the whole time it’d be loud and annoying? Would you still drive there?
      - brnt 4y ago
        I'd take my bike. This is how a large fraction commute here in NL.
bregma 4y ago
Modern North American transit is designed exclusively for the poors. The time of those people has little or no value so we can save money on getting them to our kitchen, gardens, and factories by spending their time walking more. Besides, it's good exercise and keeps them fit for their lot in life. All the money we save at the expense of the poors can be put into making the capital works impressive and highly visible so when the taxpayers are driven by (or drive by, some people like that kind of thing) they can behold how much their elected representatives have done for them and get reminded of that next time they vote.

It’s hilarious that LA is building out a ton of track but they put all the stations in highway medians, guaranteeing that it will never be a useful mode of transportation ever.

asiachick 4y ago

It's particularly sad in LA because LA used to have the best public transportation in the world. https://www.amazon.com/This-Pacific-Electric-Stephanie-Edwards/dp/B01KBFJHFC https://www.amazon.com/This-Pacific-Electric-Stephanie-Edwar...

brnt 4y ago

There are no footpaths (tunnels?) that let you go there? They are surely reachable, right?

presentation 4y ago
There are, but if you have to walk 5 minutes through tunnels up and down flights of stairs just to get out of the station, and then another 10 minutes to walk to whatever is actually of interest (since nice things don’t tend to be positioned right next to a noisy highway) then nobody is going to ever use that transit as a preferred mode of transportation. You’re adding 20-30 mins of misery to any transit experience. Even if LA is betting that the areas around stations will get developed because of the presence of the station, they put them in the middle of highways, which guarantees they can’t even develop on that land without destroying the highway or with some engineering heroics. So all in all, it’s a huge waste.
- brnt 4y ago
  A few minuten to exit the station and a 10 minute walk (who lives next to a station?) do not seem unusual or badly designed to me. Can you park your bike at the station?
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    that does soilund terrible. Look at london, there is a metro station right in front of the BigBen, and other landmarks.
    - brnt 4y ago
      Sure, it isn't ideal, but there is something in between dense urban PT and no PT at all: sprawl goes pretty well with (light) rail combined with busses or bikes.
      - presentation 4y ago
        Crappy PT means they won’t build good PT pretty much ever since they already made the bad capital investment. It’s like sealing the fate of LA to never have good PT.
        brnt 4y ago
        It's the nature of the problem. In suburbia, station must be further away on average, the difference in density with a major inner city imposes that. A 15 main ride on each end is something that is nothing unusual here, and millions travel that way.
  - presentation 4y ago
    You’re doing this wherever you arrive too, and then you’re doing it again when you return. It sucks, as someone who lives in a city that actually values transportation. So, how would you like it if I said that the nearest parking to both your home and your favorite store is a 15 minute journey away? And the whole time it’d be loud and annoying? Would you still drive there?
    - brnt 4y ago
      I'd take my bike. This is how a large fraction commute here in NL.

bregma 4y ago

Modern North American transit is designed exclusively for the poors. The time of those people has little or no value so we can save money on getting them to our kitchen, gardens, and factories by spending their time walking more. Besides, it's good exercise and keeps them fit for their lot in life. All the money we save at the expense of the poors can be put into making the capital works impressive and highly visible so when the taxpayers are driven by (or drive by, some people like that kind of thing) they can behold how much their elected representatives have done for them and get reminded of that next time they vote.