Day: January 31, 2015

California Highway Headlines for January 2015

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=roadgeekingA new year. Let’s start it off with a bunch of new highway headlines:

  • Arroyo Seco Parkway At 70: The Unusual History Of The “Pasadena Freeway,” California Cycleway & Rare Traffic Plan Images . This Winter marks the 70th anniversary of the oldest freeway in the United States: The Arroyo Seco Parkway opened on December 30, 1940. Built during the Great Depression, construction of the parkway put a lot of people to work.
  • Lawsuit says NBCUniversal, Caltrans broke law in offramp closure. NBCUniversal and Caltrans broke state law by inadequately studying the environmental effect of a plan to close a major 101 Freeway offramp, according to a new lawsuit filed by residents. The southbound Barham Boulevard exit ramp is set to permanently close, probably in the coming year, as part of NBCUniversal’s $1.6-billion Evolution plan to expand its Universal Studios theme park.
  • More commuters look to Metro van pools as alternative to solo driving . Driving solo to work continues to define L.A.’s entrenched car culture. But commuters across the county are increasingly turning to alternatives such as the van pool, a venerable ride-sharing option that can reduce air pollution, travel times and transportation costs. At Metro, which administers the largest public van pool operation in North America, participation has more than doubled in the last six years, with a total of 1,375 van groups operating today. Officials expect that figure to grow by at least 8% in 2015.
  • Cajon Pass Commuter: Caltrans will widen, realign parts of 138. Next summer, Caltrans will be seeking bids on a $31 million project to widen and realign the two-lane highway, according to Caltrans Public Information Officer Tyeisha Prunty. Although it’s a widening project, it’s not exactly the type of widening you or I would probably wish for. I say if you’re going to do it, make it a four-lane road all the way from Lake Arrowhead Road to Interstate 15, figuring that as soon as the Tapestry Project in Summit Valley gets going we’re going to need additional lanes to support all the commuters who move into that area. Remember, that development is projected to add 19,000 housing units, so at least 50,000 — and probably many more — residents will be making the Summit Valley their home when the project is completed.
  • A Plan to Make Los Angeles’s Oldest Freeway Less Terrifying. The hairpin exits and abrupt onramps of the historic Arroyo Seco Parkway, that part of the 110 Freeway that runs north of Downtown, are collectively one of the scariest things about driving in Los Angeles. The 1940 freeway was the first in the western US and built for 27,000 cars a day moving at 1940 speeds; today it sees 122,000 cars a day (traveling at 2015 speeds). Rather than just accepting this fate, residents who live in areas adjacent to the freeway and the offending ramps have banded together to try and gather support for an idea (previously introduced by Caltrans) that would reserve the right lanes on both sides of the freeway just for drivers exiting or entering the parkway, says Eastsider LA. Here’s another article on the same subject.
  • Caltrans seeks public input on Last Chance Grade ideas. Caltrans is sharing ideas for potential ways to reroute U.S. Highway 101 with the public for the first time through a series of workshops. The workshops will be an opportunity for the public to provide input on a feasibility study that Caltrans is conducting in an attempt to find a long-term solution for the Last Chance Grade — a stretch of U.S. Highway 101 about 12 miles south of Crescent City that has been continually shifting throughout the years, causing catastrophically dangerous and expensive landslides.
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Saturday News Chum Stew: A Quilt of Churches, Stores, Rail, History, and E-Tickets

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy2 Comments

userpic=lougrantIt’s Saturday, meaning it is time to share and comment upon some interesting links that crossed my path. So, while you enjoy your morning tea (coffee? — it only belongs in ice cream or covered in dark chocolate), here are somethings to think about:

  • That’s a Crazy Quilt. Many many years ago, a football player by the name of Rosie Greer (I wonder if anyone remembers him anymore) made the news because he did needlepoint. Male fabric artists tend to be fewer, but bring an interested aesthetic to the craft. Here’s an interesting article about male quilters (of which I know a few). What do I mean by different? One fellow made a “quilt” consisting of interlinking blocks of concrete, stone and ceramics that are meant to be walked and danced on rather than slept under. One is 19 by 22 feet and made from six tons of concrete and 500 dinner plates cut into 4,000 pieces. There’s even a “crazy quilt” made from the scraps of his concrete projects. The exhibition that this article is discussing might be of interest to my wife (who is also a quilter).
  • The Megachurch. Two articles about megachurches. The first concerns the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys, now better known as Shepherd of the Hills. Shepherd has a megachurch in Porter Ranch, across from the center with Walmart, Ralphs, and other Big Boxes. They have just broken ground on a $35 million, 58,600-square foot building, featuring a 3,500 seat auditorium that will be used for worship services and community events, will feature a café with a stage for live music, a bookstore and a large outdoor veranda with seating, fire pits, a waterfall, a fountain and environmental art. It will also boast a tower that will give visitors a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley. This is a church that is growing. Meanwhile, to the east, is my congregation: Temple Ahavat Shalom. We’re smaller, and facing the challenge of membership (as are many Jewish congregations). An interesting piece in the Forward opines that it is time for the Jewish Megachurch. The notion is that congregations need to take a page from what the evangelicals do. This is not saying a change of belief, but how we express that belief, how we relate to other people, and how we turn Judaism from rote ritual to something enthused with joy and authentic energy.
  • Commuter Rail in Los Angeles. Those are likely two words you never thought went together (“Commuter Rail” and “Los Angeles”). But they do. The 351-mile rail corridor that runs along the coast between San Diego, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo is the second-busiest intercity route in the nation.Its annual passenger load of 7.4 million is surpassed only by that of the northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., which handles more than 11.4 million a year. The LA Times recently wrote about the little known agency that keeps that corridor running smoothly: the LOSSAN RCA. Trains that run on this corridor include Metrolink, the Pacific Surfliner, the Coaster, and Amtrack cross country trains (Coast Starlight) and loads of freight. The article notes that LOSSAN will be taking over management of the Surfliner from Amtrak.
  • Preserving for Posterity. Two articles related to preserving information for posterity. The first relates to Google’s abdication of its original mission: to make information uniformly accessible. Google has been slowly let letting its archival projects die: Google Groups (originally the DejaNews archive — remember that?), Google Books, and much more. Luckily, the Internet Archive Project has been picking them up. For anyone with an interest in history, we can be thankful that the Archive is there, and can shake our fist at Google for giving up on saving history. The second relates to the fact that history takes space, and the off-campus library facility at UC Berkeley needs room. This facility provides the off-site archive not only for the libraries at Berkeley, but for all the Northern California UC campuses as well as other organizations.
  • A Cascade in Woodland Hills. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the closure of the two Macy’s at the Westfield Topanga Promenade (leaving that mall with no anchor stores). It noted that Westfield of Borg wasn’t worried (even though they are building a new shopping connector between the Promenade and its sibling, Topanga Plaza, to the north). They’re experts on repurposing lost anchors. Well Westfield now has its hands full, as Sears has announced they are closing their Topanga Plaza store. While I don’t think this complex will become a dead mall,  there are only so many theatres that can go in, and all the other big boxes have existing stores in the area. This should put Westfield to the test.
  • Restaurants in Los Angeles. A number of interesting stories about restaurants in LA, as this is Restaurant Week in LA. The first looks at 26 Classic Restaurants in Los Angeles.  I’ve been to some of these, can’t afford others. I’m thinking Musso and Franks would be good for the Conference Committee dinner.  Mark Evanier has also chimed in with his thoughts on those restaurants. The week has also brought out an article about the original locations of many of LA’s iconic fast food restaurants, as well as an article mentioning the origins of our nearby deli (one of the best in LA).
  • Air Force One. “Get off my damn plane”. Ah, what a fun movie. But I digress. The USAF has announced the aircraft that will replace the existing Air Force One: The Boeing 747-8 — the newest craft in the 747 line and a frame that Boeing has been having difficulty selling. It’s a four engine craft and has great range; perhaps the 787 frame was too new. The actual replacement is a few years out, as they still need to bid on the outfitting. Next up: What to do about the aging Air Force Two, which is 757-based and has no real equivalent US-built replacement these days.
  • An e-Ticket. The last is a quick quip that made me feel old. In an article about a collection of Disneyland original memorabilia being sold was this: “And that glass E-ticket sign is one of only two made. It’s estimated to go for $15,000 to $20,000. (The E  here doesn’t refer to electronic tickets; it signified a coupon for the most popular, top-tier rides at Disneyland.)”. Sigh. To think we’re in a generation where an eTicket is something very distinct from the E Ticket of old. Who among you reading this has no idea what an E Ticket means in relation to Disneyland, and think of an E ticket as something you store on your mobile device?

 

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