^ We will remain a "splintered megalopolis?" That means you don't believe transit is the magic pill that will cure all of LA's urban weaknesses?
Sounds reasonable to me.
BTW, tonight I've just had to put up with the 210 fwy going east towards Ontario & the traffic was bumper to bumper. So no one needs to tell me how idiotic we all are for limiting options in transportation. Moreover, why do ppl (assuming they're sane) think a slow, long commute to the distant burbs is worth all the time & frustration? Are hoods like rancho cucamonga, or santa margarita, or god knows where, worth the ridiculous commute?
I shake my head in amazement.
Another thing: I cannot tell you the number of times I've been stuck on the various fwys that encircle DT, packed with cars, & then take an offramp into DT only to discover many of its streets are surprisingly quiet, sometimes even empty.
I guess all the ppl on those crowded fwys would rather put up with the congestion, & drive miles & miles past DT, instead of stopping off in DT &, better yet, maybe even eventually moving to or working in the hood?
Oh, and Century city & the hoods around Bev Hills & UCLA have attracted so many ppl & businesses cuz they're so much more accessible to ppl? Cuz they have so much more access to transit than DT?
Oh, yea, uh huh, whatever you say.
So it comes down to chicken or egg.
What came first?
Limited & lousy public transit in LA? Or hoods with lousy reputations that many ppl see as fugly, dangerous, depressing? Hoods they want to avoid or limit their time in, regardless of how accessible such areas are, by way of either fwys, buses, subways, trains, or all of the above.
I'll repeat: few hoods in all of LA & SoCa have as many transit connections as DTLA, even more so with the completion of the red line, blue line & gold lines. Also, few hoods in all of LA & soCa have as many fwys directly around it it as DTLA.
That's a big reason why I say that if ppl believe a better transit system in LA is the magic bullet that will transform DT into a fantastic place, booming with happy ppl & thriving businesses, then they're setting themselves up for disappointment.
Now don't get me wrong. We need better transit, cuz what we have now makes us a bigger version of a backwater town. But we need that mainly cuz not everyone should be forced into a car (or bus) & onto a fwy. More importantly, we need improved transit cuz traffic has gotten so bad that trips between one hood to another have become a huge chore to many ppl.
But for anyone to assume----&, again, it's the question of chicken or egg----that improving transit comes first & foremost to the goal of making DT less of a letdown, then not only are they setting themselves up for big disappointment, but they're denying some of the tough realities of LA, & its ppl & its history, for better or worse.
And that's assuming that finding enough $$, & having enough patience, & getting the MTA & other agencies to move fast enough on projs like the red line will allow their dream of an ideal----or much better----city to come true way before many of us are nearing retirement age.
As to the question of how to get rid of all the deadzones in hoods like DT? Well, I'll admit that due to legal & economic restrictions, that is one problem that will be tough to accomplish. That's mainly cuz property owners still have the ultimate sway & power in most of these matters. More importantly, that's cuz many devlprs can't make enough $$ on projs in DTLA as they can in other hoods or other cities, esp those similar to NYC or hong Kong, or even vancouver.
As for a drastic way to get rid of deadzones? Some may want to be sarcastic & say "pray for a selectively powerful, huge earthquake". But even that won't take care of all the flat & fugly parking lots throughout hoods like DT.
In spite of all this, cleaning up DT is no tougher a goal than extending the red line to SaMo. Or getting as many ppl to use the gold line between DT & Pasadena as the number that use the subways in NYC, washington DC, or chicago.
Another thing: no matter what college textbook theories or mind melding at a cocktail party may make ppl admire or believe, ultimately its the masses out there saying either "yah" or "nay" that will determine how things turn out.
So while it's OK to — about new devlpt that isn't very sophisticated----as might be heard at a snooty cocktail party where everyone loves to talk about their days studying college textbooks-----make sure to also — about things that are way, way, way worse. For example, complain about all the old roach motel apt bldgs throughout DT that are a major reason many ppl still see DTLA as a hood that only the desperate, poor & hard up end up in.
In light of that, bitching about things like the following is similar to someone bitching about subways cuz, in their minds, they're too $$, too dark, too socialized, too new Yorkish, too likely to take $$ aways from buses (or the argument of the Bus Riders Union):
Quote:
Despite the slumping economy and falling rental rates, his Brentwood-based company, G.H. Palmer Associates, expects to break ground on Piero II, a 335-unit apartment building at Sixth and Bixel streets, at the end of the month. The project abuts the original 225-unit Piero, which was completed in 2004.
On Friday, Jan. 23, Palmer's latest proposed Downtown project, the 670-unit Da Vinci, will have its first hearing before the city Planning Department, initiating a process that, barring any major hiccups, would allow for a 2011 groundbreaking, Palmer said via email.
A pioneer of the Downtown residential development scene, Palmer's company has built six of their signature buildings in the area, encompassing 2,214 completed units.
More important to the company's success Downtown than its sheer volume and pace is the high occupancy rate of its properties.
"I currently have less than six months of inventory available to lease in these current market conditions," Palmer said. "The market is absorbing new units at 25 per month. In six months I expect to be out of inventory of new available units."
With natural turnover, Palmer said his Downtown properties maintain an occupancy rate higher than 90%.
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..I meant to fix this to say..."Once we link these by a round the clock comprehensive transist system, we will NO LONGER remain a splintered megalopolis. LA has much going for it, but does have several albatrosses around its neck too.[/
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