I'll Just Ride My Unicorn To The Subway Stop
A tweet in the wake of one of my LA public transport, um, adventures:
The LA subway is designed for a fantasy world in which people in LA are all 22-year-old scooter riders. BF drove over to pick me up yesterday at LA Expo line Bergamot Station stop. Zero parking spaces. Curb lane one long "No Stopping At Any Time" zone. Genius. @MetroLosAngeles pic.twitter.com/AwtUvxiyeJ
— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) September 27, 2018
Yes, tell the 76-year-old lady who wants to take the train downtown to the library to just hop on her 10-speed, ride five miles from Venice to Bergamot, and lock her bike at the station. Here are the "parking" spaces:
Love my exchanges with this dude. (Note for Twitter novices: His tweet below mine came first; mine, on top of it, is the response):
This isn't NYC or Paris, tightly connected by fast, efficient public transport. The fact that there is no parking at LA Metro station means many people drive all the way downtown instead of taking subway most of the way. Dumb, fundamentalist bureaucrat fantasy-driven transport. https://t.co/sbZeYb4gf7
— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) September 27, 2018
"Motorist convenience should't be a priority in pub. transit design." Genius idea. Why make public transit attractive to take? I'm 54 and my time is valuable. I'm not taking a bus to take the train. https://t.co/sbZeYb4gf7
— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) September 27, 2018
Um, how else do you get people in the suburbs to abandon their cars and ride the train? Hint: you give them a place to park their cars.
And yes, most suburban stations linking suburbs to major cities have parking.
Conan the Grammarian at September 29, 2018 8:13 AM
Big lots every third station or so in the west burbs of Portland.
gcmortal at September 29, 2018 11:28 AM
So if Motorist convenience shouldn't be a priority in pub. transit design; just what should be the priority?
BTW, Harrison, NJ, parking (to take the PATH - light-rail into New York) has over 1400 spots in ONE parking garage. Lots more parking in the private lots nearby.
charles at September 29, 2018 8:16 PM
OK obviously the downtown stations aren't going to have the possibility to have a ton of parking, but certainly the suburban ones should, ESPECIALLY the end-of-the-line stops.
NicoleK at September 30, 2018 2:11 AM
I can't add much. At least not much that is good. The train in Houston was more of an act of wasting federal dollars than any attempt at actual transit. The original line went between a hospital and a football stadium. Maybe doctors really like football. Or we just have that many concussions. But in reality they never wanted anyone to actually take the train. Another tell is you can't legally ride the train. All the ticket machines are broken. Have been broken for years now. But there isn't anything to stop you getting on or off the train. The door open up right on the curb. So cops can arrest anyone on the train but usually don't bother.
I guess all I'm saying is, it could be worse.
Ben at September 30, 2018 6:23 AM
"Motorist convenience shouldn't be a priority in pub. transit design." Well yeah - parking is just the "subjective needs of citizens who make their homes around these transit stations but balk at access for new people"
smurfy at October 1, 2018 1:30 PM
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