Troqueros to shut down the port?
According to the intraweb the Troqueros are going on strike today, affecting or shutting down the Port - what's everyone's perspective on the local facets of today's protests? Anyone know what time this is all happening at?
All the details that are available on the internet are below - I'll be biking out to check out the scene down at the terminals, as well as at Banning Park.
Port of Los Angeles
La Collectiva del Troqueros del Puerto
12,000 Troqueros working the Port and local rails will shut down and congregate at Banning Park. Solidarity from most other Ports in the nation expected.
11 Comments:
Friends 4 Expo
Nobody seems to be checking out the train post anymore, so I wanted to introduce a site that I think needs to be replicated for us here in SP and PV. These guys helped the MTA get a $300 million dollar check from the state of California. Sure, Antonio had a lot to do with it, but they got the ball rolling.
Who has any experience working on site design? Let's get started. I for one would volunteer to start attending MTA board meetings. San Pedro should have a dedicated rail stop (light rail/subway) by 2020. Time's a wasting. Who's with me?
I would support a good light rail proposal that serves San Pedro and the surrounding communities. I don't know a lot about the issues involved other than that planning and implementation of light rail in the South Bay is overdue and needs to be addressed.
i asked the question at the community planning forum on saturday, and the MTA official there said something like:
it all comes down to a limited amount of funds. he suggested going to the MTA's meeting in June where they discuss the long-range plan, and said that perhaps residents should inquire about asking them to amend the long-range plan.
i'll do some more research on it and report back...
2020? For the love of crap, we went to the moon faster than that. If we choose our sexual partners really carefully, we could probably evolve into a species with wheels at the ends of our legs by 2020.
We need a line to downtown by 2010, if not sooner. Real transit in LA and in the other car-centric cities should be the moon shot of the 21st century, in terms of discarding the current model of major public project execution. This whole business of "maybe if we work really hard we can secure the funds next year to commission a study five years from now on the feasibility of impaneling a group of experts ten years from now to determine how we can appropriate the funds in fifteen years to study the possibility of starting construction on a rail line thirty years from now...but probably not" is awfully depressing.
In the meantime, we need a Rapid bus line and/or a true express line between here and the rail connections downtown. One thing about Rapids, apart from the (usually) tight headways, is that they don't have to adhere to a schedule, so if traffic is light they can get you between here and there about as fast as a car can.
Unless a metaphysical breakthrough occurs in civic planning and implementation - 2020 would be a good lay estimate of the earliest possible date that we could get a rail line to downtown. And that is depressing, and pathetic, on top of that.
We should have a Rapid line ASAP. That could probably be implemented quickly if the public demands it.
Yes, LA needs to get rid of its car-centric ethos, and we do need a line to LAX and downtown by 2010. I agree 100%.
BUT RECOGNIZE THIS:
* the state of California JUST APPROPRIATED $300 million to build the exposition line
* the MTA official described Mayor's Villaraigosa's SUBWAY TO THE SEA by saying, "YOUR GRANDCHILDREN MAY RIDE ON IT"
* the EXPOSITION line will begin construction this summer, and take four years to complete (2010)
* the cost estimate for the redline extension, is 300 million a mile, and to reach Santa Monica that will run between 4-5 billion
* the WESTSIDE is much more heavily impacted by traffic then the Harbor Area
That is why 2010 is not a viable time frame to see San Pedro receive a dedicated rail stop to LAX and downtown. 2015-2020 is a good and safe bet. These burueacracies move slow, and require incredible effort to change course. What is needed though, is the first push.
I am going to the May 12 MTA meeting in Carson to say hello and see what's up. Don't get me wrong...a rail line by 2010 would be great to see - but I have serious doubts it could get done by then. 2015 maybe. 2020 definitely.
Thanks for going to the MTA meeting. Please stop back here and give us a heads up on the happenings there. I do know one thing. If the community doesn't start clamouring for proper mass transit for the Harbor Area now, we won't ever get it.
Well, it looks like we all have some different ideas about exactly what is needed to link Pedro to downtown, but we all agree that something has to be done. And we all agree that the MTA is not acting on it. So, what's the next step?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, once we figure out what to clamor for how do we clamor?
Or should we just start clamoring now, and let the experts figure out how to do it?
a successful campaign to bring an MTA light-rail to San Pedro would require a broad base of support from:
* the environmentalists
* the developers
* city officials
* the public
* state officials -and-
* business owners
your first question is a good one. do we want a light-rail stop to go to the korean bell? or should it go to pacific? or gaffey? should it be a green line extension? or should it be an offshoot from the blue line? Or should it be a direct line to downtown as others have suggested.
I do not have the answers to these questions. I just know that a dedicated rail line should be put in right away, to meet the rapid development that is happening in SP. Personally I would prefer a green line extension that links up to the blue line, but that might be too expensive or implausible.
So to answer your question, I believe the best course of action is to "just start clamoring now, and let the experts figure out how to do it"
I just fired off an e-mail to the MTA's 13 Board members and the LA Times and Daily Breeze calling for the MTA to bring LAX and San Pedro on-line with their rail system. I just got an e-mail back from the MTA's south bay division inviting me down to their next meeting. If anybody else is interested, here's the info:
If your schedule allows you to attend, our next Metro South Bay Governance Council is scheduled for Friday, May 12, 9:30 a.m. at the transportation department of Carson Division 18 located at 450 W. Griffith St., Carson 90248.
Hope to see some of you there.
hey everyone:
check this discussion board out...
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