Transit Tax: Deceitful and Deadly
The Mayor's and MTA's half percent transit tax scam has become even more fraught with fraud and abuse. The MTA has been accused of spending public funds to advance the measure in violation of state law. Following advice from it's own attorneys, the transit agency changed language on it's own website that appeared to support the ballot measure. Still, MTA plans to spend over $4 million of taxpayer money to promote the tax, something that a number of officials, including County Supervisor Mike Antonovich find to be a potential misuse of public funds.In the meantime, following the tragic crash Friday of a Metrolink train in Chatsworth, LA County voters may want to re-think the idea of rail transit and other similar projects. Frequent accidents between Metrolink and MTA trains with vehicles and pedestrians may be a sign that Los Angeles just isn't built for rail transit, or even busways such as the Orange Line which frequently runs into vehicles at crossings (that do not have railroad style crossing arms at intersections) that are not really appropriate for LA's urban and car oriented environment.
We've said it before and we'll say it again, you can't build enough trains to get Angelenos out of their cars and make a dent in LA's traffic problem. Transit fans often cite cities such as San Francisco, New York and Chicago as excellent examples of public transit. And that is true. However, unlike LA, each of these cities are far smaller geographically and have a dedicated central core downtown. As well, each of them have had a 50 to 100 year jump on LA in building transit.
The solution to reducing traffic in LA will come in more practical zoning, making LA more business friendly hence bringing jobs to dense population areas and allowing private operators to run commuter bus and "jitney" services letting the market respond with a solution where the need exists.
Until then, watch your wallet!
Related:
- Very similar but less deadly accident in which a Metrolink engineer failed to yield to warning lights (similar to the believed cause of Friday's accident) in a 2002 crash between commuter and freight trains in Placentia in which two people died. (The LA Times has compiled a list of some of the more significant previous Metrolink accidents)
- Here's a list of accidents on the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley. Usually the fault of the accident is the driver of the vehicle the Orange Line buses crash into, but again, this is because the Orange Line is operating in an environment it really isn't made for, especially without grade separated crossings and/or crossing gates.
- According to Wikipedia, more than 87 motorists and pedestrians have been killed at Metro Blue Line crossings since 1990 and there have been more than 792 accidents making the the line by multiples the deadliest and most accident-prone rail line in the country
Labels: metrolink train crash, mta, transit tax
Posted by Michael Higby @ 9/15/2008 04:00:00 AM
26 Comments:
Higby the luddite! Considering the pre-$4/gallon carnage on the highways, if we based our transportation investments solely on deaths per dollar invested, it's unlikely rail would be the worst.
this guy really shows is stupidity well!!!
FIRE EVERYONE FROM THE MAYOR ON DOWN!
The rail system in this city is a sham...no ($50) seats belts! Un-crashworthy Metrolink trains made out of tin!!! Outsourcing Metrolink to a private company because of cheaper labor! And NO BACK UP SIGNALS OR COMPUTERIZATION!
What happened to the good old days when there was ALWAYS a conductor standing on the platform...giving instructions to the train engineer??? If there had been a HUMAN employee waving a green flag or a red flag at the Chatsworth depot, that train would have been forced to wait until the freight train passed!
And to add insult to injury...WHY IN THE FUCK WAS THE MEXICAN MIDGET MAYOR WEARING A FIREMAN'S JACKET??? JUST ANOTHER PHOTO OP!!!
It's blatantly obvious that the effing mayor doesn't give a shit about the tragedy or the victims!
HERE'S WHAT HE SAID:
"ACCIDENTS HAPPEN"!!!!!!!!!!!!
"ACCIDENTS HAPPEN"?????????????
What a rotten asshole!!! First of all this was NO accident...it was a collision caused by human error..most likely the Mexican engineer!
How DARE Villar trivialize the biggest rail accident in the history of this city!!!!
Villar is the WORST FORM OF HUMAN EXCREMENT! HE IS A PIECE OF SHIT! THROW HIS UGLY BROWN ASS OUT OF OFFICE ASAP!
Nice job exploiting the dead, you fat piece of shit
Ok let me get this right, the MTA is using 4 million of our tax dollars to back a tax... figures... these idiots have no respect for the money we already pay. They are so deep into my pockets now I think I'll file suit for sexual harassment! Anyone want to join in?
If I remember correctly the luddites were anti-industrial revolution reactionaries who destroyed new technology because they saw it as a threat to their 19th century jobs.
Ergo, raising an objection to massive and useless pork barrel transit projects in LA is hardly Ludditism. Indeed, rail is a 19th century technology itself and not adapted well to life in modern LA.
Look kids, I once was sucked in to the seductive siren known as the choo choo. Look in Google Groups for all my pro-MTA, anti-Zev, anti-Eric Mann postings back in the 90s. I was even a relatively active member of Southern California Transit Advocates and wrote a couple article for their excellent newsletter. But we've yet to see these projects make a dent in traffic, which has gotten worse.
We have to find 21st and not 19th century answers to a 21st century problem.
7:03 a.m. posts an ironic comment. :)
8:06 indeed, I had thought this morning that some people need to be fired.
This accident exposes HUGE problems at Metrolink. First off why is there not a failsafe for an engineer who is not performing properly? Usually there are two engineers on a train, had there been here the other engineer would have likely seen that this guy was texting teenagers (what's that about?) and not paying attention. In fact, before the train even got moving someone should have noticed he had a cell phone on him, which is against Metrolink rules.
Secondly why are we sharing commuter and freight traffic on the same tracks? This is very uncommon in other parts of the country. Obviously it was for cost reasons but at what price safety?
There needs to be an independent investigation of both MTA and Metrolink, up and down, to look at all fraud, waste, abuse and neglect that's leading to these frequent accidents. In addition to the Chatsworth accident, there was a much smaller Metrolink accident as well on Friday. Can Metrolink even be insured after this? What's the payout and cost going to be? Easily close to a $1 billion I am sure. Guess who pays that?
Yea, let's put a moratorium on this nonsense and come up with more efficient, safer and cost effective answers to our transit woes.
According to the attorney representing clients from the Glandale crash noting nuermous times to everyone that the Metrolink collasped like cardboard and they should do something to re-inforce, safety belts, etc. but I want to know did those idiots do anything about it.
Don't know if the death in the relative infantcy of the Red Car's in LA were a conspiracy, shortsitedness or a casualty of the timing and growth of the SoCal car culture, but I do know that what we have, isn't working. I'm a big fan and user of public transport in other cities and had to serve 18 months of hard time (so to speak)using the bus system here 20 years ago and can vouch it didn't work then either. At this point I don't think we can spend our way out of this, nor can we have the same solutions other cities now have. Some political will and some real creative thinking are ingredients needed, but sorely lacking.....
ABC News likes to do this before every election. Read the positions of Obama and McCain in their own words without knowing which one said what. The computer will total up your choices and tell you which candidate you agree with most.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/MatchOMatic/fullpage?id=5542139
Anyone for Monorails over our Freeway systems with a mulitude of small transit busses to get us to our destinations? Since they have been finding ways to put in "Carpool" lanes that are useless for the most part, why not use those lanes for the Monorail with tracks in both directions. They could also be put along side the present Train tracks, and the Metro link which presentely shares tracks with Amtrack and freight trains, would not be necessary. Monorails are much quieter and would also be able to utilize more diverse routes than trains or subways. The "Subway to the Sea" is a bad idea and very costly.
Does anyone remember back in the
early seventies when the transporation tax sur-charge was initiatied? My understanding was that it was supposed to be for a study that would improve our transporation system. Well, almost 40 years has passed and our traffic is worse than ever. Personally, I'm not voting another nickel for L.A.'s transportation tax unless there is a contract for a Monorail system involved. This needs to be explored further.
I am interested in your response as to the feasability of Monorail system. Why do you believe the would or would not work.
Villar in the fireman's jacket really set me off too! Timed so local news had to go live with him at 11PM. What a WHORE. Great speech Mr. Former-head-of-the-MTA-board; Umm, aahh, um ahhh, ummmm.
I am sure the MTA is pleased with the timing; they can use this to scare us into voting for their tax increase. And I'm sure that $4 million could be better used - like installing the warning system the Feds have been telling us to install for years.
In fact, I want AN AUDIT. Where is MTA money going if not on BASIC SAFETY??
"Um, John McCain sucks. Sarah Palin sucks more.
Luv YUH!
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Baba Booie.
Valley Dork
Hedda Hopper going from subway to monorail is like trading one failed technology for another. There are some issues with Monorails, one of which they can not carry the capacity of heavy rail, like the redline. So it would like exchanging deck chairs on the Titanic.
The person who said that New York style transit will not work for LA and we need a more creative solution is right.
And again - monorails - who is going to pay for it?
Frequent accidents between Metrolink and MTA trains with vehicles and pedestrians may be a sign that Los Angeles just isn't built for rail transit
Los Angeles just is built for rail transit. In fact, it was built around rail transit. Rail transit was the basis for the entire metropolis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Relief_map_Pacific_Electric_Railway.jpg
4,000 people died on the highways last year. Are you also prepared to cut all public financing for highways and roads as well? Road subsidies far outweigh transit subsidies.
As for Metrolink using substandard equipment, lacking safety features, and using single tracks, how would that ever change if you don't believe money should be spent on rail?
A few comments, some for 8:06 a.m. to consider.
First, Mayor Tony may have just had on the coat per mandated routine as protection and easy identification; it might be protocol. But if HE said, "Get me a jacket- the cameras are coming on," then he would be a jackass for that. I don't know which was the real situation. He's still a jackass for other things.
And here's a little more for
I did not interpret what he said to be "trivializing" any of this disaster. I don't see how anyone could. Better that he kept on the side of limited comment at this time.
AND the Times 9-13-08 edition reported a 1956 train crash with 30 deaths, so it is the worst SINCE 1956 AND the worst for a commuter train in the L.A. area.
The racist comments simply undermine the whole post and display ignorance and hate (a usual pairing) which still is no substitute for reason, but fits in nicely with a rant. The engineer comment was idiotic. You just generate the devisiveness in the same way Villaraigosa and council members have by painting with "a broad brush" (as Cardenas puts it) and that's getting you nowhere if you intended to sway the opinion of a reasonable person.
Plenty of people have Spanish surnames all across the country and they are not necessariy Mexican, nor even any other Latino ethnicity. Probably they are truly mixed and "assimilated" by marriage, etc. (But I DO suspect many have used the names to get government grants for minority-owned businesses and so on.)
Back to Tony V.- if you could fire him he'd be long gone. Remember the elections where you DIDN'T get everyone registered and then out to actually vote? THAT you might think about now?
On Higby's concerns, a radio interview with someone familiar with railroads said sharing tracks is commonly done. The rights of way and tracks are limited and that has worked. Also he said that automatic safety systems in other parts of the country were used and worked, they just cost a lot.
And do you want privitization of things or government running things? The city handling in LA of things might be more efficently done by private sector companies. And many government-run functions are not efficient at all, in large scale, up to healthcare systems here and abroad. So there might be some way to sort out what is best for particular matters.
It doesn't sound right to go backwards from technology at all.
If PR spending by MTA is $4 million, that's a big chunk from the $10 million Supv. (Antonovich or Knabe?) thought he'd save us by changing from a "NO" to "YES" vote, avoiding a special election expense that MTA was threatening. There is little justification for PR spending by government and none for OUTSIDE contracting of PR firms, but to fatten their wallets.
Latino from LA area
11:26 Yep, Ray Bradbury is still advocating the monorail system and I have to admit, pretty tempting to imagine them blazing through our center dividers as the skeleton of a better transit system. But I also agree with some of the inpracticalities as well from an engineering/people moving standpoint. In Japan, from personal experience, there are a lot of stations that only have stairs and simply built wood frame platform bridges- no ramps or elevators for the disabled - but at least there is a stop . There is no way something like that could be built like that here, even as a temporary measure which really add to the cost. We can dream though....
12:54 - there was a Monkees song about that in the 80s (or maybe 90s)
"That was then, this is now."
1:12 - road subsidies are paid for out of gas taxes as well as tolls, hence it's the users that are paying for it. Still, I would agree it's an issue that should be looked at. At some point a free market approach to highways should be examined as one way to deal with traffic.
The problem is that transit is not financed by the users. It receives heavy subsidy from the general fund.
And why would I give more money to Metrolink when they proven to do shoddy work with what they have? Honestly it would be easy to shut Metrolink down and then let private coach operators run and compete for the long haul commute traffic - for far less cost.
the orange line is a great asset to the valley
the problem isn't lack of crossing guards or grade separation of the transit way, the problem is that LA can't drive!
red means stop, but apparently not to everyone.
Steve Poizner joins race for California governor
The Republican insurance commissioner says state government needs 'serious reforms.'
By Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles
"road subsidies are paid for out of gas taxes as well as tolls, hence it's the users that are paying for it."
Not entirely true. The subsidy BEYOND the user fees is in the tens of billions. Look it up.
Just seems to me that if you want to make an ideological argument then you ought to be consistent and know the facts. The car culture does not pay its own way, not by a long shot. It's just as much of a government welfare project as you accuse transit of being.
This looks pretty impressive to me!
http://www.monorails.org/tmspages/MonoVs.html
With today's technology, they can probably increase the capacity. I bet it's would be much less expensive than the subway to the see. Check out this site.
It's a shame that everyone thought that Baxter Ward was looney because he tried to save the red, yellow and green street cards. No one listened and they were allowed to be taken out through back room deals made with the oil and rubber companies that wanted the automobile to be the mail form of transporation in the huge Los Angeles market for obvious reasons. Now we all pay!
Cars and highways are definitely a big time subsidy program for yet another technology invented in the 19th century. Just what is this 21st century technology that the Higster thinks we should embrace and be willing to pay for?
Don't expect any answers from a libertarian. All they know how to do is say "no."
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