Ceres Magazine Issue 2 - Winter 2016 | Page 53

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the remnants of the privately owned rail and bus systems were consolidated into a government agency known as the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority or MTA.

The final removal of the system continued, and by 1963 the remaining rail lines were completely removed and replaced with bus service operated by MTA's successor agency, the Southern California Rapid Transit District created in 1964. Rail transit in the region was largely absent between 1963 and the Blue Line’s opening in 1990. It was very unfortunate given the explosive growth in Southern California following WWII.

Other metro areas such as San Francisco and Washington D.C. were already on modern rail systems in the 1960s. The ’60s through the ’80s saw also a time when the federal government was more likely to pick up a greater share of the cost of pricey new transit projects, an era largely missed in the LA area.

Beginning in the 1970s, a variety of factors, including environmental concerns, growing population and the price of gasoline, fueled by the oil embargos of 1973 and 1979, led to calls for mass transit other than buses. In 1976, the State of California formed the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) to coordinate the SCRTD's efforts with those of various municipal transit systems in the area and to take over planning of countywide transportation systems. The SCRTD continued planning of the Metrorail Subway

(the Red Line), while the LACTC developed plans for the light rail system. After decades, the wheels of government began to move forward, and construction began on the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system in 1985. In 1988, the two agencies formed a third entity under which all rail construction would be consolidated. In 1993, the SCRTD and the LACTC were finally merged into the Los

Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA, now branded as Metro). Interestingly, it wasn’t that easy, as voters in Los Angeles County rejected four different transportation ballot measures in the 1960s and ’70s because of turf wars and political infighting.

The LACMTA began construction of the initial lines throughout the 1980s using revenues from a voter-approved increase in sales tax: Prop A and Prop C, half-cent sales tax increases. Those tax revenues, in turn, have been used by Metro to attract billions of dollars in federal grants and loans to help pay for some of the projects.

The Blue Line finally opened on July 14, 1990, some 27 years after the final streetcar line closed. Since that date, the system has been developed to its current size. The Red and Purple lines follow a fully underground route (subway), and the Green Line follows a fully elevated route. The Blue, Expo and Gold Line routes run in a mix of environments, including at-grade street running, at-grade ROW, elevated, and underground. The two heavy-rail lines (Red and Purple) share right-of-way between Union Station and Wilshire/Vermont, while the two light-rail lines (Blue and Expo) share right-of-way between 7th St/Metro Center and Pico, since they use compatible technologies. With 80 rail stations and 170 bus routes, Metro is headed just about anywhere you are.

Most stations are completely unstaffed during regular hours. Call boxes are available at each

Hollywood/Vine

Station