 |
|
 |
| Politics "Under democracy, one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule -and both commonly succeed, and are right."
-H.L. Menken |
03-07-2009, 07:45 AM
|
#1
|
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,587
|
LA Subway
So I was watching Discovery the other day when they had this show on about the subways of Los Angeles. I never knew there were subways there.
Turns out, LA had a thriving subway system back in the 1950s, then th large car makers - FORD, GM, and Chrysler bought up the tracks and shut them all down - pouring concrete in many areas to make sure they were never used again.
Today, LA is considered the worst city for traffic and has the highest air pollutant level of any city in America thanks to all the automobiles.
Anyone else ever hear about the LA subway system?
|
|
|
|
03-07-2009, 08:18 AM
|
#2
|
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Posts: 1,178
|
I've never gotten off my butt to check into the actual facts of it, but something you hear from the left in the States is that there was a proactive program of stunting the growth of public transit systems and massively subsidizing systems like highways and such forth designed around the personal automobile. Reasoning being something to do with defense, if I recall correctly. I'm sure I remember Chomsky going on about that at some point.
One way or another, there is a very profound difference between my experience with getting around SoCal (specifically, Orange County) and my experience taking trains here in Tokyo. You couldn't pay me to screw around with a car here. By contrast, I literally feel a sense akin to asphyxiation when I visit back home, on account of not having a car. If you had to live your whole live in Orange County and to choose between never having a car on the one hand, and permanently losing both legs on the other, it's a toss up as to which you should go for.
|
|
|
|
|
03-07-2009, 09:18 AM
|
#3
|
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Osaka, Japan
Posts: 1,472
|
There wasn't a subway in LA until the Red Line was built in 1993. You must be talking about the old Pacific Electric Railway system of streetcars.
I've heard it said that the system's decline wasn't due to the "General Motors conspiracy" so much as it was to owner and real estate tycoon Henry Huntington's mismanagement and lack of capital investment.
__________________
The Beginner's Quick Guide to Goth: 1 2 3 4 5
"Now some of you may encounter the devil's bargain if you get that far. Any old soul is worth saving at least to a priest, but not every soul is worth buying. So you can take the offer as a compliment."
-William S. Burroughs
You're not entitled to your opinion.
|
|
|
|
|
03-07-2009, 11:35 AM
|
#4
|
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 2,670
|
The public transport here in the city is great. Owning a car is just a hassle. Between the El trains and the bus system, it's really easy to get around.
__________________
You should talk you fugly, cat bashing, psychopathic urinal on two legs...
-Jack_the_knife
I don't hate you. Saying I hate you would be like saying I hate a dog with no legs trying to cross a busy freeway.
-Mr. Filth
|
|
|
|
|
03-07-2009, 08:08 PM
|
#5
|
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Raxacoricofallapatorius
Posts: 1,750
|
LA transit actually works rather well. Been there several times, liked it. I'd hate to have a car there, though.
__________________
Because before too long there'll be nothing left alive, not a creature on the land or sea, a bird in the sky. They'll be shot, harpooned, eaten, and hunted too much, vivisected by the clever men who prove that there's no such things as a fair world with live and let live. The Royal family go hunting, what an example to give to the people they lead and that don't include me, I've seen enough pain and torture of those who can't speak...
- Tough Shit, Mickey by Conflict
|
|
|
|
|
03-09-2009, 08:47 AM
|
#7
|
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Heaven and Earth
Posts: 2,606
|
The L train does basically the same thing as the subway probably did, and makes it fairly easy to navigate L. A. proper without a car. However, if you want to travel in outlying areas [Orange County, etc.] and you don't have a car, your best bet is the bus system, taxi, or walking.
Drake: I had the same experience between China and Alabama.
__________________
"Follow your bliss..."
|
|
|
|
|
03-09-2009, 09:14 AM
|
#8
|
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Osaka, Japan
Posts: 1,472
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by CptSternn
|
That's not a "full blown subway system," it's a single tunnel for the aforementioned Pacific Electric streetcars. Still, that's interesting, I hadn't heard of it before.
__________________
The Beginner's Quick Guide to Goth: 1 2 3 4 5
"Now some of you may encounter the devil's bargain if you get that far. Any old soul is worth saving at least to a priest, but not every soul is worth buying. So you can take the offer as a compliment."
-William S. Burroughs
You're not entitled to your opinion.
|
|
|
|
|
04-10-2009, 11:02 PM
|
#9
|
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 501
|
Public Transportation in Southern California is horrible. I don't remember where I read it but it was recently ranked as one of the worst in the world (when I find the article I'll post a link.) Here is a example of how horrible it is. I live in northern Orange County and if I wanted to go to downtown L.A. it would take me 6-7 hours but by car it would take a half-hour to a hour (if there is traffic)....max. There are many reasons why it is horrible here including lack of rail (mainly due to the budget problems (which deserves a thread of its own), the subways smell (but smell a hell of a lot better than they do on the buses), lack of demand, etc.
|
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:09 PM.
|
|
