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The Wisdom of Short Range Rapid Transit

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A train to somewhere


November 13, 2010

Read More: http://www.gelatobaby.com/2010/11/13/a-train-to-somewhere/

At the Grove, a shopping mall here in LA, there’s a trolley to nowhere. A battery-powered, double-decker, vintage-styled car shuffles shoppers a few blocks, from Banana Republic to Kiehl’s. This used to bother me to no end: A train that doesn’t actually go anywhere. (This is, coincidentally, the biggest complaint about the LA subway system, too.) But during our meeting and tour with Rick Caruso, the developer of the Grove—and Americana, the two most “happiest malls on Earth†around town—he pointed out the trolley-to-nowhere as a particularly effective part of his strategy. The trolley is a way to deliver to his guests what they want: People love trains, they love the idea of the past, they love being outside, they love going for rides. Even—and maybe especially—if they could have walked the distance themselves.

- Caruso was able to relate this to a few pretty interesting things about transit in LA. First, why bother tunneling underground? People want to be in the California sun, watching the world go by. This I definitely concur with: It’s actually why I prefer taking the bus in LA. Second, people would take public transit more if they could see it easily, and thematically, fit into their existing entertainment strategy. So his proposal is to connect his trolley to the Beverly Center, serving the corridor of shopping that already exists along 3rd Street. In fact, he said he’d already offered to pay half.

- It’s actually a great idea: Building very short rail routes all over town based on very specific behavior, not necessarily as part of this massive Manifest Destiny-like campaign to get the subway to the sea. We make our big rail decisions for commuters, based on where they need to go each day to work. Why not create mini-rail that serves where the rest of us are going: the artists with flexible schedules, the tourists who need to see the sights…even the shoppers, god bless them.

- It got me thinking about my other favorite train that doesn’t go anywhere, Angels Flight. The 109-year-old funicular is kind of like the Grove trolley of its time: It shuttled the residents of Bunker Hill a very short distance to services, although unlike the Grove, up a huge hill. But Angels Flight did it in an extremely attractive and innovative way that made other people—not just the ones who needed it—want to ride it.

- The point is, even though it’s short, and you could walk up the stairs, you’re going to shift your behavior because of what Angels Flight is. It might make you more likely to come to the area; it might make you more likely to visit the Grand Central Market at its terminus. And it’s acted as a lightning rod for the area: There’s a downtown streetcar in motion for the area that will now be playing off Angels Flight’s old-timey vibe.

- High above LA is another train people like, the tram that takes visitors from a parking lot to the Getty complex, floating over the city. The reason for a train is more practical in this case—there’s just not room for all those cars on top—but it also contributes to the Getty’s magical moment of arrival.

- The Getty trams shuttles about 1.3 million people a year up that hill. The Grove’s trolley? 730,000 people per year, a few blocks. Angels Flight? It hasn’t been open for a whole year yet, but they recorded an amazing 30,000 boardings in their first two weeks open.




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I rode the Trolley at The Grove. It really is faster to just walk to the other end of the mall. It's a cute San Fransisco cable car style trolley (though double decker), but they don't even let you hang off the side!

The idea of running that down 3rd Street is terrifying.
 
There could be merit in developing short range rapid transit downtown, connecting popularly travelled stops within the city centre.
 

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