Random Memo Feature: Metro Rail Red Line Hollywood Extension

Traveling Smart Under Los Angeles Traffic: Kudos to the MTA!
by Jonathan Sullivan

June 30, 1999 - "Downtown to Tinseltown in 15 minutes" is the MTA's slogan for

the opening of the Metro Rail Red Line Hollywood Extension with connecting service to North Hollywood and Studio City projected for the year 2000. The ad campaign is quite dazzling and why shouldn't it be ? It seems that bedazzlement is the only way to penetrate the conditioned Angelino market. Interestingly, the MTA didn't spend all their money on the outdoor ads thanks to corporate sponsors such as 76 oil. This is one project in Hollywood that matches all the hype.

Many local news reports chose to highlight the six month delay of the extension's opening. With a change in contractors and some minor damage repair, wouldn't a person rather ride a train feeling complete safety from a job done thoroughly than have to risk a major tragedy due to a rush job. More understandably, wouldn't someone rather be delayed at the airport rather than fly through the air with a jet engine dangling from the wing by a loose bolt? With the immense size of this project, one has to expect unforeseen circumstances, such as the sink hole on Hollywood Boulevard to occur.

Much of the attention for the opening of the extension centered around the Hollywood/Vine Station and its unique artwork, design, and creative ingenuity. I had an opportunity to take one of the first rides on the train following a ceremony unveiling two authentic movie projectors from the 1930's. Accompanying me on the rail car were several actors from Hollywood's earlier years, retired projectionist, and honorary mayor Johnny Grant. Mr. Grant was especially excited as he announced "All aboard!"

Being a former resident of the NYC area and having relied upon public transportation for most of my life. I was a little skeptical about the safety or riding underground in a city so popular for its earthquakes. One of the MTA personnel comforted my hesitation at the next station stop by detailing the basics of physics and engineering and then declaring that "it's the safest place to be during an earthquake."

A couple of weeks later, the Metro Red Line Hollywood Extension officially

opened with all the fanfare expected from any Hollywood event. Of the estimated 215,000 riders in attendance over the weekend, I saw a mix of people from a slovenly man wearing a filthy t-shirt he had saved from the MTA nine years ago, the physically challenged testing the disabled access, to local residents and European tourist in town just in time for the historical event. I say historical because it ranks as one of the largest public works projects ever undertake in the United States.

The crowds were treated to a live performance by Neil Norman and his Cosmic

Orchestra with guest Tim Russ known from Star Trek Voyager. If you haven't heard them, the CD is available from Crescendo Records and the music is liquid fun. The SCI-fi band brought the crowd into the future of Los Angeles at the Sunset/Vermont station. We saw smiles on the faces of spectators entertained by Kids on Stage for a Better World. Smiles on public transportation seemed like an oxymoron to me but the MTA made it happen.

About a week after the grand opening, three friends and I tested the MTA's slogan and boarded the train at Pershing Square. Opened in 1993 was just as clean and well lit as the Hollywood Extension. No smell of urine, no threatening characters and hardly a wait time to report was what we faced on our trip at 8:30 p.m. With only about twenty passengers per car at this evening hour we had no problem finding a seat; which compared to other metropolitan areas, can be a real rarety.

Upon arriving at Hollywood/Vine, I gave my friends the tour of the station and we

followed the yellow brick road ( part of the station's theme ) to Hollywood Boulevard. The trip was really only about 15 minutes and quite stress free. Realizing that the car was somewhere safe and far away, we decide to cross the traffic jammed street and have some drinks at the Frolic Room right next to the Pantages Theatre. Everything about Hollywood suddenly became convenient. We didn't have to race through traffic lights, honk at belligerent motorists or even search for a parking space.

With the expanded service the MTA has provided, LA has become a little more connected. Now it's easy to go to museums, movies, musical events and medical centers. Students don't have to worry about the burdened costs of a car and business folks can spend a little more time preparing for a meeting.

My ride on the Blue Line from Long Beach to Downtown turned out to be even more of a pleasure than I had expected. With a stop at the Metro Center/7th St. Station for about a half hour and then on to some errands in Hollywood, the trip took only 3 hours roundtrip ( errand time included). In my car I would have spent about ten dollars in parking and five dollars in gas and two more hours stuck on a polluted freeway.

Many Angelinos seem to have a fear of traveling underground through so-called bad neighborhoods as did one of my friends accompanying me during our trip. Do they really think that some person will run down into the stations passed the cameras and police officers and jump onto a train and commit murderous acts? As for recent comments I've read about the stations being a place for the homeless to relieve themselves, maybe that person will be comforted knowing the MTA designed the stations to eliminate blind spots, in turn deterring criminal activity and even public indecency. Since the extension connects two of the largest employment centers as cited by Marc Littman of the MTA, I think there will be more people using the train than someone on their way to McDonald's or a court appearance. For once, just leave the car behind and start taking advantage of the system well worth the money. And while you leave the car behind, leave the attitude.