Dana Gabbard
Recent Posts
Transit Funding 101 — County-Wide Edition
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Thursday at the Metro Board monthly meeting with little fanfare or media attention one of the most important agenda items for the entire year will be dealt with and approved most likely without any discussion or public comment via a single consolidated vote as just one of 27 items being handled as “consent.” The item […]
Three Great Places to Eat on Sunday’s CicLAvia Route
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My original inspiration to write about favorite places to eat at along Wilshire Blvd. was a recent piece on food destinations along Foothill Transit’s route 187 in the March issue of Footnotes. Then I realized with this Sunday’s Ciclavia I had an ideal opportunity to share three of my favorite eateries along Wilshire between downtown […]
A Peek at the TAP Regional Rollout, and the Future for TAP Automatic Transfers
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(Note: Anyone wondering about Dana’s adventures on the Coast Starlight can find updates with pictures on Streetsblog LITE. – DN) Last week a presentation was made to the municipal operators of Los Angeles County about the mobile validators to be rolled out in the next year and a half that will finally facilitate TAP being […]
Dana’s Adventures on the Coast Starlight Start Today
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I grew up in Central Washington State and when I recently learned my autistic nephew was about to graduate I determined to witness this important family milestone by travelling north. And in the process also experience something I have long been curious about: sleeping car service on Amtrak long distance routes. I have ridden coach […]
Metro FY 2013-14 budget — The Transit Activist’s Overview
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I am no budget guru. Really all I do is read reports, view presentations and ask questions. No great mystery. But transportation funding tends to make folks want to run for the hills. I mean, the brave and stalwart Damien Newton at the prospect of making sense of Metro’s budget plaintively asked in re Metro’s […]
Dana Gabbard’s rules of transit advocacy (2000 version)
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In 2000 the industry group for public transit agencies in California, the California Transit Association, held its Fall Conference and Expo at the Westin Hotel near LAX. I was invited to participate in a panel discussion about transit activists and our relationship with agencies, the legislature, regulatory entities etc. As a bonus I presented a […]
The Rest of Last Week’s Metro Board Agenda: Billboards, Attacked Bus Drivers, More Antelope Valley Line Service
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Beyond the Leimert Park station drama that dominated coverage of the Metro Board meeting last Thursday there were other items of interest as reported by both Steve Hymon on The Source and myself here at Streetsblog. But there are three additional items that I think are notable and/or newsworthy: Metro is undertaking an expansion of […]
New Restaurant at Union Station? Metro Looking for “Local Chef”
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As the modernization of Union Station continues, Metro is looking for a “local chef” willing to invest in a new restaurant in L.A.’s largest transit hub. This staff report presented at last Thursday’s Metro Board meeting has the details. Here is the summary in the report’s introduction: We are currently negotiating with a local chef […]
Metro Considers Moving TAP Service Center to In-House
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Metro is in the midst of addressing one of the last Transit Access Pass bugaboos beyond the fixes I described previously: the rather poor quality of service provided by Xerox, the vendor staffing the Regional TAP Service Center. At the Metro Board Executive Management Committee meeting on Thursday they will consider an extension of the […]
Why I Am Voting for Wendy Greuel
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(Note: To help Streetsblog readers decide how best to cast their vote in the election, we asked two regular writers not on staff to write their recommendations in the election. Today, Founding Board Member Emeritus and our 2011 Streetsie Writer of the Year Dana Gabbard writes about his decision to back Wendy Greuel. Tomorrow, current Board Member […]
May 18: Take the kids and “Ride the Movie Trains”
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Families looking for a diversion for the kids (or grandkids) less pricey than Disneyland will rejoice to learn Saturday May 18th there will be occurring a once in a lifetime event that is guaranteed to make even the most squirmy youngster gleeful: an excursion on the Fillmore and Western Railroad in Ventura County aka “the […]
See You on Saturday?
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(Not sure what Dana is talking about? We’re having a fundraiser on Saturday! In addition to a who’s who of transit advocates we’re going to party with LADOT GM Jaime De La Vega, Glendale City Councilman and Metro Board Member Ara Najarian, City Council Member Elect Mike Bonin, and “advocate of the year” Valerie Watson. […]