LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Our first dividend from the $898 million investment? It makes for a quick getaway!

Little Tokyo robbers make a Gold Line getaway

Scarcely two days after its debut, the new Eastside leg of Los Angeles' rail system has already been used for more than commuting.

On Monday night, it was broken in as a getaway vehicle.

Authorities this morning are looking for more information about two robbers who swiped a cellphone and used the new train line to escape from Little Tokyo.

[SCUBAbe]

Re: LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

it doesn't surprise me. I'm sure the people of Pasadena are thrilled to have a direct line in from east LA too.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Re: LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

That's why it's a double edged sword. You want transportation investments to get people moving and out of their cars. You should put them in areas which have high bus ridership already, so you have passengers on your new train.

You don't want it to be a facilitator of crime. I joked that after the Red Line subway to North Hollywood went in, a lot of people bought one way tickets. It seemed many planned to steal a car in the Valley for the ride home, since the opening of the line and a spike in car thefts occured in tandem.

It's hard to fight the NIMBY attitude of "Not In My Back Yard" and "It's Going to Bring Crime!" when a story like this comes out.

[sailerm]

Re: LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

One of the bigger dis-connects in Southern California is that most of the people that use public transportation (what little there really is of it) tend to be in the low income/high crime urban metro areas. Where as most of the money (and relatively little crime) is in the suburbs. I doubt most people in the suburbs are going to forgo their Lexus', Acura's and Prius' to use the subway. It's just not in the SoCal culture, unlike say Chicago or Washington D.C. That just leaves one group of people (low income)

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

Re: LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

Until the 1970s it didn't exist in DC. Now you talk of a subway culture there.

So where and when does it start? In my view, it's started, it's growing. And eventually you'll be able to take a series of trains to the gates of the Disneyland RR. Where of course, you'll jump right on the train!

[flynnibus]

Re: LA: $898 million light rail debuts, 2 days later robbers use it to make a getaway

It works in Chicago and NYC because you have a true urban culture. LA is sprawl on a great scale.. it's not a car-free urban lifestyle like you have in most older cities.

Washington's subway is mostly only a commuter line for downtown employees (federal government). DC doesn't have a very large mobile urban population.. just pockets of it.. and rest of it is very low income.

If you don't live in one of these urban places.. most people in the states completely turn up their nose at public transit and only see it as a new route for criminals. yet, you don't hear them cry when they put a new interchange on their road.. equally making it easier for criminals to get in/out quickly.