1947 report engineering survey operations facilities latl

8/20/2019 1947 Report Engineering Survey Operations Facilities Latl

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, . , W Z S ' ! 6!H 8'1'. fRotI.m C Q l . C B J .! l 6tH" 111m.

SIP!'. 26. 1947

, ., aID AL A U. DOIUf COACHJ!t l2'm" c.uu.

SIP!. 26. 1947

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13/29

Los Angeles Transit Lines that affected, to somedegree at least, a very large

numberof patrons. This rerouting included substitution of trolley coaches or ./


14/29

f or mer " H" car l i ne. The " F" car l i ne whi ch f or i l l er l yr an on Spr i ng St r eet now

oper at es al ong hai n St r eet due t o t he cor ~ect i ng of t hi s l i ne wi t h t he Nor t h Mai n

St r eet car l i ne.

Anot her sour ce of compl ai nt ar i ses f r om t he f act t hat sever al of t he

abandoned car l i nes wer e r el at i vel y shor t and pat r ons who l i ved near t he ends of

t hese l i nes wer e usual l y abl e t o obt ai n seat s on t he car s, even dur i ng peak hour s.

Today t hese sar ne ar eas ar e ser ved by t he i nner por t i ons of muc h l onger bus l i nes ,

and t he buses usual l y car r y seat ed l oads when t hey ar r i ve i n t he ar ea i n quest i on.

Thus , t hese pas senger s who f or uer l y al ways obt ai ned seat s now f r equent l y have t o

st and up. I t i s bel i eved t hat consi der abl e di ssat i sf act i on wi t h t he r er out i ng

pr ogr am st ems f r on~t hi s condi t i on. The si t uat i on can be cor r ect ed by t he oper a-

t i on of addi t i onal ser vi ce, as pr evi ousl y r ecomhended, and by t he i naugur at i on of

shor t l i ne or t ur n back ser vi ce t o ser ve t hese ar eas wher e j ust i f i ed.

To of f s et t hese di sadvant ages t he r er ou t i ng pl an has many advant ages .

The r out e l ayout has been s i mpl i f i ed and many ar eas ar e now ser ved wi t h mor e

di r ect r out es. Tur ni ng movement s of st r eet car s have been el i mi nat ed i n many

cases. I nspect i on of t he ol d " U" l i ne wi l l show t hat f or mer l y t her e wer e ei ght

t ur ns i n a di st ance of l ess t han t wo mi l es. Si mi l ar l y, t he " H" l i ne had ni ne

t ur ns i n a di st ance of about t wo mi l es. A s a r esul t of t he r er out i ngs, i t was

possi bl e t o el i mi nat e al l of t he st r eet car t ur ni ng movement s on t o or of f Al var ad

St r eet , t her eby expedi t i ng vehi cul ar t r af f i c on t hat i mpor t ant cr oss - t own ar t er y.

The r er ou t i ng pl an el i mi nat ed some dupl i cat e and par a l l el ser vi ce i n ar eas t hat

wer e over ser ved. . The pat r ons on Mel r ose Avenue now have t hr ough ser vi ce t o t he

downt own ar ea and t he pl an conf or ms wi t h t he Fi f t h and Si xt h St r eet one- way pl an

Jm d f i nal l y, i t shoul d be bor ne i n mi nd t hat i n any maj or r er out i ng pl an such as

t hi s, many per sons wi l l be af f ect ed. . Those who consi der t he pl an t o t hei r di s-

auvant age wi l l pr ot est , but t he r r an~rpeopl e benef i t ed wi l l usual l y r emai n si l ent .


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I t i s r easonabl e t o asswne t hat i f t he l i nes wer e t o be r est or ed t o t hei r ol d

r out es t oday, t her e woul d be j ust as many i f not mor e pr ot est s f r om t hose pat r ons

who f i nd t he pr esent r out e l ayout mor e conveni ent .

I n concl usi on, i t may be sai d t hat i n our opi ni on t he benef i t s ar i si ngf r or " t he r er out i ng and abandonment pl an out wei gh t he di sadvant ages.

Det ai l s of Abandonment s and Rer out i ngs

As a r esul t of t he changes ef f ect i ve August 3, 1947, ser vi ce was el i mi n

at ed on por t i ons of cer t ai n r out es. These por t i ons ar e l i st ed her ei n, t oget her

wi t h a di scus si on of al t er nat e means of t r anspor t at i on f or t he pat r ons i n t he

af f ect ed ar ea:

D - Bonni e Br ae Car Li ne

Ser vi ce was abandoned on Al var ado f r om Si xt h t o Thi r d, on Thi r d St r eet f r om

Al var ado t o Bonni e Br ae, and on Bonni e Br ae f r om Thi r d t o Bever l y. These pat r on

ar e pr esent l y ser ved on Al var ado by t he }, o. 41 bus and on Thi r d St r eet by t he new

N o . 4 bus . Ko ser vi ce i s now oper a t ed al ong B o n n i e Br ae, but t hi s t hr ee bl ock

( ~ mi l e) ar ea i s ser ved at one end by t he ~o. 4 bus and on t he ot her end by t her ; o. 44 bus.

F - Hoover s t r eet Car Li ne

Ser vi ce was abandoned on Hoover St r eet f r om 48t h t o r i ght of way near }f unchest er

Avenue, a di st ance of 1- 3/ 4 mi l es. Thi s ar ea i s now ser ved by t he r er out ed " FI I

car on Ver mont Avenue, ~ mi l e t o t he west , and by t be No. 49 bus on Fi guer oa

st r eet , ~ mi l e t o t he east . I n addi t i on, Hoover St r eet i s cr ossed by t he Ko. 9car on 54t h St r eet and ser ved by t he No. 8 car nor t h of 48t h St r eet .

H - Mapl e Avenue Car Li ne

Ser vi ce was abandoned on Wal l st r eet bet ween Sant a Bar bar a and 53r d St r eet and on


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53rd Street between Wall and San Pedro. This area is nowserved by the No. 4 bus

line on v~oodlawnbetween Santa Barbara CindVernon, one short block (less than 1/8

mile) awayfrom vJall street, and on South lVlainstreet from 46th to 53rd, one

block (l/~ mile) from \~all Street. The end of the old car line at 53rd and SanPedro is ~ mile from service on South Laiq Street and ~ mile from service on

Avalon Boulevard. In addition, this area is crossed by the "V" car line on

Vernon Av~nue.

H - Melrose Avenue Car Line

Service was abandoned on R~npart Boulevard from Sixth to Second, on Second from

Rampart to private right of way, on private right of way from Second Street toBimini, on BirrJri1 from private right of way to First Street, on First Street from

BiL~ni to Vermont, on Vermont from First to Beverly, on Beverly from Vermont to

Heliotrope, on Heliotrope from Beverly to l... elrose, and on Melrose from Heliotrope

to Hestern. This area. is not served at present along Rampart Boulevard; however,

service is provided at Sixth and Rampart by the No. 3 trolley coach and at Third

and itampart,approximately 3/10 of a mile distant, by the No.4 bus. No servi.ce

is provided at present along Second Street, private right of way, Bintini Place or

First Street, but ·the area is adequately served by the N o . 44 bus or the No.4

bus, which lines at no point are as muchas ~ mile away. Service along Vernmnt

Avenue is provided by the "V" car; along Beverly Boulevard by the No. 44.bus.

The service along Heliotrope is no longer provided, but the area is served by the

ho. 44 bus at one end, the Eo. 4 bus at the other, and the hOt 83 bus along Ver-

mont Avenue. At no point is the alternate service more than ~ mile away. From

Heliotrope west to v'-estern along Nelrose, service is nowprovided by the No.4 bus.

o - South Nain Street Car Line

Service was abandoned on South }~in Street between 36th Place and 46th Street.


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This area i s now served by the No. 4 bus along vJoodlawn Avenue l ess than 1 /8

mile to the eas t .

S - Santa Lonica and hes te rn Car Line

Service was abandoned on v,estern Avenue between Third and Santa Honica. This

area i s now served by the No. 8 ~ ~ e s t e r nAvenue l i ne . The No. 8 l i n e however,

does not operate into the downtown business d i s t r i c t Persons along t h i s port ion

of th e old l ine who wish to t rave l d i r ec t l y to the downtown area must use

e i t he r th e Santa }mnica Boulevard l ine of th e Pac i f i c Elec t r ic Railway, the ~ o

4 bu s on helrose Avenue the hO I 44 bus on Beverly Boulevard , or the o r s

cars on Third St r ee t . These downtown l ines cross \ ,es tern Avenue a t spacings of

Huole2 thus the walk along Western Avenue for any passenger to th e nearest down-

town l ine i s no more than ~ mile.

U - Univers i ty Car Line

.:iervice was abandoned on th i s route beginning a t ~ i s h i n g t o nand Est re l la along

Es t r e l l a , 23rd St r ee t , Union Avenue Hoover, 32nd St r e e t , NcClintock Avenue to

Vermont. Service i s rendered to t h i s area a t present along Hoover Stree t by an

extension o f th e No. bus. addi t ion , the area i s served by the w car,

No. 11 bus, J car, Ko. 18 bus, and the V car. No p o m t in the a.ffected area

i s a t present more than it mile from some t r ans i t l i n e

3 - \ iest Sixth Stree t Car Line

3ervice was abandoned on pr iva te r ight of way between Third and Fi f t h . This a.rea

i snow

served by the ~ o

3 t ro l ley coach l i ne a t pr iva te r i gh t of way and Fi f t hand by the 3 o r R cars on Third s t r e e t t mile away.

2 - Belmont Bus Line

Service was abandoned on th i s l ine alo ng T hird , Columbia, Second, Loma Belmont to

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No.4 bus, ~.o. 44 bus and No. 11 bus, which traverse the area in an east and west

direction. At no point is this area n~re than ~ mile from these bus lines. In

F/.w •.•...

This line operates from Florence and South hain via Lain, ~'Iaple, ~, Figueroa,

3 -:: Central and hest Sixth Trolley Coach

This l~e operates from 58th and Central via Central, Fifth and 'WestSixth to


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49 - Figueroa Street Bus Line

The line was extended south from Manchester Avenue to Century Boulevard.

41 - Alvarado street Bus Line

This line was extended from Adam.sBoulevard along Hoover to Exposition Boulevard..


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On J ul y 26 , 1946, t he Commi s s i on r ecei ved a r es ol ut i on adopt ed

H PTER

N FOR XT NSIONS TO N T I R S

On July 26 1946 the Commission received a resolution adopted

July 16 1946 at a meeting sponsored by the C ity Terrace Citizens Committee

in which the Los Angeles Transit Lines was petitioned to extend the i r service

on City Terrace Drive easterly to North Eastern Avenue a distance of four-tenths

of a m i l e ~ Immediately following receipt of the resolution Commission engineers

made a survey of the m atte r and found that t he extension of th e Evergreen Motor

Coach Line to the i nt er se c ti on o f City Terrace Drive and Eastern venue would be

feasible and should be recommerrled. The matter was also investigated by th ecompany and as early a s a year ago stated in a reply to th e Commission that

extension of the bus l ine as suggested could be jus t i f i ed . Also in a l e t t e r

dated March 31 1947 th e company 8 ta te d th at was considering preparation

of an application which would provide fo r the extension of service.

In view of the fact that conditions prompting th is extension of

service have no t changed is considered proper in th is report to recommend

that th e City Terrace extension be made a t the ear l ies t possible t e ~

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CHAPTER V

STRELT TRAFF ~9 CONGESTI ON

I ncr eased oper at i on of mot or ~oaches al ong Hi l l St r eet i n t he cent r al

busi ness di st r i ct has cr eat ed a t r af f i c pr obl em t hat wi l l r equi r e sol ut i on be-

f or e a mat er i al i mpr ovement ' i n t he st andar d of mot or coach ser vi ce can be

acc ompl i shed.

1. vi t hconsol i dat i on of t he Ol ympi c and Sunset Boul evar d Li nes of t he

Los Angel es Mot or Coach Li nes and t he r er out i ng of t hese l i nes t o Hi l l St r eet ,

t her e was added t o t he bus and r ai l oper at i ons al r eady conduct ed al ong t hi s

st r eet appr oxi mat el y 80 sc hedul ed t r i ps bet ween t he hour s of 4: 00 P. M. and6: 00 P. M. Thi s was an i ncr ease of appr oxi mat el y 27% and br ought t he t ot al

schedul ed t r i ps bet ween t hese hour s t o a pr esent f i gur e of appr oxi mat el y 3?0.

Of t hi s number appr oxi mat el y 110, or 29%, ar e oper at ed i n bot h di r ect i ons past

one poi nt dur i ng t he heavi est 30- mi nut e per i od. As t he cycl e of oper at i on of

t r af f i c si gnal s per mi t s oper at i on nor t h and sout h al ong Hi l l st r eet f or onl y

13. 5 mi nut es dur i ng each 30- mi nut e per i od, t he aver age f r eauency r at e at a

t ypi cal , i nt er sect i on i s appr oxi mat el y one uni t ever y 7. 4 seconds.

On November 5, 1947, a t r af f i c f l ow c heck was made at t he i nt er sect i on

of Si xt h and Hi l l St r eet s dur i ng t he per i od 4: 00 P. M. t o 6: 00 P. M. The check

consi st ed of t abul at i ng t he number of buses and st r eet car s movi ng i n each di r ec-

t i on al ong Hi l l St r eet dur i ng each cycl e of nor t h and sout h t r af f i c f l ow. As

r esul t of t he check i t was f ound t hat dur i ng t he peak per i od t he aver age number

of uni t s per cycl e t hat moved i n one di r ect i on t hr ough t he i nt er sect i on was 1. 9Uni t s and t he naxi mum was 3 uni t s. As t her e ar e 30 cyc l es dur i ng a 30- mi nut e

per i od, i t must be concl uded t hat t he pr esent peak oper at i on of bet ween 55 and

60 uni t s dur i ng t he peak one- hal f hour per i od i s appr oachi ng t he absol ut e maxi mu

t hat can be oper at ed under pr esent condi t i ons. The f act t hat t he most r ecent


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Schedul ed 601Spar es 83Unassi gned - - 2

Schedul edSpar esUnassi gned To be r et i r ed

458554222 ( 1700 and 2700 Cl a s s )


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Schedul ed 456

10% Spar es ~

Total 504

n ~ m e rt ha t w i l l be r e q ~ i r ein th e ~ t ~ w i l l be a s f o l l o w s ~

Scheduled 61 Spares

Total 5 4

2


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CRA.:PTER VI I

EQUI PMENT ~I NTE NANCE AND ST ORAGE F ACI LI TI ES,

di t i ona1 coach f ac i l i t i es have been pr ov~ded a t o t her poi nt s i n t he c i t y.

I n 1945 f aci l i t i As at Di vi si on' 3, i n t he nor t heas t sec t i on of t he c i t y,


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make i t no l onger necessar y t o send eoui pment t o t he mai n shops f or r unni ng r e-

pai r s. as most r epai r s, ot her t han gener al over haul , can now be done at t he

Di vi si ons. Thi s ar r angement not onl y ef f ect s economi es t hr ough savi ngs i n dai l y

mi l eage, but al so subst ant i al l y i ncr eases t he avai l abi l i t y of equi pment .

m k no longer necessary to send eouipment to th e main shops for running -

pairs . as most repairs other than general overhaul can now be done a t th e

Divisions. This arrangement no t only effects economies through savings in daily

mileage bu t also substantial ly increases the avai labi l i ty of equipment

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CIDl.PTER VII I

TR /l.C K A N D R O AWAY

As a par t of t he i nves t i gat i on a sur vey was made of t he company ' s t r ack

and r oadway and i t was f ound t hat i n gener a l t he t r ack s t r uc t ur e has been f a i r l y

wel l mai nt a i ned . The sec t i on of t r ack t hat appear s t o be i n most need of ear l y

at t ent i on i s al ong Mai n St r eet bet ween Sunset Boul evar d and Templ e St r eet .

I n a st at ement pr epar ed by t he company set t i ng f or t h t he pr oposed t r ack

r ehabi l i t at i on pr ogr am f or t wel ve mont hs begi nni ng Sept ember 1, 1947, an amount o

$44,.892 has been a l l ocat ed f or i ns t a l l a . t i on of t i es and bal l as t and r epavi ng of

t hi s sect i on of t r ack on I , f ai nSt r eet . The st ~t ement al so i ncl udes i t ems of t r e . ck

r ehabi l i t ~t i on or r econst r uct i on at el even ot her l ocat i ons and t he t ot al est i mat ed

cos t of al l wor k i nc l udi ng t hat on Mai n S t r ee t i s $788, 495.


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CHAPTER I X

ONE-11M; CAR OPERATION

Si nce t he Los Angel es one- man car or di nance ( No. 81319) was decl ar ed

unconst i t ut i onal on December 23, 1940, t her e has been a pr ogr essi ve conver si on of

t he l ocal t r ansi t r ai l l i nes t o one- man oper at i on. AS of t he pr esent dat e onl y

t he " B" - Br ookl yn and hooper Avenues, " V" - Ver non and Ver mont Avenues, and t he

" 5 " - i ! . agl eRock and Hawt hor ne Li nes ar e oper at ed wi t h t wo- man car s and i t i s

r easonabl e t o expect t hat t hese l i nes wi l l be conver t ed t o one- man oper at i on at

t he ear l i est pr act i cal dat e.

As t he 141 r ai l car s assi gned t o t hese t hr ee l i nes r epr esent appr oxi -

mat el y 23% of t he t ot al number of car s schedul ed i n al l oper at i ons and t he dai l y

weekday mi l es oper at ed ar e appr oxi mat el y 27% of t he t ot al mi l es oper at ed on al l

r ai l l i nes, a subst ant i al savi ng i n oper at i ng expense woul d be r eal i zed at such

t i me as t he conver si on t o one- man oper at i on was ef f ect ed.

I t i s not possi bl e t o est i mat e t he annual savi ngs i n expense at t hi s

t i me, as t he r enner i n whi ch t he conver si on ni ght be made i s not k m w n by t he Com-

mi ss i on' s engi neer s.


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r ecent l y r ecei ved. ThE; sec ompl ai nt s may be t abul at ed as f ol l ows:

Over cr owdi ng of vehi cl es 16Di sc our t eous oper at or s 6Rer out i nes and abandonment s 5Subst i t ut i on of buses f or r ai l 3Unsaf e c ondi t i ons 2~d sc el l aneous ( 1 c ompl ai nt e ac h) 8


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ar i s es f r om t he h i gher r a t es of accel er a t i on and decel er a t i on mai n t a i ned

bus es , t her eby caus i ng mor e j os t l i ng of t he pas s enger s , par t i cul ar l y if t he s t r eet

s ur t ' ac es a r e not abs ol ut el y s moot h. El der l y per s ons ver y of t en have m: :

cu l t y i n keepi ng t he i r f oo t i ng i n a bus t han on a s t r ee t ca r oper a t i ng on

s t ee l r a i l . Th i s i s pa r t i cu l a r l y t r ue i n Los Ange l e s wher e , i n yea r s pa

s t r ee t car t r acks have been mai n t a i ned a t a h i gh l evel .

Uns af e Condi t i ons '

Thes e c ompl ai nt s had r e f e r enc e' t o t h e obs t r uc t i on of t h e dr i ver s

by pas s enger s who cr owded t he f r ont door - wel l . Thi s condi t i on was f ur t h

cus s ed under " Load Checks and Load i ng S t andar ds ll •

1947 report engineering survey operations facilities latl

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