>I am not a big fan of privatization, but semi-private transit
>ventures can operate in a decent fashion, judging from EU examples
>(e.g. Eurostoar) and there is plenty of idle private capital in need
>of parking. Why not parking it in socially useful ventures? Wojtek
End of empire and fading empire are terms used increasingly here on lbotalk. When you can't get a railroad shorter than 300 feet going then American know-how ain't what it used to be.
This editorial was in the Los Angeles Downtown News a week ago.
http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2009/02/09/news/opinion/02-09-09-edit01.txt
Time for Government to Step in on Angels Flight
Angels Flight, the short but important railway that once connected Bunker Hill to the Historic Core, has been closed for more than eight years, which is three years longer than it operated in its most recent iteration. It is time for local government officials to insert themselves into the process so the funicular can reopen.
In a recent Los Angeles Downtown News article, an Angels Flight official stated that the railway would return to action "very soon." Normally, this would give us pause regarding any imminent criticism, and we would hold off on asking for government involvement. However, we have been hearing that the railway would return "soon" for years, and multiple reopening targets have not been met.
We no longer think it is wise to postpone government examination of this public amenity. The current structure has not accomplished its goal, and we feel it will take the involvement of government officials and public agencies, and probably elected leaders, to help clear the hurdles and make the connections that are needed to resume service. We hope they are ready to be proactive, even if they encounter complaints.
We do not call for government involvement lightly. We believe in allowing people, businesses and nonprofits to do what they have to do on their own, even when it becomes painful. However, this is a case that involves a project on public land and on which public money was spent. Additionally, the long closure has had a negative impact on the public and many businesses. The case for intervention is compelling.
A quick recap: Angels Flight opened in 1901 to connect the then residential district of Bunker Hill with the businesses in what is now the Historic Core. It closed in 1969 as Bunker Hill was becoming a business center. Twenty-seven years later, in 1996, the railway returned a block away from its original location. It connected the Cal Plaza complex on Bunker Hill with a Hill Street base directly across from Grand Central Market.
The return was heralded and Angels Flight was an instant hit, with locals and tourists paying 25 cents to ride the Olivet and Sinai cars and avoid the 153-stair climb. A team of volunteers, along with funds and work from the Community Redevelopment Agency and some private citizens, made it all possible. It was a great achievement for Downtown Los Angeles.
Five years later tragedy stuck. On Feb. 1, 2001, a problem with the gear and drive system caused Sinai to slide nearly 200 feet down the tracks and slam into Olivet. The accident killed an 83-year-old man and injured seven other people. The railway was immediately and appropriately closed.
In the aftermath, investigations were conducted, legal wrangling began and Angels Flight officials started to look into what it would take to one day resume service. That July, a railway executive told Downtown News that he expected the restored Angels Flight to open by the end of the year, following final conclusions from the National Transportation Safety Board. In December of 2001, he predicted an opening early in 2002 *
Of course, nothing happened that quickly, and really, no one would have expected a return to service so soon had it not been stated by Angels Flight officials.
The problem is, it has now been eight years since the accident, and many reopening targets - whether specific dates or general time periods - have come and gone. The legal cases were finally settled in 2006, and early in 2007 Angels Flight officials staged a press conference where they announced that they hoped to resume service by that summer. Later, they pushed that date to the end of December to coincide with the 106th anniversary of the railway's opening. Now another year has passed, and still there is only a promise of "very soon."
We are not suggesting that no progress has been made. Angels Flight supporters have raised millions of dollars, donating personally as well, for restoration of the railway. Last November, a crane lifted the repaired Sinai and Olivet cars (the funicular also has a new drive system) back onto the tracks. Some testing of the cars followed.
Those who have worked hard over the years deserve credit. Raising that much money and doing that much behind-the-scenes labor is no simple task.
Yet with all due respect to the personal commitment of the volunteers who got the project this far, more is needed, and while we don't like to have to turn to government, that is the only avenue available. It is time for a public-private partnership, even if the private side in this case resists.
One significant problem is that Angels Flight will not be allowed to reopen until a state agency, the California Public Utilities Commission, gives its okay. We think local government officials should step in to help with that and any other logjams.
Everyone agrees that the most important thing is that Angels Flight be safe. We think that too is an area where government or public agencies can play an important and positive role. It may be time to look at an idea that has been floated before: have the Metropolitan Transportation Authority get involved. After all, they know about trains and transit issues. Their experience is not exactly parallel, and they haven't done everything right, but maybe they have knowledge and experience that could facilitate getting this project finished.
We would like to be able to wait and allow Angels Flight officials to get there on their own, but people have been walking up and down those stairs for too long - it has now been nearly 3,000 days since the accident. In the Historic Core, officials at the Grand Central Market, another Los Angeles icon, say their business would be improved by a resumption in service - it makes sense, as Bunker Hill office workers are more likely to go there for lunch with a functioning funicular. Who wants to walk those stairs on a hot day while in business clothes?
Getting Angels Flight to the point it is now at has taken significant work, and those who volunteered their time and energy, and those who donated money, deserve congratulations. But the key, for all of Downtown, is to get the railway running again. We think we have to turn to government to make that happen.
2/9/2009