PDP #251: Flower's Turning

One of the strangest things I encountered on the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system was the nature of the light rail tracks along Flower Street, currently used by the Metro Blue Line and soon to be shared with the under-construction Metro Expo Line. While most light rail systems use rights-of-way that are either in the center of a road or isolated from it entirely, on Flower Street the rails are between the road and the sidewalk - making that entire half of the street inaccessible to private transit. I'm not sure how big of an issue this is among local drivers, but I've yet to find another instance of street rails being laid down in this fashion.

Note that this is another one of those photos that can't be taken exactly like this anymore - it was taken in December 2009, and this is the spot where the new Expo Line tracks split off from the current Blue Line route. I'll have to go back to LA once it's done - or maybe wait until at least they finish Phase 1 of the subway to the sea.

EDIT: Two days ago was the Blue Line's twentieth birthday. I was too oblivious to notice at the time. So consider this a "twenty years of Blue Line" post. Woo!

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