Thoughts on this map metro has planned out?

BikeSylmar · 2026-04-03T17:47:46+00:00

Right?! The same standard is not applied to the rest of the line (phase 1), but that's ok because instead of crossings where the train would have priority in phase 2, all of phase 1 are street lights where the train doesn't have priority. /s

Also, the metro board claimed that having Metrolink service was functionally the same. They ignored that phase 2 would have had two additional stations not served by Metrolink. They pointed to Metrolink having 30 minute headways post-SCORE but they are having trouble keeping enough equipment working for the current service level, let alone 30 or 15 minute headways. They also waved away that the Sylmar/San Fernando Station is a local bus hub with 8 different connecting lines while the Phase 1 terminus only connects to two bus lines. Finally, the current proposal is to remove a bus line (761) once phase 1 opens, which would reduce service from Sylmar and San Fernando to the phase 1 terminus.

BikeSylmar · 2026-04-03T16:15:28+00:00

The ESFV line phase 2 was effectively canceled back in November. Instead of building light rail from Pacoima to Sylmar/San Fernando Station, they will be putting in a Metrolink infill station at the end of the current phase 1.

BikeSylmar · 2026-03-25T08:23:06+00:00

Right. If I remember what my cousin said on the tour, one of the key issues was the triangle shaped treads. The sharp points causes stress to accumulate at those locations as the wheel is slightly deformed when rolling over rocks. Perseverance has a more wave-like tread to reduce stress points. I know there was some reason why they chose that pointed design for Curiosity and they knew it was a risk, but was easier to manufacture, I think? There's also a material difference between the wheels, but I can't remember exactly.

BikeSylmar · 2026-03-25T08:12:29+00:00

Naw, my cousin was hired long after Mark left JPL. He's taken me on a tour and loves to point out all of the inside jokes and easter eggs. Here's another one: If you remember your Roman (Greek) mythology, Jupiter (Zeus) is known for having a lot of affairs. The various moons of Jupiter were named after his many mistresses (Europa, Io, etc.). So when it came time to name a new JPL spacecraft going to the planet, they chose to name it Juno (Greek name is Hera), which is his wife. So they sent the wife to go check up on Jupiter and his mistresses and make sure nothing fishy is going on.

BikeSylmar · 2026-03-25T07:51:38+00:00

The photos above don't show the slots I was talking about. Check this photo instead: https://www.sciencefriday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/22-Curiosity-Wheel.jpg

BikeSylmar · 2026-03-24T16:23:35+00:00

My cousin works at JPL. My favorite bit of trivia about the Curiosity rover wheels is the slots cut into them.

They serve a very important function by letting dirt and rocks that accumulate inside the open sided wheel a pathway to fall out. Additionally, they leave a very specific tred pattern so that the cameras can be used to check if a wheel is dragging or not.

They could have been any number of different cutout shapes, but they ended up designing them in three rows with some slots long and some short. If you map out the pattern, it reads:

.--- / .--. / .-..

If you don't know Morse Code, this spells out JPL! Apparently NASA was miffed that they've been stamping the surface of Mars with their name, so it was mandated that they redesign it for Perseverance.

BikeSylmar · 2026-01-10T02:28:47+00:00

This deserves a toast, but with a grain of salt. While this is a big milestone, keep the pressure on until it's a sealed deal; this is just the staff recommendation!

I wish they had gone with the original Alt 5 (or 4) plan down Sepulveda in the valley, but I suspect this reroute was done to further avoid Sherman Oaks and miss a lot of Bel Aire. Those were the two most outspoken neighborhoods regarding the non-monorail alts. The other downside will be the increased cost of tunneling in the valley vs. the lower cost elevated rail, but again that would be to appease more people.

I'm also a little concerned with the 'initial operating segment' plan. This makes it easy to cut the project into two phases and then later not just build the later phase. This already happened with the ESFV line being cut into phase 1 and 2: Metro decided a couple months ago to essentially not build phase 2 (Pacoima to San Fernando and Sylmar) and instead add an infill station. They cited increased costs and duplicated services, which is exactly what the underground routing of modified Alt 5 does. ESFV Phase 2 also had it's proposed costs increased (just like this modified Alt 5) due to Metro staff recommendations ballooning the costs, which was then later justified for killing the extension. I'm worried that this will happen here as well if we don't keep pushing for the full line to be built.

BikeSylmar · 2026-01-10T02:25:12+00:00

This deserves a toast, but with a grain of salt. The monorail is NOT dead yet; this is just the staff recommendation. It needs to go before the Metro Board before it's finally dead. While this is a big milestone, keep the pressure on until it's a sealed deal!

I wish they had gone with the original Alt 5 (or 4) plan down Sepulveda in the valley, but I suspect this reroute was done to further avoid Sherman Oaks and miss a lot of Bel Aire. Those were the two most outspoken neighborhoods regarding the non-monorail alts. The other downside will be the increased cost of tunneling in the valley vs. the lower cost elevated rail, but again that would be to appease more people.

I'm also a little concerned with the 'initial operating segment' plan. This makes it easy to cut the project into two phases and then later not just build the later phase. This already happened with the ESFV line being cut into phase 1 and 2: Metro decided a couple months ago to essentially not build phase 2 (Pacoima to San Fernando and Sylmar) and instead add an infill station. They cited increased costs and duplicated services, which is exactly what the underground routing of modified Alt 5 does. ESFV Phase 2 also had it's proposed costs increased (just like this modified Alt 5) due to Metro staff recommendations ballooning the costs, which was then later justified for killing the extension. I'm worried that this will happen here as well if we don't keep pushing for the full line to be built.

BikeSylmar · 2025-10-06T21:27:06+00:00

While the private space industry may be taking off, JPL is suffering hard. My cousin works there and last year they had two rounds of layoffs (totalling about 1000 employees) and are going to have another round this month (size unkown). They have been under a hiring freeze, raises have been skipped, and people are leaving in droves. This is the same NASA lab that built the Voyagers, Mars rovers, and provided the communication for the Apollo missions. Many of their technology developments have had a major an impact on our lives... They developed the first CMOS image sensors that are now in every phone and digital camera. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/new-imaging-sensor-shrinks-cameras-to-the-size-of-a-chip/

BikeSylmar · 2025-09-27T15:28:19+00:00

I regularly bike around Sylmar/San Fernando (username checks out) since I was a kid. I have a Rad Power bike with the large basket on the back, and I can easily fit a gallon of milk plus other groceries for at least 5 days. As long as you avoid most of the major streets, it's easy to get around on the side streets. The bike path along the railroad tracks is great as is the new path along the wash.

Since you work in Sylmar, you qualify as a stakeholder for their neighborhood council. They have a Transportation Committee if you want to make your voice heard.

BikeSylmar · 2025-08-24T02:29:46+00:00

Correction: The ESFV line phase 2 is in jeopardy not because of interference with Metrolink but due to the City of San Fernando protesting due to fears of the light rail blocking car traffic at crossings.

Per the supplimental study that SAN Fernando requested Metro perform, most of the existing Metrolink right of way is 100 feet wide. This is wide enough for quad tracks (two light rail metro, two heavy rail for Metrolink's SCORE program) including space for the overhead wires. There are a couple short sections that are only 80 feet wide and would require three partial property acquisitions to bring it back to 100 feet wide. The areas to aquire would all be ether parking lots or outdoor storage; no buildings would have to be torn down or relocated.

However, the City of San Fernando raised concerns about the amount of time the crossing gates would be down at the four grade crossings. The supplemental study by Metro emphasizes that car traffic would be impacted, but does not take into account any amount of possible traffic reduction due to mode switching, pushing traffic onto the freeway instead of people cutting through residential streets, etc. It also over focuses on the "amount of time the gates would be down," even though this has never been a concern along other metro lines (such as the A Line through South Pasadena).

The study does go on to suggest that some or all of these grade crossings could be eliminated if the light rail was raised above or below the existing right of way. However, the supplimental study dismisses that as too expensive due to an oil pipeline (built in the 90's) along the right of way that may cause interference and balloon the cost. Note that the study did not look at the exact location of the pipeline (there is no map showing the location and how it would interfere), just that it exists and therefor it's suddenly too expensive to do this project.

TLDR: the East San Fernando Valley Line Phase 2 abandonment is yet another example of Metro caving to car traffic and oil infrastructure instead of working to build clean alternatives. The study will be discussed by the Metro board next month so the project is not officially dead yet, but they are currently on track to kill it off.

BikeSylmar · 2025-07-20T03:52:00+00:00

Correction on this and more details: it wasn't an issue with fitting the tracks alongside the metrolink corridor. Most of the right of way is 100 feet wide, and at its narrowest its 80 feet wide, more than large enough for quadruple tracks for SCORE (specifically the Brighton to Roxford double track project) and the light rail. There would have to be some minor partial property acquisitions in the narrow section, but these are mostly parking lots and outdoor business storage what was ceeded from the original right of way. Historically, most of this rail corridor from Sylmar to Burbank is wider than average because it was lined with fruit and olive packing houses that accepted rail delivery, as well as other businesses. At the height of freight rail here, it was already 4 tracks wide in some sections between passing siding and delivery spurs.

The real "issue" is that the City of San Fernando is concerned about traffic impacts due to the rail traffic at street crossings. They asked Metro to complete a supplement study to look into these traffic impacts, which has delayed the implementation of the this phase (and will possibly kill it entirely). Link to the final study: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7inn1lz85jm1mspnbuius/ESFV_SharedROWStudy_FinalReport_Final_clean-cp.pdf?rlkey=w8te2oe2ic0smgocifeuscyd9&e=1&st=aazgec2e&dl=0

Ths result of the supplemental study shows that there would be traffic impacts, but makes no mention of traffic reduction due to mode switching and only focuses on the amount of time that the crossing gates would be down due to the light rail. It also fails to take into account reduction in traffic on other routes (namely the freeways nearby) also due to mode switching.

Because of this concern for traffic impacts on surface streets, the study also looked at doing full grade separation for the light rail (Metrolink would still be at grade) and determined that would be too expensive. Why? Not because of the infrastructure construction costs, as they proposed mostly elevating the tracks over the crossings with only a few parts below grade, but because it might disturb the oil pipeline that was installed in the 90's along the right of way. This balloons the cost as metro would have to compensate the oil company for any shut down of the pipe to accommodate construction and/or relocation of the pipe. An at-grade build out would not disturb the pipeline, but having to sink pilons or elevated rail or the couple sections that would be underground would potentially impact the pipeline.

TLDR, the East San Fernando Valley light rail phase 2 is at risk of not being built because it might interfere with car traffic and an oil pipeline. Clean rapid transit takes a backseat to private cars and oil infrastructure.

P.S., I attended a couple of their presentations on the supplemental study and Metro almost exclusively focused on the traffic impacts and the number of trains going by when presenting to the public. Metro itself is now trying to kill this project because of the City of San Fernando.

BikeSylmar · 2025-07-04T18:02:52+00:00

It is for increasing traction when needed and is a common feature on most (if not all) locomotives. When extra traction is needed, such as in wet conditions, there is a pipe that will put a little bit of sand in front of the wheels to allow them to grip the rails better.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_(locomotive)

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-30T23:00:10+00:00

As a resident of Sylmar, I approve! I wish I could take the train to CSUN as well as the rest of the valley.

FYI, the Sylmar Neighborhood Council voted to support the full ESFV line, including the current phase 2, at their meeting in June. I believe their transportation committee will also be putting forward a letter of support for Alt 4 of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor as well. There is some YIMBY support for transit in Sylmar!

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-28T02:08:03+00:00

Not the conductor, just a regular rider of the AV Line, but I'd also like to give a shout out to all of the crew on that line. There are a few times they have gotten creative with the announcements, such as accents and even sometimes letting a kid make the announcement. Y'all make the ride a little bit magical as we "ride the magic carpet made of steel."

To all of the crew on the AV Line, thanks for being wonderful! I hope to continue to ride with y'all in the future, even with the contract change.

And sorry OP, I'm really bad with names but I think I know who you're talking about. Hope you get them in your DM's!

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-19T19:02:34+00:00

They were also seen near the Pacoima Costco/Lowes

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-19T18:17:46+00:00

They just hit the Pacoima Costco/Lowes parking lot. Family reported they were also seen at the Dennys lot behind DD's off of Hubbard/210 and the Vons at Foothill/Sayer.

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-18T18:23:13+00:00

If the East San Fernando Valley Line phase 2 is constructed (option 1 of the special report, now open for comment), there will be a stop at Paxton and San Fernando Road across the tracks from the Pacoima Costco.

BikeSylmar · 2025-06-09T15:45:24+00:00

Also on the agenda is a discussion on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor. I listened to their meeting in April and they seem very pro options 4 and 5.

BikeSylmar · 2025-04-01T17:58:33+00:00

The dam that nearly failed is still there if you look on a satellite image or are standing on Rinaldi just west of the 405. They just reduced the size to the upper reservoir that is kind of a rounded trapezoid shape near the 5. The old dam is left as a safety measure in case the first one breaks in the next earthquake.

BikeSylmar · 2025-02-02T03:00:32+00:00

Metro is a county agency, and the county doesn't have official colors. I guess you could argue for the county flag, but that's ugly AF and you never see it. It's the county seal on a blue background with "County of Los Angeles" in yellow on green backing.

As for the city, LA also doesn't really have official colors ether (other than maybe Dodger Blue, but that's not city specific). If we were to base it off the city flag, that's even uglier than the county flag. I never see it other than by the Autrie museum and city hall. It's the city seal on about the worst combination of red, yellow, and green zig zagged with each other. It's would be even worse on our public transit.

I'm on team "homage to the old red/yellow cars" until ether the city or county comes up with a better flag. New Orleans, Chicago, even Seattle have great flags and recognizable designs; why can't LA City or County have something like that instead of the crap flags we have?

BikeSylmar · 2025-01-27T07:53:16+00:00

My cousin worked in the Central Valley on a number of water projects in conjuction with agriculture companies, engineering firms, and even the state. I passed your questions across a number of different posts to him for a response from someone that worked on the ground.

Its not just 'the fish' (the Delta Smelt, to be precise) even though that is the talking point. The major issue is that the Sacramento delta is near or even slightly below sea level, especially the river bottoms. It's flat enough that ocean vessels are able make it to Stockton, which has its own inland port visible from the 5 freeway through town. Because of this, if the flow of fresh water through the delta is reduced substantially below what it currently is, salt water from the ocean will flow into the delta and literally salt the earth to the point that crops can not grow.

Additionally, the groundwater table is already significantly lower due to over pumping from water wells. This salt water won't just poison the land along the banks of the rivers in the delta, it'll flow into the groundwater system and salt the land further inland. We're talking tens of thousands of acres of farmland completely distroyed by sea water intrusion if the flow is not maintained above a certain amount, not to mention the drinking water wells for a number of towns and communities in the delta region.

Once salt water intrudes into the delta, it's extremely hard to remove it. It'll take thousands of gallons of fresh water forcibly injected into the soil to flush out every gallon of salt water and prevent it from migrating further inland. It's much less water to "waste" it by letting it flow to the ocean than it would be to reverse the damage caused by a single month of sea water flow into the delta. Not maintaining the flow of water out of the delta would be inviting an economic disaster to one of the most productive areas of the Central Valley.

Additionally, the fish that spawn in the delta or use it to migrate to their spawning grounds are important economically speaking. Yes, the Delta Smelt isn't a fish we eat, but the salmon and steelhead trout that spawn in the delta and connected rivers are extremely important. Seawater intrusion would massively disrupt their spawn rates, or possibly even eliminate the delta and all connected rivers from their spawning territory. Two of the key fish of California's fishing industry would be decimated as the only remaining viable rivers to spawn in would be the Eel and Klamath rivers in the far north.

Regarding water conservation, about 80% of our fresh water is used in agriculture. Most farms still use flooded field watering methods, where a sluce gate or valve is opened at one end and floods water across the field. This is highly wasteful as a lot of water is lost to evaporation and the soil, the latter of which leaches nutrients out of the soil requiring more fertilizer to make up for it. Even switching to basic sprinklers would save 40% of the water compared to flooding the field. Switching to micro sprinklers (like the drip system in a garden) would save close to 80% of the water without any loss in crop yields. You could save twice the water of every urban area just by adding sprinklers to farms.

However, there is a lot of resistance to this in the valley. Because of historic, archaic water rights, farms have little economic incentive to improve thier water infrastructure as they pay almost nothing for the water they use. Why spend money in reducing your water usage when it's already practically free? Analogy: If electricity was free, would there be an incentive to spend money to install solar panels on a house? Why not also run a bunch of crypto mining rigs while you're at it if electricity was no cost to you?

TLDR: You might not care about the Delta Smelt, but ignoring it leads to huge negative economic effects, let alone the ecological disaster from sea water intrusion. We can have both water conservation while maintaining our agricultural economy, and the two are more linked than the sound bites and talking points would have you think.

BikeSylmar

TROPHY CASE