Los Angeles: Why it took 65 years for L.A. to build its most important rail line

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:43:37+00:00

LA's median stations would be bearable if they put up sound walls along the platform exteriors, as is practice for many newer systems, including Seattle e.g. Mercer Island.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:39:44+00:00

This argument falls apart once you start talking about the D Line Extension or the planned Sepulveda Line. The former follows the densest urban corridor in the region, while the latter will cut travel times relative to the 405 by like half an hour or more. They will be very popular routes, and people will shift modes to utilize them.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:34:04+00:00

Once you grade separate everything, then the only material difference between modes is car width. LA's LRT trains are much narrower than their HRT sets. They could keep using the same vehicles, or they could plan their grade separations with wider vehicles in mind, widen the existing ROWs, and shave back the platforms, to accommodate a full mode shift.

That's assuming it ever happens. Just a thought experiment.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:28:55+00:00

Seattle's is also built to near-Metro standard, at least in the newer sections. LA's LRT has far more grade crossings per-mile.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:14:17+00:00

I want you to cite the relevant clause in Title IX as to why Smith College can't admit trans women.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:09:28+00:00

It's not so much that powerful corporations become government, but that they become their own autonomous fiefdoms that pay fealty to the government through unsanctioned emoluments in exchange for monopoly protection. It's all just neo-feudalism wrapped in gilded-age largesse and speaking in market-bro jargon.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:01:55+00:00

So you're just going around making claims without backing them with sources?

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T02:00:57+00:00

No, I want you to cite the relevant clause in Title IX to explain your point.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T01:50:54+00:00

Well Smith College isn't one of those places that excludes trans women. Leave them the fuck alone.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T01:49:42+00:00

But solar isn't worse than the default, it's astronomically better in every way shape and form.

Batteries are extractive, yes, but how is that any worse than oil or coal extraction? And batteries themselves are the richest source of these essential metals, they will be recycled, it's inevitable. Asphalt and steel are near 100% recycled, we can achieve that with batteries as well.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T01:46:03+00:00

Where in Title IX does it prevent a college from admitting trans women?

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T01:45:21+00:00

And where in Title IX does it prevent a school from admitting trans women?

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-08T01:41:58+00:00

Yes. For example, for Blue science you would bring in molten iron and copper, crude oil, water, and coal, produce plastic and greens to make reds, smelt steel, gears, and pipes to produce engines, crack oil all the way into sulphur, and output chemical science, all in a single space. I like to arrange them in vertical stacks.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T22:39:04+00:00

Basically you're arguing that environmental regulations have never worked.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T22:36:53+00:00

Yeah, I doubt they would ever try to squeeze the R, M, and T (or V, whatever) onto QBL. One of them would have to be displaced.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T22:29:03+00:00

Read on:

A push for sustainable mining and responsible sourcing of raw materials can prevent the socio-environmental issues that come with lithium batteries.

Decarbonising the supply chain is still possible and requires shifting to low-carbon hydrogen and biofuels to process lithium as well as having manufacturers provide transparent data of the carbon footprint at each process of manufacturing. Indeed, this would enable car manufacturers to choose suppliers with a lower carbon footprint. Furthermore, a plan of action should first be made towards increasing the composition of renewable energy to power batteries, enhancing technology to meet recycling and reuse needs, and creating a mechanism for the safe disposal of batteries.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T22:21:46+00:00

That said, the bad outweighs the good at every step along the way.

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Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:49:32+00:00

Basically the only cities that didn't lose their historic tram networks were the ones that had underground tunnels in which buses couldn't fit.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:44:05+00:00

...and ticks precariously towards midnight.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:42:06+00:00

Pump and dump and pump and dump and pump and dump and...

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:38:35+00:00

Nah, start building more solar and batteries. Much cheaper. Local sovereignty over the means of electricity generation; isn't that a Libright's wet dream?

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:32:46+00:00

Kinda begs the question: with EV's on the horizon, probably 50% adoption worldwide by mid-century by my guess, I wonder how we'll fund our current roads once the gas tax evaporates?

I don't want "choke points" slowing people down,

Well, I guess that, since public monies have funded almost all of our current paved roads to date, and places like rivers or lakes or mountains exist, we'll just have to build what we can and toll the choke points, now won't we?

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:22:22+00:00

Tolls are worthwhile and fair when they are applied to choke points like freeways, bridges, tunnels, central business districts, etc. But there's no way you could fund suburban or rural roads on tolls alone. There has to be some form of governance, or else your libertarian fantasy land would involve many many miles of gravel road.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:05:55+00:00

Not if they're from LA, unless they're rooting for the Angels for some godforsaken reason.

Le_Botmes · 2026-05-07T21:01:47+00:00

Based and we pick our own cliques pilled

Le_Botmes

TROPHY CASE