1924: California Governor Friend Richardson announces the appointment of the special advisory committee which will undertake a comprehensive study of the state highway system for the purpose of making recommendations to the 1925 session of the legislature.” More information can be found in the February, 1924 issue of California Highways magazine.
The policy specifies the indisputable necessity for a freeway system, that routes should be located as to interfere as little as possible with neighborhood character, that design of freeways should normally include divided roadways, that terminal facilities should be planned and executed as part of freeway projects, as well as land acquisition, financing and design elements.
The report notes that a robust freeway system could be avoided only at a terrible cost, and outlines the benefits of those freeways completed or underway, planned, and proposed.
1959: A schedule and map are produced showing bus lines going to the UCLA campus.
The need for such a timetable was identified through talks between the LAMTA, UCLA, and the Westwood Village Chamber of Commerce, which was worried about relieving the serious parking problem on campus.
At the time, it is believed to be the first ever “Bruin” timetable showing all transit lines serving UCLA.
The launch is accompanied by a press, television, and radio campaign, along with print distribution to supermarkets, banks, Chambers of Commerce, travel agencies and “occasionally to homes.”
The merchandising program also recommends to UCLA authorities that new editions of student guidebooks include a public transportation section.
More information can be found in the February, 1959 issue of The Emblem, the Metropolitan Transit Authority employee news magazine.
1961: Los Angeles engineering consulting firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall submits a progress report for the first 90 days of its study of rapid transit to LAMTA.
The consultants evaluated 45 different types of transit systems and concepts, identifying three systems showing the most promise for Los Angeles and recommending them for further detailed analysis.
They include a conventional two-rail system, a suspended system operating on a symmetric split rail, and a supported overriding or “saddlebag” system. They note that “the cost of underground construction causes us to lean at this point toward overhead construction wherever possible.”
1994: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approves funding in the amount of $315 million for 85 miles of high-occupancy vehicle lanes to be constructed on nine freeways in Los Angeles County.
More information can be found in the June-July, 1994 issue of Metro Moves employee news magazine.
