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LA Metro has some of the slowest escalators

120 points · 97 comments · big_toast

  1. arionhardison · · focus · HN ↗
    I lived in DTLA for several years and regularly used Little Tokyo/Arts District station. It was not uncommon during peak hours to see people - myself included sliding down the railing.

    I am 43 years old now and was much younger then (27-35) but I remember these days fondly. Now I live in NYC where public transit it so much better that this and many other issues that plague LA (especially the redline) do not exist but I do miss those days and look back on them fondly.

    I still have at least 1 scar I can attribute to trying this whilst wearing the wrong pants (in terms of fabric).

    1. raegis · · focus · HN ↗
      > I lived in DTLA for several years and regularly used Little Tokyo/Arts District station. It was not uncommon during peak hours to see people - myself included sliding down the railing.

      The Little Tokyo stop had no stairs or escalators before 2023, since it was at grade then. Do you mean a different stop?

      Also, the busiest stations with huge escalator length, like Union Station or Wilshire/Vermont, have so much open space that escalators are rarely a bottleneck in my experience. 7th St/Metro station is crazy crowded, but the escalators are short and people usually give you room to run down the escalator.

      The only station I worry about for future congestion is the Grand Ave station, which has no escalators, but is so deep that you have to take an elevator since walking stairs is not reasonable except for emergencies.

      1. arionhardison · · focus · HN ↗
        TY, you are correct; it was Civic Center&#x2F;Grand Park: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Civic_Center&#x2F;Grand_Park_station#&#x2F;media&#x2F;File:Los_Angeles_Metro,_Civic_Center,_Upper_Floor_View.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Civic_Center&#x2F;Grand_Park_statio...

        Thank you, I got to do down memory lane checking this.

        1. arionhardison · · focus · HN ↗
          It was not just this one, but the one before it from the street into the station that is IIRC at even more of an incline given that its on that hill.
          1. arionhardison · · focus · HN ↗
            Also, could have been that most people wanted to avoid pershing square.
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