Los Angeles LED street lights

In 2013 Los Angeles completed the world's largest LED (light emitting diode) street light replacement project, replacing more than 140,000 streetlight fixtures across the city. According to L.A.'s Bureau of Street Lighting, the switch has resulted in a 63.1 percent reduction in energy use and carbon emissions have been reduced by 47,583 metric tons a year.

Riding L.A. Metro

Photos and videos of a recent trip to Los Angeles where I hopped on the city's excellent public transit system that is improving and expanding every day.

Green Traveler: Riding L.A.'s New Expo Line

Car-crazy Los Angeles is rapidly reinventing itself into a city with a world-class public transportation system. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the second-largest bus fleet in the United States behind only New York City and the second-busiest light rail system behind only Boston.

While the Westside was getting left behind in the rush to build new rail lines, mass transit is steadily pushing into L.A.'s wealthiest neighborhoods as the dream of riding the rails to the edge of the Pacific Ocean becomes a reality.

A Bright Idea: LED Street Lights

L.A.'s 6th Street Bridge with LED street lights. Photo credit: Clean Tech Los Angeles

Cities across the United States are saving energy and costs by installing light-emitting diode (LED) street lights. LEDs not only consume less power for the same amount of luminance compared to traditional lighting, but they also last longer.

There are many LED street lighting pilot projects taking place, including in my former home of Los Angeles, California. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to undertake the largest green street lighting program in history. According to the Bureau of Street Lighting website, as of February 9 the city had replaced 62,064 traditional light fixtures with LED lights, going from 10,740 kilowatts down to 4,205 kilowatts for 60.8 percent energy savings, or 26,664 megawatt hours. The program has also reduced carbon emissions by 15,766 metric tons and saved $2,357,567 in energy costs.  The city expects annually to save $10 million, save energy by 40% and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40,500 tons.

Arlington, Virginia is where I currently reside and this forward-looking county across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. is installing LED street lights as well. Arlington's project is funded by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program and local capital funds. In 2010 the county spent $1.5 million to replace 1,800 existing streetlights with LED fixtures. Arlington plans to replace all its street lights with LED technology, a move that will save the county $1 million per year.

LED street lights are a smart and efficient way for cities to save money, save energy and save the environment. Expect to see many LED street lights in cities across America and the world.

Green Traveler: Los Angeles, California

This summer I traveled to Southern California, Europe and Israel with an eye on all things green. This profile of my green observations in the City of Angels is the first in a series of blog posts from the cities I've visited.

At the end of this entry I've provided links to Southern California stories I've written on my newest website, Josh's Travel Blog, plus more photos and videos from my journey.

Perhaps in no other city in the world is the disconnect between reality and fantasy and the present and future so pronounced than in Los Angeles, California. Partly it is due to the Hollywood dream factory creating a skewed image of the city. It also has to do with the lofty goals the city has put forth to make the City of Angels a heaven of sorts for mass transit, biking and walking.

But the reality right now, right in this very moment is of a city that doesn't work. A city in gridlock. A city confused about its identity. A city whose civic leaders want to change its identity to a green utopia but whose citizens are skeptical of these plans while they sit for hours in traffic on the 405 freeway or crowd onto a midnight bus along Wilshire Boulevard.

I am an optimist and believe that L.A. will change for the better eventually. Why? Because all it has to do is look at its past. At one time, before the freeways destroyed neighborhoods and polluted the air, Los Angeles had the best public transportation system in the world. Yes, you heard that right. The best public transportation system in the world.

Sometimes hope and faith in a better future requires us to dig into the past.

But for now, the picture below is the reality for Angelenos who choose to drive or have no choice but to drive. A typical day on the 405 freeway heading south through the Sepulveda Pass. L.A. Metro is working on a massive road widening and improvement project, including adding a 10-mile high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. But will it help relieve congestion or just put more cars on the road? And would investing that money in a subway or light rail line through the Sepulveda Pass make more sense?

Some engineers and academics believe adding ride sharing lanes is an outdated solution to traffic problems. Click here for a good story on this topic in The Daily Breeze newspaper.

And some Angelenos don't have a car and take the bus instead. In a decade there could be a subway line speeding passengers underneath Wilshire Boulevard through Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood. But this is the reality right now. This is a typical crowded, bumpy bus ride along Wilshire Boulevard.

OK. So you want to get around West Los Angeles but don't want to sit in traffic for an hour, spewing carbon emissions into the atmosphere from your idling vehicle. And riding in a sardine can and getting bounced around like a rag doll on the bus is not appealing to you. 

How about walking in L.A.? Yeah sure, there is that song "Nobody Walks in L.A." from '80s band Missing Persons. But things have changed since the 1980s right? I mean in every other city in the world it is completely normal to walk on the sidewalk. Millions of people do it every day. 

So walking is not an easy option either in L.A. And no you are not tripping on acid. That is sadly the condition of many of the sidewalks in L.A. There are many symbols of how we have neglected basic infrastructure in America -- from broken escalators in the Washington Metro system to the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. But the picture above says it all for me. We can't even keep the sidewalks smooth in wealthy West Los Angeles.

So what is a poor Angeleno to do besides never leave his or her apartment? Driving sucks. Riding the bus sucks. Walking sucks.

But there are two good old-fashioned alternatives that work splendidly in every European city I visited this summer. The first is the bicycle and the second is the heavy rail subway and light rail tram on a dedicated line. 

Biking L.A.'s big boulevards and quiet residential streets is a surprisingly easy and efficient way to get around town. And the city recently approved a massive bike plan that will add a 1,680-mile bikeway system and lots of bike friendly policies. L.A. has been dominated by the automobile for a long time but the city is making a concerted effort to become a bike friendly city.

Here is a new bike friendly policy I noticed while riding the Purple Line subway. Bikers are now allowed to bring their bikes on trains at all hours, including rush hour. This is a more progressive policy than many other transit systems, including Washington Metro, which bans bikes on trains from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For the parts of L.A. that are served by heavy or light rail (most places except the Westside and San Fernando Valley) it is easy to get around during hours of operation. I recently rode the Blue Line light rail train from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, and while it passes through South L.A. and the working class minority neighborhoods of Compton and Watts, during the daytime it is a pleasure to ride.

And then I transfered to the Purple Line heavy rail subway, which currently ends in Koreatown but will eventually be extended to the VA Hospital west of the 405 freeway. No big crowds. No traffic. No potholes. Just an enjoyable air-conditioned ride underneath the streets of L.A.

Sometimes fantasy meets reality and the future meets the present, or at least we get a glimpse of the future. Car city. Smog city. L.A. is ripe for change. L.A. must change. L.A. will change and it will be interesting to see the transformation into a greener, more sustainable city.

Josh's Travel Blog Southern California Story Links:

Sun Diego

Riding the Rails: Solana Beach to Anaheim

Riding the Rails: Long Beach to Los Angeles

L.A. Public Transit: Downtown to Santa Monica

L.A. Scene

And here are photo slideshows and videos of sustainable transportation options in Southern California, including light rail, subway and bus in Los Angeles; the Solana Beach Amtrak and Coaster train station in North San Diego County; and video of an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train traveling through North San Diego County and South Orange County.