Wheeler & Gray’s offices were for a time located next door to the Metro Gold Line Sierra Madre Villa station in Pasadena. We had occasion to attend meetings in MTA’s office tower across the rail yard platforms. We would walk from our office to the station, board a train and thirty-six minutes later we would be disembarking at Union Station and heading up to our meeting. During the ride we would be reading and answering e-mails, checking PDFs of the latest drawing update or just taking the time to relax, instead of weaving through traffic and looking for a parking space. We can’t do that now. We’re not far from the same station, but far enough so that the walks between our offices and the station would consume too much of the day, not to mention create a physical hardship for some.
Such is the situation for almost all of us. The Metro is convenient and useful for few of us. From home, you must drive and park, or live close enough so that it’s a short walk to the station. On the other end you must work close enough to a station so that it’s a short walk, or be fortunate enough to have access to a shuttle that can drive you to your job.
The problem is not bad planning. The problem is real estate.