LA Union Station Seating now only open to Amtrak/Metrolink passengers

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henryj said:
Does New York allow the homeless to hang out in Grand Central or Penn Station? I don't recall that they do. I didn't see a bunch of homeless hanging around the Boston terminal either.
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It used to be a severe problem in NYC, a few decades ago....ever since some 'bleedin' heart judge' ruled that they were 'public buildings', and police could not throw them out.

It got so bad at one point, that the floor was litterally covered with sleeping bodies. Grand Central reacted by closing down the building from around 1 to 5 AM, when there were no trains running. Penn Station reacted by having a 'ticketed passenger' waiting area. The Port Authority Bus Terminal brought in homeless advocates that would find them shelters, and if they refused to go, they were forced out of the building.
 
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Why in the world just say an Amtrak Ticket for THAT DAY. If a homeless person wants to buy a metrolink ticket so they have some place to sit for the day let them.

I've always been annoyed with LA Union for the cattle calls they try to form when it's completely un-necessary. Now I have a new reason to be annoyed... ha.
 
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They can keep the 2 hour rule with the exeption that anyone connecting trains on the same day (4 AM or 6 PM arrival no matter what time the departure is).

I wonder if homeless use the lobby of the Police Headquarters. It's a public building, too.
 
Union Station is supposedly closed between 1 am and 5 am. Just enforcing that should be acceptable. Instead, we've created more make work for the security guards to do.
 
So if I want to take an earlier SL from San Diego and stay at the LAUS watching people until the SWC leaves, it has to be within the 3 hour frame? OK, I know it sounds strange, but I love getting to a large station early and watch people. It is cool who and what you see.
 
From web postings and pictures it looks like:

-The north end of the waiting room is for ticketed Metrolink passengers who will be able to wait up to two hours to catch a train or make a connection.

-The south end of the waiting room is for ticketed Amtrak passengers will be able to wait up to three hours to catch a train -OR- their entire layover time if making a connection.

I would assume the bench seating on the patios will remain open to anyone.

But this seems like an unnecessarily complex solution to solve the problem of homeless people from camping out.

I would rather see Metro do as calwatch mentioned and simply enforce the station closure (to non-passengers) from 1 AM to 4 AM. Signs at the station already prohibit anyone without a legitimate transportation purpose at Union Station from loitering. I don't know why Metro can't just tell security guards to kick out anyone who looks homeless and leave everyone else alone (except to give directions... especially to the Metropolitan Lounge!)
 
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rickycourtney said:
From web postings and pictures it looks like:

-The north end of the waiting room is for ticketed Metrolink passengers who will be able to wait up to two hours to catch a train or make a connection.

-The south end of the waiting room is for ticketed Amtrak passengers will be able to wait up to three hours to catch a train -OR- their entire layover time if making a connection.
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So I guess if one of those Metrolink passengers arrives 2 hours and 1 minute early and "crosses that (invisible) line", they will be thrown out? :huh:
 
the_traveler said:
rickycourtney said:
From web postings and pictures it looks like:

-The north end of the waiting room is for ticketed Metrolink passengers who will be able to wait up to two hours to catch a train or make a connection.

-The south end of the waiting room is for ticketed Amtrak passengers will be able to wait up to three hours to catch a train -OR- their entire layover time if making a connection.
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So I guess if one of those Metrolink passengers arrives 2 hours and 1 minute early and "crosses that (invisible) line", they will be thrown out? :huh:
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While we may joke about this, the reason I bring up the time issue is that security guards and Amtrak employees already make up rules that don't exist. Why would we expect someone to use their discretion, particularly when they get in trouble when they do and something bad happens? "You're too early" for your train? And what about those Metrolink weekend passes? Does a $10 weekend pass let me sit down from 6 am to 11:30 pm on Saturday?

"Lawful transportation purpose" was written in legalese that way. So someone is sitting down; if they are hanging around there for more than an hour or two, ask them where they are going.

Close the main hall down completely after 1 am, or even earlier if necessary - use those portable metal gates and put them between the main hall and the lobby where the display screen is. (Yes, that means Amtrak bus riders will have to wait around the bus departure area, but they do so anyway.) If someone is clearly soliciting, from person to person, which you can observe fairly easily, then come up to the person and ask them to sit down or leave, and if not then evict them from the premises. This really isn't that hard.
 
One innovative way to combat "unwanteds" from the station during the night hours? Play the Classics on the PA system! A little Brahms and Mozart to shoo people away. It works in a lot of other stations and places with the homeless and vagrant populations. Combine that with the nightly closing, and you will have a pretty effective system.
 
jimhudson said:
Are Bolt Bus and Mega Bus Paying Metro for Using the Station Facilities or Just Picking Up on the Street ???
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Both services have stops on the Union Station property.

Megabus picks up from an assigned bay inside the transit plaza on the eastern side of Union Station.

BoltBus picks up at the curb just north of the main entrance to Union Station on the western side, near the cab stand.

I would assume since they both use the stations facilities... they are paying Metro something. (But I couldn't find a specific mention of any dollar amounts on Metro's website.)
 
I agree that setting out time limits as LAUS has done can be problematic for reasons such as have been stated (discretion abuse, etc.). Moreover, I suspect that (with the discussion in this thread as a ready example) having two separate rules on waiting times is going to confound passengers (to say nothing of a Metrolink-Amtrak or Amtrak-Metrolink connection).
 
Anderson said:
I agree that setting out time limits as LAUS has done can be problematic for reasons such as have been stated (discretion abuse, etc.). Moreover, I suspect that (with the discussion in this thread as a ready example) having two separate rules on waiting times is going to confound passengers (to say nothing of a Metrolink-Amtrak or Amtrak-Metrolink connection).
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Obviously the transportation managers who have come up with this plan never heard of Rube Goldberg!
 
tp49 said:
However, there is also the claim that the station is now closed between 1 and 4 AM for cleaning.
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The Amtrak Website still says the Station is open 24 hrs a day. Are they just the last to know? Or maybe they mean that from 1:00 to 4:00 AM, people will be moved around into different seating areas to accomodate the cleaning of the Station. If so, that is old news, been that way a long time already.
 
This L.A. Times story says the MTA will be "easing up" on the seating policy at LAUS. Why it will take until February to partially reopen seating remains unexplained...

Union Station eases policy on homeless people sitting in terminal -- http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-union-station-homeless-policy-20140116,0,7000895.story#ixzz2qhteY2sZ

"The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority conducted weeks of intensive outreach to link the squatters to shelter and medical and mental health aid but encountered resistance, [Ken Pratt, director of Union Station property management, said].

"'We are getting some traction, but it's going to be a long road,' he told the construction committee.

"The homeless agency, in a written report, said teams encountered 1,071 homeless people at the station over a three-month period ending Jan. 13, placing 51 in shelters, 15 in substance abuse programs and three in motels."
 
Arriving next month on the SL. Is there a good place to have breakfast for an hour and a half before the CS leaves at 10:10AM?

I do have a canvas satchel for luggage that I can sit on if the group W bench is gone.

Will someone at baggage hold my bag until I get back from breakfast if I show my AGR roomette ticket on the CS?

I can't check it since my home station (CMO) has no baggage service.
 
tomfuller said:
Arriving next month on the SL. Is there a good place to have breakfast for an hour and a half before the CS leaves at 10:10AM?

I do have a canvas satchel for luggage that I can sit on if the group W bench is gone.

Will someone at baggage hold my bag until I get back from breakfast if I show my AGR roomette ticket on the CS?

I can't check it since my home station (CMO) has no baggage service.
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As a sleeping car passenger, you're entitled to use the Metropolitan Lounge on the second floor. They should have some breakfast pastries available, along with coffee and juice.

If you want a more substantial breakfast than that, you can leave your carry-ons in the Metropolitan Lounge free. There's a Starbucks and a Subway within the station -- but if you don't mind walking a couple blocks north of the station, Philippe's has a fairly extensive breakfast menu.
 
Thanks trainman74 for the info on Phillippe's. Good to know that they open at 6AM and that I can leave the bag in the Metro Lounge.

Do they board sleeper passengers before the hoardes in coach?

On the way to Tucson I'll be changing from a Surfliner to coach on the SL. I'll probably check out Philippe's in the 2+ hours layover.
 
tomfuller said:
Thanks trainman74 for the info on Phillippe's. Good to know that they open at 6AM and that I can leave the bag in the Metro Lounge.

Do they board sleeper passengers before the hoardes in coach?

On the way to Tucson I'll be changing from a Surfliner to coach on the SL. I'll probably check out Philippe's in the 2+ hours layover.
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You can either ride in a Cart with a RedCap from the Lounge to Trainside or take the Elevator down and Walk through the Tunnel to your Platform if you don't need or want a Red Cap! (They are Limited in Number and Due to Rail Traffic the going is Slow on the Carts from the Lounge!) Since you are in a Sleeping Car there is No Rush, I'd say just Walk to the CS to Board from the Lounge! When you come in on a Surfliner since youre going in Coach on the Sunset Ltd. I'd say go with a RedCap from Downstairs , youll beat the Mobs that way!
 
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So I'm totally confused. I'm going from PRO to LAX via the Zephyr and San Joaquin, and bus and arriving at Union Station at 12:30 AM (sleeper from PRO to SAC). I'm then scheduled to take the SWC (sleeper) back to CHI and then the CDL home. I was just planning on hanging out at the station all-day since it's supposedly open 24 hours (according to Amtrak.com). So am I going to be able to do that? I'd be there till 6:15 pm (almost 18 hours). I'm assuming that since I'm coming in on first class tickets, and leaving on a sleeper that I'd be entitled to the lounge, but what about before then?

Any good, reasonably inexpensive hotels near the station, just in case?
 
Linda T said:
So I'm totally confused. I'm going from PRO to LAX via the Zephyr and San Joaquin, and bus and arriving at Union Station at 12:30 AM (sleeper from PRO to SAC). I'm then scheduled to take the SWC (sleeper) back to CHI and then the CDL home. I was just planning on hanging out at the station all-day since it's supposedly open 24 hours (according to Amtrak.com). So am I going to be able to do that? I'd be there till 6:15 pm (almost 18 hours). I'm assuming that since I'm coming in on first class tickets, and leaving on a sleeper that I'd be entitled to the lounge, but what about before then?

Any good, reasonably inexpensive hotels near the station, just in case?
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You will be able to Hangout in the Designated Amtrak Waiting Area Upon Arrival (with your Ticket) until the New Metro Lounge Opens @ 6:00AM ( it's Open until the Sunset Ltd. Departs at 10:00PM 3 Days a Week!) You should be able to Leave your Luggage in the Lounge and eat @ Philipe (or other Good Joints outside Union Station)and Sight see while waiting on the SWC which Leaves @ 6:15PM!

If you want to Google up the Metro Plaza Hotel, its under $100 a Night, is Clean and a Block from Union Station! Lots of us stay there, no need to go farther away if you decide to book a Room!
 
the_traveler said:
The station itself is open 24 hours, but the Metropolitan Lounge is not open all night.
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Thanks everyone! My trip isn't till summer, but I am trying to make sure I've got all my i's dotted and t's crossed. It'll be my 2011 trip only the opposite way, this time Zephyr west and Chief east. I love the Zephyr, and am really looking forward to taking it again.
 
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