Transportation Headlines for Friday July 17, 2009

$155,000 sign welcomes motorists to O.C. - Orange County Transportation Authority unveils new sign.
OC Register

BART's largest union rejects contract proposal
San Francisco Chronicle

Bicycle Coalition Looking into a Vulnerable User Law for CA
LAist

Bike sharing that creates energy – and pays you to ride?
CS Monitor

Budget impasse threatens public works projects, Lockyer warns
Sacramento Bee

Budget mess makes California vulnerable to crippling credit downgrade, official warns
Los Angeles Time

Bus stops in need of digital switch & info
MetroRiderLA

California bill takes 710 extension underground
Land Line

California lawmakers target city, county funds to close budget gap
Sacramento Bee

Cancel That! Accelerated Rail Projects just a Hypothetical
LAist

Coalition for Clean Air Takes a Look at Your Commute
LA Streetsblog

Downtown L.A. Streetcar Public Open House
LAStreetcar.org

Extensive bus, light-rail cuts coming to VTA
Mercury News

Feds post proposed rules on positive train controls
The Transit Wire

How to increase your state’s chances of getting federal HSR money (Illinois knows)
Trains for America

Julius Shulman dies at 98; celebrated photographer of Modernist architecture
Los Angeles Times

Metro: Fast-tracked Rail Lines Chosen at Random
LA Curbed

MTA finds support still strong for Measure R in survey - Although the voters asked favored the sales-tax measure that took effect July 1, they say that the transportation authority's projects are moving too slowly
Los Angeles Times

Poll shows support still strong for Measure R sales tax hike
Los Angeles Times

Potholes would thrive under new budget plan
Capitol Weekly

Riders Can Use Google to Ride Metro
Eastside Sun

SMART to Use Heavier Rail Cars
SF Streetsblog

States clamor for high-speed rail stimulus funds as applications pour into DC
Transportation for America

Streetsblog Interview: The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
LA Streetsblog

Transit Man
Transitman.org

TriMet's open source heaven: The 5 best transit-rider apps
Oregonian

Transportation Headlines for Thursday July 16, 2009

Chicago balances budget without cuts, increases
Metro Magazine

DC Metro signaling system continues to fail
USA Today

Federal bill extension keeps Inland road plans on course
Press Enterprise

Metro Clarifies Position on Access to Express Lanes
LA StreetsBlog

New Train Lines to be Fast-Tracked Tomorrow?
CurbedLA

NTSB issues safety recommendation to D.C. Metro
Metro Magazine

Private Section Interest in High Speed Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog

Riverside Co. transit projects appear on track
Press Enterprise

Streetsblog Interview: Introducing Art Leahy
LA Streetsblog

Streetsblog Interview: The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
LA Streetsblog

Stimulus: DOT momentum creating jobs, rebuilding infrastructure
USDOT Fastlane

Trolley is cool and 'so cute'
Press Enterprise

U.S. Chamber Wants Congress to Expedite Transportation Bill
Journal of Commerce

U.S. Senate Committee OKs $20 billion for highway fund
Reuters

White House Staying Quiet For Now on Transit’s Role in Climate Bill
LA StreetsBlog

Wilshire/Normandie Purple Line Getting Gates
CurbedLA

Yelphikers Guide to ... Metro Orange Line
Yelp

Transportation Headlines for Wednesday July 15, 2009

Amtrak mooning draws crowd of 1,000
UPI

BART a National Leader in Real-Time Data Transparency and Development
SF Streetsblog

Big chunk of bus service to be cut in March - By March 2010, 22 percent of bus service will be cut to deal with budget woes
OC Register

Design Flexibility Considerations for Built Urban Environments
Transportation Research Board

Expo Line Maintenance Yard, Take 2
Curbed LA

First Subway Fare Gates Coming this Week
LAist

International Scan Summary Report on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility
Transportation Research Board

Long Beach Port Traffic Decline Continues
Los Angeles Business Journal

LRT News: July 2009
Transportation Research Board

Measure R Acceleration Plans Aren’t a Political Slam Dunk
LA Streetsblog

Metrolink station gets new parking garage
Press Enterprise

OC transit officials push back date for more cuts
89.3 KPCC

Proposing a new plan for Expo maintenance yard
Santa Monica Daily Press

Santa Monica looking at new plan for Expo Line maintenance yard
Los Angeles Times

Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter - June 2009
Transportation Research Board

USDOT Announces HSR Pre Applications
California High Speed Rail Blog

Voinovich Joins House Dems in Saying No to Transpo Funding Stopgap
DC Streetsblog

Transportation Headlines for Tuesday July 14, 2009

City of Anaheim Selects HOK Los Angeles and Parsons Brinckerhoff to Design and Create the Iconic Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center
Earthtimes

CityWatchLA - Metro’s Identity Crisis
SoapBoxLA

Councilman urges bonds for green projects including L.A. River and CleanTech zone
Los Angeles Times

Coverage of Request for Congressional Investigation of MTA
Citizen’s Campaign to Fix Expo

Editorial: A little relief on roadways - Gas prices, economy cited
Ventura County Star

Fare Gates for Metro Trains Are Coming, But Slowly
LA Streetsblog

FHWA Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter – June 2009
Transport Gooru

How Do We Modernize Transportation For An Unknown Future?
National Journal

Latest in de-car-ing: Bikes on trains, women on the move
Green LA Girl

New Big Blue Bus Stops
Mikhail Silin’s Blog

Obama Paints a New Vision for Nation's Urban Policy
Washington Post

Obama Talks Urban Policy as LaHood Seeks More Urban Transpo Money
StreetsBlog

Purple Line in puberty
MetroRiderLA

Smart Growth Policies Book
Smart Growth Online

This Week’s Measure R Workshop; Accelerated Rail Projects; and Villaraigosa Wants Foothill Extension in 2013
I Will Ride

Three Rail Projects Could Have Timelines Moved Up, Mayor & Advocates Seeking More
LAist

Transit Outsourcing Booms — But Are There Safety Trade-offs?
LA Streetsblog

Transportation Bill Inches Forward
National League of Cities

Trutanich criticizes city planners for approving billboard plan
Los Angeles Times

Transportation Headlines for Monday July 13, 2009

Appiphilia: Some Google Maps smartphone apps get L.A. transit info
Los Angeles Times

Call to shift car plants to bullet trains
Pedestrian View of Los Angeles

City Considering a Bicycle Rental Facility for Downtown
LAist

County raises bus fares to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties - One-way fare will increase by 50 cents in fall, and by 50 cents again next year
Ventura County Star

CurbedWire: Subway Soil Testing on Wilshire, Shy Still Painting
LA Curbed

Dear Eastsider: What’s to keep my car from plunging into the Arroyo Seco?
The Eastsider

DHS Allocates Grants Based on Risk, but Its Risk Methodology, Management Controls, and Grant Oversight Can Be Strengthened
GAO

Duarte MTA open house, tours of light rail yards
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Downtown Streetcar Project Opens Website, Seeks Feedback
LA Streetsblog

Google this: SEPTA getting more searches since Google Transit go-live
Examiner

Green Line to LAX Takes Another Step
LAist

It’s official: Los Angeles Metro is on Google Transit
The Transit Wire

LA Metro, Riverside Transit Agency, SEPTA and many more join Google Transit
Trillium

Metro Proposes Canning Rush-Hour Bike-on-Rail Ban, Limiting Bikes Per Railcar
LAist

New LA Marathon Route Could End in Santa Monica
LAist

Highway Toll Lane Construction Bill Stalled in State Senate Committee
SF StreetsBlog

Metro rep tells WANA about possible new LB light-rail line
Signal Tribune

Poll touts 710 tunnel - Survey of 200 Glendale residents shows more than 50% supporting the freeway connector
Glendale News Press

Ports of LA and Long Beach can cruise into prosperity
Daily Breeze

Reduce the Costs of Traffic Congestion by using Metro
Travelin’ Local

Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments offers scholarship opportunity for students
Whittier Daily News

Streetcar Project Unveils New Website, Asks for Input on Route
Blogdowntown

TEMECULA: New express bus links Temecula, Escondido
The Californian

Texas Transportation Institute’s New Congestion Report Drives Home the Value of Public Transportation to Help Alleviate Congestion
American Public Transportation Association

The Fourth Urbanism
Planetizen

Traffic congestion eases in Riverside, San Diego counties
Valley News

White House to Push Forward on National Urban Policy Agenda
Washington Post

Who's Next on Google Transit? A Sampling
LAist

Transportation Headlines for Friday July 10, 2009

405 and 101 Interchange to Be Expanded
NBC News

Burbank and Van Nuys airports must work together for night curfews
Daily News

Buses May Aid Climate Battle in Poor Cities
New York Time

California gets $237M in federal transit improvement funds
89.3 KPCC

Caltrans to Bankroll Million Dollar SCAG “Congestion Study”
Sierra Madre Weekly

Ending Metro’s Rush Hour Ban on Bikes Comes at a Steep Cost
LA StreetsBlog

Expo Line Transit Service Interface Proposal — Part 3: Metro
MetroRiderLA

Freeway Air Pollution Is So Much Worse Than You Thought
The Infrastructurist

Google Makes it Easier to Get Around LA
NBC News

Google Transit Officially Launches with Metro, Big Blue Bus Coming Soon
LAist

Metro Opening It’s Own Blog, Looking for Blogger
LA StreetsBlog

More Green Line to LAX Talk
CurbedLA

MTA will link LA-area transit info to Google Maps
Daily Breeze

Riders criticize plan for higher bus fare
Ventura County Star

RTD scraps real-time arrival updates
The Transit Wire

Soil Samples Studied for Subway to the Sea
Beverly Press (page 1 and 21)

Take a ride with LA Metro in Google Transit
Geo2web

Tolling, Part II
Transport Politic

Top 20 Metro Areas Get 28% of Road Stimulus, 61% of Transit Stimulus
Streetsblog

Transportation Headlines for Thursday July 9, 2009

100% Natural Gas Buses for Seoul By 2010
NGV Global News

Americans Waste 175 Million Years In Traffic Jams (But That’s Good News!)
The Infrastrurist

California bill would ban trucks from Angeles Crest Highway
Land Line

Caltrans reopens 10-mile section of Angeles Crest
La Cañada Valley Sun

Caltrans to resurface I-215 between Perris and Moreno Valley between 9 p.m and 5 a.m. every night this week
Valley News

Cities Lose Out on Road Funds From Federal Stimulus
New York Times

Daily Dig - ‘Hybrid Double Decker Bus’ Edition
The Infrastrurist

How Much LA Traffic Costs You
Curbed LA

Governor's borrowing plan risks stimulus funds
San Francisco Chronicle

Green Line To LAX At Last? F'reals Now?
Militant Angeleno

LACMTA installs Najarian as chairman, nears light-rail extension opening
Progressive Railroading

LA council orders LAX to study Green Line extension
Daily Breeze

Metro unveils new mascot (and video display news)
MetroRiderLA

Motorists get break in traffic congestion
USA Today

Natural Gas Cars Finally Getting Federal Attention, T. Boone Stoked
Earth2Tech

New bus route links Beaumont, Calimesa
Press Enterprise

Ports benefit from EPA Recovery Act grants
Daily Breeze

Report on Montebello's transit operations on Saturday
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Roads in Los Angeles, Orange counties most congested in the United States - However, drivers faced slightly less delay because of rising gas prices, according to an annual report for 2007 by the Texas Transportation Institute
Los Angeles Times

Santa Monica Curbs Cabs
Santa Monica Lookout News

Study: Traffic congestion eases in L.A.
Daily News

Surprise: Los Angeles does not rank as safest in driving report
Los Angeles Times

Third Unanimous Vote for Cedillo's 710 Bill, South Pasadena Reaffirms Support
OBSNews

TTI: Traffic costs $87B in fuel, lost productivity
Metro Magazine

Transit agency extends ban on big rigs on SR-2
Pasadena Star News

Transportation Apps: Are We There Yet?
Read, Write, Web

USA is way behind on high speed rail, and it’s not all bad
Trains for America

U.S. EPA Awards More Than $25 million in Recovery Act Funding to California Communities to Reduce Diesel Emissions and Create Jobs
EPA