Today's Headlines - more at Metro

12/17/2010

Gold Line Foothill Extension, CA Mayors Push For Smart Transportation, ZipCar Heads To Hollywood, Amtrak's HSR Dreams, Tube Transportation & More

As Acela Turns 10, Amtrak Envisions High-Speed Rail Expansion
Washington Post

Big Brotheresque App Kills Your Automotive Anonymity ("A new app that lets frustrated drivers vent their anger at boneheaded motorists already has branded your bumper with a “How’s My Driving” sticker, and it could raise your insurance premium. It’s like having thousands of unmarked police cars and speed cameras on every roadway, and it could spell the end of anonymity behind the wheel...which may not sound like much until you realize all the information — along with date, time and location of the “offense” — is sent to the DMV and insurance companies.")
Wired

CA Mayors Ask Sen. Barbara Boxer For A 21st Century Transpo System
StreetsBlog DC

California Mayors Support Smart Transportation Investments As Key To Economic Recovery And Public Health
Transportation For America
List Of Coalition Partners

Coastal Commission Sides With County Over Widening 101
Ventura County Star

Cutting Soot Counteracts Warming In California
Science

Cycling Super Highways (Are they the "X Factor" to transform our cities, lifestyle and health, in addition to revolutionizing the way in which we travel?)
Planetizen

Development Of Levels Of Service For The Interstate Highway System (50p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

DOT's "Buy America" Website: Helping Keep American Companies Healthy And American Workers On The Job
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Field Of Dreams: Although No Team Is In Line For L.A., AEG Unveils Possible Stadium Designs
Los Angeles Downtown News

From East To West, A Time-Lapse Take On CicLAvia
Curbed LA

The Future Of Sustainable Urban Mobility: Change People's Behavior
The City Fix

Gold Line President & Web Site ("As the Gold Line gets closer to the construction stage, starting Arcadia, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority has launched a comprehensive new informational Gold Line web site and elected Glendora Mayor Pro Tem
Doug Tessitor as chairman of the Board of Directors.")
Arcadia's Best
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority New Web Site Now Online

A Hotter Future: Climate Change And The Global City ("In the United States, cities such as San Francisco have a smaller carbon footprint than cities such as Houston. In San Francisco, residents live in smaller housing units at higher population density. They are more likely to use public transit and due to the temperate climate, they consume less electricity. Electricity generated in California creates less greenhouse gas emissions than other cities because the power is generated using natural gas rather than coal.")
World Policy

How Shared Space Challenges Conventional Thinking About Transportation Design ("Shared streets -- the idea that pedestrians, bikes and cars can all navigate together in the same space -- is a fundamental rethinking of the underlying philosophy related to the design and operation of transportation facilities.")
Planetizen

Impacts Of VMT Reduction Strategies On Selected Areas And Groups
(78p. PDF)
Washington State Department Of Transportation (WSDOT) Research Report

L.A. Dry Run Shows Urban Nuke Attack "A Survivable Event"
(The leaders of a dozen local, state and federal agencies decided to simulate their attack "at a metro station a stone's throw from Universal Studios.")
USA Today

LA Port Export Volume Highest Ever For November
Daily Markets

[D.C.] Metro To Start Random Bag Searches
Washington Examiner

Pneumatic Fantastic: The Enduring Allure Of Tube Transportation
GOOD

Proximity To Freeways Increases Autism Risk, Study Finds: More Research Is Needed, But The Report Suggests Air Pollution Could Be A Factor
Los Angeles Times

Rahall Confirmed As Top Dem, Mica Names New GOP Members Of T&I (Transportation & Infrastructure)
StreetsBlog DC

Reliability Centered Maintenance: A Case Study Of Railway Transit Maintenance To Achieve Optimal Performance (118p. PDF)
Mineta Transportation Institute

Report And Poll Shows There Are Two Stories To The Los Angeles Commute
("It is a bit appalling 22% report encountering a breakdown in the past month and that 35% of bus riders report being passed up during the same period.")
StreetsBlog LA

Roll Out The Red Carpet: ZipCar Goes To Hollywood
PR Newswire

Some Cities Bailing On Red-light Traffic Cameras
San Diego Union-Tribune

Subway Controversy Offers Beverly Hills A Lesson In Planning
("The principles that planners learn everywhere from Harvard and MIT to UCLA and Cal Poly somehow go out the window when they are pit against a public figure like Korbatov -- someone at the heart of this country's
education crisis – and the public at large. So passion, not planning, still rules the day.")
California Planning & Development Report