Today's Headlines - more at Metro

2/18/2011

Transportation Bill, Westside Subway Stops, Home Buyers & Transit, Why Low Gas Prices Signal Trouble, Road Debris & More

"Atlas Shrugged" Pushing High-Speed Rail? ("Contemporary high-speed rail seems to have gotten the nod as a plan worthy of pursuit from the makers of the long-awaited film version of "Atlas Shrugged," Ayn Rand's controversial Objectivist novel in which the railroad industry plays a key role.")
CNET

Bicycling In The Name Of Love -- And Advocacy
NBC Los Angeles

California: Florida's HSR Loss Could Be Our Gain
Transportation Nation

Debate Erupts As Metro Begins Study Of Third Option For Beverly Hills / Century City Subway Stop
StreetsBlog LA

Encourage Jobs Near Transit, Raise Cost Of Driving To Put State On Road To Change
Public Policy Institute Of California
Driving Change: Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled In California (32p. PDF)
Public Policy Institute Of California
Summary (2p. PDF)

Home Buyers Are Moving Closer To Transit
American Public Media Marketplace

House GOP To Senate: Pass Our Budget Or Shut Down The Government
StreetsBlog DC

L.A. Bicycle Kitchen Cultivates "Do It Yourself" Transportation
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

LA Officials Strongly Oppose Bill Relinquishing Control Of Ontario Airport
Daily Breeze

Let's Talk About The I-710 Gap, Says Metro
EGP News

Metro Tweets About Transportation
NBC Los Angeles

New Report: America's Poor Infrastructure Is Holding Back Economic Growth
Infrastructurist
Growth And Renewal In The United States: Retooling America's Economic Engine (78p. PDF)
McKinsey Global Institute
Executive Summary (21p. PDF)

Poll: Voters From All Walks Support Transportation Improvements Reform
StreetsBlog DC
Rockefeller Foundation Infrastructure Survey Reveals Bipartisan Support For Transportation And Infrastructure Investments And Reform
Rockefeller Foundation Press Release
Survey Overview (4p. PDF)
Top Line Results (10p. PDF)
Complete Survey Results (246p. PDF)

Proposed Bus Routes Will Add Stops Along I-215 In Murrieta: The Changes Are To Make Mass Transit More Available To Riders In The Region
Murrieta Patch

Road Debris Means A Commute Paved With Peril
Los Angeles Times

Rush Hour Read: Hoping For Higher Gas Prices
Infrastructurist
Why You Don't Want Gas To Get Cheaper
Grist

Third Option For Century City Subway Stop: Metro Is Now Considering Santa Monica Blvd. And Century Park East
Westwood-Century City Patch

ULI Awards For Excellence Submissions Due February 18, 2011 (application process, eligibility requirements, do's and don'ts, downloadable application)
Urban Land Institute

U.S. Chamber, AFL-CIO Call For Long-Term Surface Transportation Bill, Gas Tax Hike
New York Times

What Rivers Teach About Transit
Human Transit

Who Got High Speed Rail Money
CNN

Why Obama Can't Save Infrastructure: Washington Talks A Good Game About Transportation Infrastructure, But Refuses To Agree On How To Fund It. So Let's Stop Waiting For Washington
Fortune

2/17/2011

710 Meetings, Westside Subway Stations, LAEDC Economic Report, CA Wants FL HSR Funds, Western Ave. Transit History, Energy Security & More

The 710 Game: Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $780 Million
StreetsBlog LA

AFL-CIO And Chamber Ask For A Gas Tax Increase, Senators Agree
StreetsBlog DC

Amtrak To Expand Free Wireless
Washington Post

Annual Meeting Online Portal Access Now Available To Employees Of TRB Sponsors And Annual Meeting Patrons
Transportation Research Board

Best Urban Infographics Ever
GOOD

Better-Designed Streets For Walkers And Bikers Are Coming To L.A.
GOOD
My Figueroa website

California Bullet Train Backers Want Funds That Florida Shunned: Florida Gov. Rick Scott Rejected $2.4 Billion In Federal Funds For A Proposed High-Speed Line Between Orlando And Tampa. Brown, Feinstein And Boxer Say California Would Welcome The Additional Money
Los Angeles Times

Call For Essays On Ways To Link Planning And "Climate-Proof" Sustainable Development
The City Fix

Court: No Racial Bias In Bay Area Transit Funding
San Francisco Chronicle

ExpressPark Hits Bump When Bids Come In Over Budget
Blog Downtown

Freight Facts And Figures, 2010 (78p. PDF : A snapshot of the volume and value of freight flows in the United States, the physical network over which freight moves, the economic conditions that generate freight movements, the industry that carries freight, and the safety, energy, and environmental implications of freight transportation.)
Federal Highway Administration Office Of Freight Management And Operations

Here Comes The Train -- And Bikes And Pedestrians
Santa Monica Lookout

High Speed Rail Investment Background Data (44p. PDF : Defines the different categories of high-speed rail, explores federal laws that support high-speed rail, offers projections on future growth in passenger rail trips, summarizes research detailing high-speed rail land use impacts, and more.)
APTA

High-Speed Rail: The Future We Can't Afford To Leave Behind (One comment calls this item "the single best post on the economic imperative to build a high speed rail network as the cheapest method to meet the mobility needs commensurate with our population growth.")
U.S. DOT Fastlane Blog

House Is Currently Debating 2011 Budget Containing Deep Cuts To Transportation
Transportation For America

L.A. City Council Kills Parking Garage Leasing Plan
Los Angeles Times

LAEDC Report Says Southern California, California, U.S. Economic Recovery Is Underway, Stronger Growth In '12 (2p. PDF)
LAEDC News Release

Making Connections: Intermodal Links Available At 70 Percent Of All Stations Served By Commuter Rail, 2010 (8p. PDF)
Bureau Of Transportation Statistics Special Report

Metro Adds Additional Potential Station Location To Westside Subway Extension
Beverly Hills Courier

Metro Turning To Social Media To Talk About The 710 Freeway
LAist

Metrolink, Law Enforcement Team Up To Educate Public On Safety
Ventura County Star

MTA Advisory Meeting To Be Held Next Week: A Metropolitan Transit Authority Advisory Group Will Hold A Local Meeting Feb. 22 To Discuss The Design Of The Two Planned Beverly Hills Metro Stations
Beverly Hills Patch

MTA Board Was Urged To Consider Censuring Parks Over Donations, Official Says: The Agency's Inspector General Says She Made The Recommendation Last Year About Improper Campaign Contributions To Bernard C. Parks In His 2008 Bid For County Supervisor. No Decision Has Been Made, A Memo Indicates
Los Angeles Times

Possible Solution For Century City Subway Station Fracas? Meet Century Park East
Curbed LA

Research Roundup: A Closer Look At Transportation Policies -- Energy Security Is National Security
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Rural Access To Intercity Transportation Declining
Reuters

Sol Mates: Bike Path Makes Clean Energy From Flat Surfaces
WebEcoist

Special Passenger Train Through Town In April
Tehachapi News

States Ramping Up Action On Passenger Rail: A Report On The First Year Of The Recovery Act's High-Speed And Intercity Passenger Rail Program
(8p. PDF)
Highspeed-Rail.org

Surprise: Big Old New York City Is The Cutting Edge For Urban Transportation And A Vision For A Sustainable Future
AlterNet

Synthesis Of Congestion Pricing-Related Environmental Impact Analyses: Final Report
(96p. PDF)
Federal Highway Administration

Transit Service On Wild, Wild Western Ave.
("The history of bus service on Western Avenue (which never had streetcars, except for a short section near Hollywood) began in 1923 when Los Angeles Motor Coach (a bus company jointly owned by the Pacific Electric and the Los Angeles Railway) implemented a local bus line (#84)")
More Than Red Cars

Valencia's Parque Central (Spain's third largest city has chosen the winning design for a new urban park that is to sit atop nine rail lines)
American Society Of Landscape Architects' The Dirt Blog
Renderings And Detailed Information

Valley College Students Go Metro: Valley College's Negotiated Group Rate Offers Valuable I-TAP Cards At A Deep Discount
Valley Star Of Los Angeles Valley College

Wilshire Bus Lane: More Studies For Now
Brentwood News

2/16/2011

TAP, MTA Bus Yard, TOD StreetFilm, Gas Tax, Environmental Reviews, CarSharing, Mobility21 & More

Business Insider

The Angels: Four Million People, One City (video : breath-taking time-lapse views of Los Angeles)
Matthew Givot via Vimeo

StreetsBlog DC
StreetsBlog DC
San Jose Mercury News
Transport Politic

Bruins For Transit Co-President Matthew Kroneberger Talk About Downtown Los Angeles
UCLA Daily Bruin

Changing Tracks In Downtown LA On A Transit-Oriented Adventure
UCLA Daily Bruin

The Death Of The Gas Tax -- And Of Infrastructure Investment?
Washington Post

Developer Gone But MTA Lot Development Rolls On ("Though the developer of the proposed development for the MTA bus yard site has withdrawn from the project, the ramifications of the project seem far from over. No less than three entities have filed appeals regarding the Los Angles Planning Commission’s March 9, 2006 ruling on the development.")
Venice Paper

EasyJet To Coat Its Planes With Revolutionary Aerodynamic Paint To Cut Fuel Bills
Daily Mail (U.K.)

Feds Recommend $25 Million For AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit Project
San Jose Mercury News

GPSS To Introduce Subsidized Transit Program
("In February 2010, GPSS representatives met with UCLA’s transportation committee to discuss ideas for a subsidized transit program. “UCLA has a program like this that has been working for them. We wanted to talk to them and see how they had done it.")
USC Daily Trojan

High Speed Rail Has Basically Killed A Dozen Airports In South Korea ("This story should terrify airlines (and automakers) everywhere. And you wonder why high-speed rail gets blocked in America.")
Business Insider
Curbed LA

Knowledge Management For Planning Organizations
("Disorganization can result in costly mistakes, legal trouble, and effect the ability for the public to access information in a timely way.")
Planetizen

LaHood: Rail Is The Way Forward
StreetsBlog Network
Montana Dem Max Baucus To Chair Senate Transpo Subcommittee ("The [Environment And Public Works Committee] could play a key role in tempering House attempts to cut infrastructure spending to the bone and prioritize traditional highway projects over urban transit, intercity rail, or metropolitan planning.")
StreetsBlog DC

Moving Beyond The Automobile: Transit Oriented Development ("This Streetfilm, by Clarence Eckerson Jr., is an important one for Los Angeles as we consider how our city and county are going to grow as a result of the expected transit boom in the coming decade(s).")
StreetsBlog LA

MTA Ethics Office Drafted Censure Of Bernard Parks
LA Weekly

Naming Rights Can Pave The Way For LA Subway
CityWatch

New Carsharing Association Aims To Reduce Car Ownership
The City Fix
Carsharing Association

Obama's 2012 Budget: Agency By Agency
Federal Times

Obama's Budget And California's Environment
Southern California Public Radio

On The Waterfront: Import Forecast For Twin Ports Promises Boom
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Public Invited To Bergamot Station Workshop ("The Expo Light Rail is coming to Santa Monica within the next five years, and the city wants to make sure its plans are in place.")
Santa Monica Lookout

SFMTA Considers Five Plans To Combat Impending Billion Dollar Deficit
SF Appeal

Solana Beach Deputy Mayor Joe Kellejian Elected Chairman Of Coastal Rail Corridor Board
Solana Beach Sun

Southern California Transportation And Business Leaders Fight For Mobility And Jobs In Washington, D.C.: With A Unified Voice, Mobility 21 Will Fight To Protect Federal Funding For Transportation
Business Wire

That Second On-Board Employee
Human Transit

The Trendy Ins And Outs Of Smart Growth & Sustainability
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

2/15/2011

Obama's Proposed FY12 Transportation Budget & Reaction, OC's ARTIC Hub, 710 Gap vs. 710 Extension & More

55 FHWA Programs You Won't Have To Kick Around Anymore ("If this consolidation plan is enacted, it will be up to advocates to continue to push for important projects once they no longer have a dedicated funding source.")
StreetsBlog DC

Administration Wants $2 Billion In TIGER Grants
Journal Of Commerce

Amtrak May Lose Money In Obama Transportation Plan
Bloomberg

Amtrak Starts New San Diego-L.A. Express
Orange County Register

APTA Press Release

Clipper Card Debuts Wednesday In South Bay
San Jose Mercury News

U.S. DOT
Funding Highlights And Summary (6p. PDF)

The Future Of Transportation Funding: Doing More With Less (report from the first of several U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee public hearings around the country)
Metro News (Charleston, WV)

Is There Hope For An Infrastructure Bank? ("Is an infrastructure bank an idea ahead of its time? What are the best arguments to convince naysayers that it could work? Could it be established initially as a pilot program that could grow in later years? How much money would be needed to allow the administration to effectively select and encourage projects that otherwise might not get off the ground? How important is buy-in from states, local governments, and the private sector?")
National Journal Transportation Blog

Language Matters: Mind The Gap ("Metro, in both press materials and on The Source, continually refer to the I-710 Extension project as the “I-710 Gap Project.” A “gap” is something that needs to be filled. It’s a nuisance. A problem. By referring to the project as a “gap” project, you’re already pointing the debate towards, “what is the best way to fill it.”)
StreetsBlog LA
This Big City

New Approach For High-Speed Rail Needed
USC Daily Trojan

Obama Admin's Bold Transpo Plan Leaves Funding Question To Congress
StreetsBlog DC

Obama Budget Could Create Millions Of Jobs
USA Today

Obama Proposes Infra Bank, Livability Grants, Doubling Transit Funds
StreetsBlog DC

Obama's Budget Would Trim Funds To California
Los Angeles Times

OCTA Board Tweaks Funding Guidelines For Transit Hub ("Orange County Transportation officials modified funding guidelines Monday to receive nearly $100 million for the building of a major transportation hub in Anaheim and voted to continue their support for the project.")
Orange County Register

Opinion: Subways Should Get A Line On Business Sponsorships
Los Angeles Business Journal

Opinion: To Get America Growing Again, It's Time To Unleash Our Cities
New York Times

Transport Politic
Los Angeles Times

Infrastructurist

NPR

2/14/2011

Obama Budget, Metrolink PTC, Multimodal Long Beach, MapQuest Transit, Streetcar Boom & More

All-American Streetcar Boom Fuels Urban Future
NPR

Analyst: PPPs Are Good For Transportation Infrastructure, Bad For Real Estate
American City & County
The Limitations Of Public-Private Partnerships: Recent Lessons From The Surface Transportation And Real Estate Sectors (32p. PDF)
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Building A Multi-Modal Downtown Long Beach
Long Beach Post

Buses vs. Rail: Conservatives Do Battle Over Which Mode Is Better
StreetsBlog DC

Businesses Not On Board With Bus Plan ("While local politicians say a high-speed bus line through [San Bernardino] will spur economic growth and reduce traffic congestion, some merchants affected by the project believe it will kill their business and worsen the problems it proposes to solve.")
Redlands Daily Facts

End Of The Line For Caltrain?: How Silicon Valley Could Fare If The West's Second Oldest Passenger Rail Line Were To Curtail Service
Palo Alto Online News

Fresno Releases First Draft Of HSR Station Plans
California High Speed Rail Blog

Get Involved In CicLAvia Expansion Eastward!
CicLAvia

A Hidden Treasure Struggles In Los Angeles (LACMA has been contracted to care for Watts Towers after city layoffs. "It’s an international icon, but it’s a local blind spot.")
New York Times

House Republican Cuts Bypass Real Waste And Bash Merit-Based, Fuel-Saving Programs
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

MapQuest Joins Hopstop, Google, Offers Transit Directions
Transportation Nation
MapQuest Launches Pedestrian And Rail Transit Routing
AOL Press Release

More Inland Trains Will Increase Subsidy, Capital Costs ("Giving Riverside County residents more options for hopping on Metrolink trains will come at a hefty cost -- potentially $300 million.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Moving Beyond The Automobile
("Each Tuesday over the next ten weeks, tune in to Streetfilms as we'll be posting a new chapter about smart and proven strategies to reduce traffic and improve street safety for all users. We'll be tackling many fascinating topics in the next few months from "Bus Rapid Transit" to "Congestion Pricing" to "Car Share" to show how each can help people to use cars less -- or not at all.")
StreetFilms

MTA Will Hold Series Of Meetings Seeking Resident Input On 710 Freeway Gap
Pasadena Star-News

NYC MTA Posts Bust Stop Numbers, Now You Can Text For Live Bus Information
Transportation Nation

Obama Budget Proposes $556B, Long-Term Transportation Bill
StreetsBlog DC

Obama's Budget To Call For Slashing Oil Tax Breaks, Boosting Clean Energy
The Hill

Olympic Transit Legacy A Mixed Result (Vancouver's once-soaring post-Olympics transit ridership has since dropped)
CBC

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Is A Fast Track To Government Waste
Washington Post

Opinion: It's Investment In People, Not High-Speed Rail That Will Keep America Competitive
FOX News

Opinion: Move Toward A Life With Fewer Wheels
Los Angeles Downtown News

Opinion: Runaway Trains: Obama's High-Speed Rail Plan Is A Fiscal Pipedream
Wall Street Journal

Parking "Credits" To Be Decided For Village By LA City Council
Los Feliz Ledger

Pelosi: We Have A Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Deficit
Transportation Nation

Positive Train Control: Metrolink's PTC Implementation Push
Progressive Railroading

Public Transit Operators: Driver Cellphone Detection Has Arrived ("In an ever expanding effort to keep public transportation safe, LA Metro [is launching] a unique system that reliably detects cell phone usage and provides instant video archiving upon detection.")
Passenger Transport

Public Transportation Key To Transforming Communities: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker Talks About His City's Investment In Transit
U.S. News & World Report

Rail, Transpo Projects Face GOP Ax In Spending Bill
Transportation Nation

Rockefeller Foundation Survey: Americans Rank Transportation Needs High But Don't Want To Pay The Costs
Washington Post

San Bernardino: Santa Fe Depot Renovation Nearly Done
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Sorting Out Rail-Bus Differences: Endnotes
Human Transit

Sustainable Design: San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center (Expected to open in 2017 with a LEED Gold rating and 5-acre rooftop park)
American Society Of Landscape Architects' The Dirt Blog
A Very San Franciscan Transit Center (includes rendering and animation)
Metropolis Magazine
Transbay Transit Center (interactive project website)
Transbay Center

Vandalism Or Art?: Debate Over Graffiti Arises As An LA Tagging Crew Is Busted
Examiner

VERDEXCHANGE Global Eco Cities Panel Explores Innovations In City Building
("In California, the carbon footprint is actually significantly based on transportation.")
Planning Report

#WMATA #FAIL: A Guide To [D.C.] Metro's Rough Life On Twitter
TBD