Today's Headlines - more at Metro

4/29/2011

Crenshaw/LAX Line, Metrolink, California Gets $100M For Railcars, Wilshire BRT, I-5 Carpool Lanes, Clean Trucks, Bikes On Rail & More

Appeals Court To Hear Arguments On Clean Trucks Program
Daily Breeze

BART Board To Study Late-Night Service And How It Affects Early Morning Riders

Transportation Nation

Bike On Rail Restrictions Lifted! Effective Immediately!
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

Building Coalitions Around Health, Equity And Transportation

StreetsBlog LA

Chasing The Elusive New Transit Rider, Missing The Bus?
("New ridership is the holy grail of many a transit planner. It’s a demographic with strong allure — catch a newbie and you potentially remove a car from congested streets, give the environment a boost and, of course, increase revenue.")
StreetsBlog Network

Crenshaw Subway Decision Punted, Times Says No To Undergrounding

Curbed LA

Freeway Bridge Demolition Set

Inland Valley Daily News

High Gas Prices Are Fueling Demand For Broader Transportation Options

Transportation For America

Highlights From The Metro Board: Crenshaw Grade Separation, Bikes On Trains, Bus Cuts

StreetsBlog LA

Leading Thinkers In Urban Planning & Technology
(The 25 leading thinkers and innovators "at the intersection of urban planning and technology. The opening of government data has been a major catalyst, as well as the crowdsourcing, mapping and social networking opportunities afforded by the expanding capabilities of the Internet.")
Planetizen

Legislation To Kill Air Resources Board Rejected In Assembly

Sacramento Bee

Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society's Photostream
(new collection of visually arresting aerial photos of downtown from the 1991 Convention Center expansion)
LAFDHS via Flickr

Los Angeles Is 88 Cities, Many Of Them Corrupt
("If you're intending to visit, I'd suggest driving or biking, because every time someone has tried to explain the various bus systems that connect them, and the rules for transferring among them, I've experienced that same feeling I had in the class that convinced me to stop taking math.")
The Atlantic

Making The Green Line Green...For Jobs, Environment And Community

CityWatch

Mayor Villaraigosa In Chicago For City Design Summit
("Villaraigosa will speak on the "new Los Angeles" and its enhanced urban design at the summit, where mayors will "discuss ways to make cities smart and sustainable, even in the midst of unprecedented budget difficulties.")
Los Angeles Daily News

MTA Board To Study Speeding Up Rail Service To Downtown L.A.
("The MTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve studying the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line Infrastructure Improvement Strategic Plan introduced by Los Angeles County Mayor and MTA 2nd Vice Chairman Michael D. Antonovich.")
Santa Clarita Valley Signal

New Tech Helps You Avoid Traffic And Find Parking

Infrastructurist

No Help For Workers On High Gas Prices

Orange County Register

Transit Mall Turned Gallery

Long Beach Gazettes

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces $100 Million For California To Purchase American-Made Rail Cars And Locomotives

U.S. DOT Press Release

USC AGC Holds Sustainabiilty In Transportation Symposium
("LA Metro’s Art Leahy received the 2011 USC Visionary Award...[and] stole the show by playing his cell phone ring tone of the USC fight song and telling all the students to “hang in there” because all the “boomers will retire soon and will leave plenty of opportunities.")
Green Growth Cascadia

Will Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes Get More Angelenos Riding Metro?

Southern California Public Radio

Work Begins On I-5 Carpool Lane

Los Angeles Daily News



What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

4/28/2011

Crenshaw/LAX Line, Gold Line Parking, Union Station, Amtrak, Complete Streets, Freight Railroads, A.B. 710, Recent Research & More

A.B. 710 Sails Through Committee, No Date Yet For Full Assembly Hearing (Infill Development And Sustainable Community Act Of 2011)
StreetsBlog LA

America's Mayors Call For Metropolitan-Focused Transportation Investments

PR Newswire

Amtrak Seeking Florida's Rail Funds ("Amtrak, previously blocked from receiving federal money for high-speed rail, is now in the running for a big chunk of the $2 billion in funds freed up by Florida's decision to cancel a fast-train project earlier this year.")

Wall Street Journal

Bike Plan Projects Heading Off To Environmental Review
StreetsBlog LA

Can Freight Railroads Be Brought On Board In The Development Of High Speed Rail
Rail Planning

City Property Tax Collection Is Falling ("At our next board meeting [scheduled for May 5] we will vote to move between $230,00 and $300,000 from the general fund to Measure E for spending on the MTA fight.")

Beverly Hills Patch

Civic Affairs And The Culture Of City Planning
(May 3 : "An open roundtable to discuss methods of building civic outreach and strengthening the culture of city planning in Los Angeles" featuring Alan Bell, Deputy Directory, Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles; Honorable Ed P. Reyes, Councilmember, District #1, City of Los Angeles; Bill Roschen, President, Los Angeles City Planning Commission)
AIA Los Angeles

Complete Streets Policies Growing Strong
National Complete Streets Coalition
Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2010: A Story Of Growing Strength
(52p. PDF)
National Complete Streets Coalition


Editorial: Keep MTA's Crenshaw/LAX Project On Track: Mark Ridley-Thomas' Proposal For The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Means Well But Is Ill-Conceived

Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Rail Line Must Go Underground To Preserve, Protect Key Black L.A. Business Corridor

Los Angeles Wave

Evaluation Of Pedestrian And Bicycle Engineering Countermeasures: Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons, HAWKs, Sharrows, Crosswalk Markings, And The Development Of an Evaluation Methods Report (70p. PDF)

Federal Highway Administration

Fast Train Hits Snags In Silicon Valley: Atherton, Menlo Park And Palo Alto Say High-Speed Rail Will Hurt Property Values; "We Just Hope The Project Dies"
Wall Street Journal

Jumpstarting The Transit Space Race, Transit Climate Action Strategy & The Next 50 Years
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Just How Bad Is L.A. Air? The Worst

Los Angeles Daily News

Metro Library Becomes Part Of Transportation History In Contribution To The Henry Ford Museum Exhibit

Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

New Life For Fred Harvey Space At Union Station
LA Observed

New Report: Higher Gas Prices Mean Less Sprawl
Infrastructurist
Gas Prices Variations And Urban Sprawl: An Empirical Analysis Of The 12 Largest Canadian Metropolitan Areas (29p. PDF)
CIRANO

Parking Garage Proposed For La Verne Station ("A five- or six-story proposed parking garage capable of holding 600 cars would be built if the Metro Gold Line train line is extended to La Verne.")
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin


Research Bolsters Case For Cycle Tracks While AASHTO Updates Guide

StreetsBlog DC

SFMTA's Climate Action Strategy Will Require Broad Political Support

StreetsBlog SF
2011 Climate Action Strategy For San Francisco's Transportation System: Draft (48p. PDF)
SFMTA

Shifting Our Taxpayer $$$ From Oil To Efficient Transportation And Technology

Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

To Get Safer Streets, Traffic Lights And Stop Signs Aren't The Answer

StreetsBlog

Union Station's Fred Harvey To Finally Get A Permanent Restaurant Tenant?

Franklin Avenue



What are transportation community leaders tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online newspaper updated every day.

4/27/2011

Regional Connector, Wilshire BRT, Gold Line, Gas Prices, 7th St. Bike Lanes, Amtrak, Caltrans, L.A. Smog & More

7th Street First To Get Bike Lanes Under New City Plan
LAist
7th Street To Get A Bicycle-Friendly Makeover
Southern California Public Radio

$15 Million In Parking Ticket Revenue Eludes Los Angeles, Audit Finds: A New Los Angeles Audit Focusing On Chronic Scofflaws Finds The Parking Enforcement Department Is Still Missing Out On Revenue Collection

Los Angeles Times

83 Years Ago: City Hall Shines At Dedication (includes historic photos)
Blog Downtown

As Amtrak Turns 40, "America's Railroad" Continues To "Go Green" ("In the United States, passenger rail travel is 20% more efficient than airline travel and 30% more efficient than automobile travel.")
Suite 101


Calif. Highways Could Be Source Of Green Energy ("A bill for a pilot program that will harness road vibration and convert it to energy passed 6-1 in the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee yesterday. It will move to the Assembly Transportation Committee for voting next week.")

CNET

City, Caltrans, Seek Feedback On North Spring Street Bridge Widening
StreetsBlog LA

City's Transportation Director Set To Retire ("Stephanie Negriff announced her decision to retire in October 2011 from her position as the Director of Transit Services for the City’s Big Blue Bus. Negriff has spent 25 years in transit service with 10 years as the BBB Director.")

Santa Monica Mirror

Conceptual Renderings Show Broad Museum Plaza, Related Cos' New Buildings
Curbed LA

Gas Prices: Californians Are Mad As Hell But Still Driving

TIME

Gas Prices Changing Some Inland Commutes

Riverside Press-Enterprise

Gas Prices Could Reach $4.25 Nationally By Memorial Day

Los Angeles Times

Gold Line Ridership Up In Wake Of $4 Gas

Pasadena Star-News

A Historical Look At Subsidizing Railroads: The Obama Administration Will Invest A Large Sum Of Cash Into High Speed Rails. Historically, How Have Railroad Investments Impacted The US Economy?
Christian Science Monitor

How The Bicycle Economy Can Help Us Beat The Energy Crisis

Grist

Improving Mobility For Veterans (96p. PDF)

Transit Cooperative Research Program Research Results Digest

L.A., Bakersfield Remain Among U.S.'s Most Polluted Cities, Report Says: American Lung Assn. Says Smog And Soot Levels Dropped Significantly In Southern California Over The Last Decade, But The L.A. Area Remains The Worst Region In The Nation For Ozone Pollution
Los Angeles Times

Long Beach Transit Offering Live Bus Tracking By Phone

Long Beach Post

Metro Board Preview: Crenshaw Subway, Bikes On Trains, Active Transportation, Service Changes
StreetsBlog LA

Metro Tests: Geotechnical Testing Coming On The Regional Connector

Los Angeles Downtown News

Metrolink Express Trains: Fast But Watch Out

NBC Los Angeles

National Maritime Security Training Center Opens At Port Of LA

Security Management

Petersen Automotive Museum Gets $100 Million In Buildings, Cash And Cars From Founders Widow

Los Angeles Times

Rosendahl To MTA: No Bus Lanes On Our Boulevard: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Moved The Process Forward With The Routine Release Of A Report Friday
Brentwood Patch

San Francisco's Real-Time Smart Parking System Is Up And Running

GOOD
Demand-Based "Smart Parking": Watch How It Works
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Seven Things To Know About The City's Proposed New Parking Ordinance

CityWatch

Time To Restore South Pasadena's 710 Freeway Veto Right

California Streets

Transportation Planning, Policy And Climate Change: Making The Long-Term Connection (62p. PDF)

Texas Transportation Institute

Villaraigosa Teams With Homeland Security To Introduce "If You See Something, Say Something" Anti-Terrorist Campaign At Port
Los Angeles Daily News

With Caltrain Back On Track, Long-Term Funding Puzzle Still Plagues Commuter Line

Silicon Valley Mercury News

4/26/2011

More 710, Wilshire BRT EIR, Expo Line, High Desert Corridor, One Santa Fe, Foothill's Electric Buses, BUR & Union Pacific & More

5 R's For Optimizing Digital Transportation Signage
Mass Transit

AAA Reports 18% Increase in Motorists Running Out Of Gas

TreeHugger

Airport Prepares Legal Battle Against Railroad: Bob Hope Officials Are Looking To Buy Union Pacific Land To Use For Parking

Glendale News-Press

Arctic Whisperer, World's First Quick-Charge Bus ("Electric buses are awesome...but unless you’re stringing overhead lines all over the place, the range sucks. A Spanish firm has found a clever solution to that problem and is testing it.")

Wired

Basics: Walking Distance To Transit
Human Transit

Bicycle-Based Commerce Continues Growth
Pattern Cities

Bicycling Access And Egress To Transit: Informing The Possibilities (144p. PDF)

Mineta Transportation Institute

Bundy And Santa Monica, Tear Down This Fence ("If we want more discretionary Metro riders, what better place to find them than in west LA? Currently, the nearest Metro office selling TAP cards is at Wilshire and La Brea. The Bundy Park kiosk would also be a great way to educate West LA residents about critical projects like the subway extension, Expo to Santa Monica and the Wilshire BRT.")

Huffington Post

Businesses Hear Benefits Of Proposed Valley Connector Route: Plan Would Boost Shipping, Efforts To Create Commercial Airport (High Desert Corridor)
San Fernando Valley Business Journal

Call It MLB Stadium At Chavez Ravine (Columnist Bill Boyarsky discusses how simple it is to take public transit and the Dodger Express to the Stadium)

LA Observed

Ecoliner Battery-Electric Bus (photos of Foothill Transit's new prototype electric buses)
LA Visions

Editorial: Have We Outgrown Earth Day?
Los Angeles Daily News

Examining Long-Distance Express Buses As An Extension Of And Feeder To Passenger Rail Systems (86p. PDF)
Texas Transportation Institute

Here Comes The Bus: America's Fastest Growing Form Of Intercity Travel
New Geography

Implementing Race-Neutral Measures In State Disadvantages Business Enterprise Programs (96p. PDF)

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Mining The Gold Line (slow-motion video essay)

Blogging Los Angeles

MTA Releases BRT EIR And Brentwood Is All "Huh?"
Brentwood Patch


The Next Fifty Years: Addressing California's Mobility In A Time Of Financial Challenges (40p. PDF)

Mineta Transportation Institute

Nobody Will Take Mass Transit To Work Unless You Build Tall Buildings Near The Stations (several comments discuss L.A. transit projects in detail)
Think Progress

The Nostalgia Trap: In Brooklyn And London, The Future Is Losing To The Past (When is historic preservation just misplaced nostalgia?)

The Atlantic

NTSB To Discuss Impact Of Fatigue On Transportation

The Hill

On Earth Day 2011, Much To Appreciate And Much Work Ahead

U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

On Eve Of Tragedy Anniversary, TriMet Launches "Safety Dashboard"

Oregonian

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Hopes Are Off The Tracks: Federal Funds Are Drying Up For California's Project, And That's A Good Thing

Los Angeles Times

Port Of Long Beach Awards $5 Million In Health Grants

Occupational Health & Safety

Raising Revenues Through Bus Advertisements

The City Fix

Ride The Red Cars To Glendale (May 12 : Free lecture/slideshow : "Historian Paul Ayers presents a slideshow on the Glendale Pacific Electric line from its beginning to the last day of service, June 19, 1955. Featured are over 240 images including color photographs and current views of the route...Get a Glendale Library card featuring the last Red Car train. A limited number will be available at the event.")

City Of Glendale Public Library

A Royal Event For The Expo Line
Huffington Post

San Bernardino-L.A. Commuter Rail Line To Get Six New Trains In May Including Express Route

Redlands Daily Facts

Second Chance For One Santa Fe: A $150 Million Arts District Project Returns ("Under a 65-year ground lease with Metro, which owns the land, the developers would build a project consisting of a six-story building with 438 housing units, 78,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, including a 15,000-square-foot grocery store, and a 3,000-square-foot space to be used rent-free by one or more community organizations that are involved with the arts. It would also include a 47,400-square-foot plaza and 802 parking spaces.")
Los Angeles Downtown News

Second National Port Summit Keeps Maritime Freight Conversation Moving Forward

U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

To Remove A Freeway In Long Beach: By The Numbers (follow-up to an article from last July)

Long Beach Post

Transportation Committee Passes Through 710-Oriented Bill: A.B. 353 Would Repeal A Provision That Prevents South Pasadena From Having The Power To Veto The Building Of A Freeway In The City
Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch

Why The City Remains So Dysfunctional Even As It Plans For The Future

CityWatch

Will The Expo Line Really Help Solve Santa Monica's Traffic Woes?: As The Project Takes Another Step Toward Completion, Some Have Their Doubts About Its Potential Impact On Reducing Traffic Congestion

Santa Monica Patch

Without Adequate Funding, Will States Raise Their Own Gas Taxes?

StreetsBlog DC

4/25/2011

Wilshire BRT, Regional Connector, Green Line To LAX, South Pasadena & 710, Zero Emission Ports, Transit Apps, CAHSR New Ridership Study & More

50 Years Ago, This Chick Promoted Easter Shopping Via Public Transit
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

2011 [N.Y.] MTA Earth Day Sustainability Report: More MTA = Less CO2 (14p. PDF)

New York MTA

Amtrak To Feature The Great (Black) Migration Exhibit During National Train Day In Philadelphia ("The movement, which peaked in the 1930s, was a key moment in the nationalization of the African American population.")

Afro.com

BART Wants Riders' Input On Styles For New Seats

San Francisco Chronicle

Big Cities' Population Boom Slows To A Trickle, Census Data Show: Some Of California's Largest Cities, Including Los Angeles, Long Beach And San Diego, Saw Their Population Plateau Or Even Decline From 2000 To 2010, Ending A Decades-Long Trend Of Expansion
Los Angeles Times

Bill Seeking New Ridership Study Is Latest NIMBY Attempt To Derail HSR
California Streets

City Council Rejects Metrolink Parking Structure Design

Orange County Register

Coalition Urges Congress To Support Smart Technologies In Reauthorization Bill

AASHTO Journal

Efforts To Block 710 Freeway Expansion Face Crucial Test Monday: A Bill To Go Before The California Assembly Committee Monday Seeks To Allow The City Of South Pasadena To Regain Veto Power Over The 710's Extension

La Canada Flintridge Patch

A Green Future: Zero Emissions Envisioned In L.A., Long Beach Ports

Pasadena Star News

"Green Line To LAX": What Does It Mean?
CityWatch

Improving The Transportation Experience With Transit Apps
American Public Media Marketplace

Introducing "What Moves U"! ("What Moves U?" is
a campaign inviting the UCLA community to share moving, funny and interesting stories from their alternative transportation commute. The purpose of the campaign is to grow and connect green commuters while continuing to build a supportive network.")
UCLA Be A Green Commuter!

Long Beach Cyclists Welcome Bikeway
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Lost On Purpose In Old Downtown: A 1930s Guidebook Gives Glimpses Of The Past And A New View Of The Present
Los Angeles Downtown News

Major Funding Earmarked For Mass Transit

NBC San Diego

Metro To Begin Tests For "Regional Connector" Downtown

CBS Los Angeles

MTA To Vote On The Fate Of The Crenshaw Line Subway & Leimert Park Village Station Next Thursday

Inglewood Today

Proposed Highway In The High Desert Could Include High Speed Rail

KCET

Reading L.A.: A Reyner Banham Classic Turns 40 ("Among the few volumes to grasp the city in all its urban and architectural complexity.")

Los Angeles Times


Redevelopment: California's Secret Government

CityWatch

So Where Are We On The Wilshire Bus Lane? Latest Proposal Now Out
Curbed LA

Transit Fleets Come Clean As Alternative-Fuel Technology Comes Of Age (LA Metro is featured)

Metro Magazine

Web-Based Telematics Move Beyond Dispensing Data

Metro Magazine

Wilshire BRT Update: Removing Brentwood And Condo Canyon Reduces Effectiveness By 40%

StreetsBlog LA