Today's Headlines - more at Metro

5/20/2011

Expo Greenway, Downtown Streetcar, Give Me 3, High Speed Electricity?, Earliest Monorails, Highway 101, Pasadena Parking, "Five Californias" & More

10 Reasons To Join Big Parade LA For An Urban Hike This Weekend
Southern California Public Radio
The Big Parade Los Angeles (May 21-22)

America's First Monorail: Even Older Than I Thought
(A look at the earliest monorails, dating back to the 1870s)
Boing Boing
General LeRoy Stone's Centennial Monorail (1876)

Bike Advocates Seek To Reform Obscure Caltrans Committee
StreetsBlog SF

California Mass Transit: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
CityWatch

Caltrans Officials Promise Improved Highway 101
Ventura County Star

Congress Warned That Public Transit Cuts Would Hurt U.S. Economy
All Headline News

Daylight At The End Of The Culvert: Great News For The Expo Greenway
StreetsBlog LA

Editorial: Double-Check Map For High-Speed Rail
Daily Breeze

"Give Me 3" Goes Statewide As SB910 Moves Through Senate
StreetsBlog LA

Great News From The Senate: Transit Operating Assistance And Much More
StreetsBlog DC

Input Sought To Keep High-Speed Rail On Track
NBC Los Angeles

Let's Fix LA From The Group Up, One Pothole At A Time
Huffington Post

Pasadena May Be More Bike-Friendly Than L.A., But It Needs More Parking!
StreetsBlog LA

Plugging High-Speed Rail Into Germany's Power Grid: Using Rail Lines For The Energy Grid May Help A Suddenly Nuclear-Shy Germany Transition To Wider Use Of Renewable Sources
Miller-McCune

Public Transportation Is Good For You: Study
Transportation Nation
Health Benefits Of Active Transportation In New York City (4p. PDF)
New York City Department Of Health And Mental Hygiene

San Gabriel Valley Home To A Vibrant Cycling Scene, But Few Complete Streets
StreetsBlog LA

Speaking Out On The Streetcar: Metro Hears Ideas And Concerns About Project At Downtown Meeting
Los Angeles Downtown News

Study Suggests Quality-Of-Life Disparity Creates "Five Californias"
Ventura County Star
A Portrait Of California (179p. PDF : "Highlights actions that Californians can take to lock in human development successes today while setting the stage for significant budget savings and improved well-being tomorrow.")
American Human Development Project Measure Of America Series
Los Angeles Factsheet (2p. PDF)

Vice Mayor Visits D.C. For Metro Talk: In Its Ongoing Efforts To Oppose Subway Tunneling Under BHHS, Vice Mayor William Brien Traveled To Washington, D.C. For A Legislative Advocacy Meeting
Beverly Hills Patch

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.

5/19/2011

Metro Passes, Bike Week LA, "Streetcar In The Sea," California Transit Funding, National Transportation Week & More

AASHTO Approves First New Bicycle Routes In 30 Years
StreetsBlog DC

Amtrak Seeks Money For Track-Tampering Protection
Salt Lake City Tribune

Another Weird Way To Measure "Best Cities For Transit"
Human Transit

Before "Subway To The Sea," There Was "Streetcar In The Sea": Creating Artificial Reefs Off The Los Angeles Coast In 1959
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Big Blue Bus Service Changes
Canyon News

Bike Week LA Marked With Ride From Union Station To Convention Center
Los Angeles Times

Bottom Line: Uncommon Unity, As Political Will Grows For Crenshaw Subway
Los Angeles Wave

Burbank Had First Monoral In 1911, SaMo Wanted One In 1912
Curbed LA

CA Public Transit Service Tops National Rankings...Sort Of ("A recently released study by the Brookings Institution...ranks four California metro areas in the top ten out of 100 metro areas studied.")
California Planning & Development Report

CBO Says Taxing Cars By The Mile Could Raise Money For Highways
The Hill

Digging Into The Brookings Report: Transit Only Works If You Take It To Work
Transportation Nation

Editorial: California's High-Speed Train Project Is Going Off The Rails
Washington Post
Washington Post Repeats Zombie Lies
California High Speed Rail Blog

Few Leave Comments On Train Route Expansion ("The planned 1-mile, southeastern extension of the Metrolink line from the Santa Fe Depot in San Bernardino to a planned transit center downtown.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

How Many "U.S. Infrastructure Ailing" Reports Will It Take To Fix U.S. Infrastructure?
Infrastructurist

In Washington, Exploring A Sales Tax For BRT Funding
The City Fix

Metro Looking To Make Passes More Flexible ("A motion that goes before the transit agency's Executive Management committee today would change that, allowing the rolling passes that would be good from the day in which they are first used. The report by Metro staff says that change would reduce lines at sales centers and make life easier on visitors.")
Blog Downtown

Parking Phone App Extends To Congested Studio City
Los Angeles Daily News

Pedestrian And Bicyclist Traffic Control Device Evaluation Methods
(96p. PDF)
Federal Highway Administration

Presidential Proclamation: National Defense Transportation Day And National Transportation Week
The White House

Proposal To Remove Amtrak From Direct Congressional Funding Gets Hearing
The Hill

Proposed Train Line Hopes To Expand Use Of Public Transportation Around Loma Linda: SANBAG Finishes Its Series Of Community Meetings For A Train System That Would Skirt Loma Linda Between San Bernardino And Redlands
Loma Linda Patch

Revitalizing San Fernando Road Through Landscaping
StreetsBlog LA

Train Deals: New Metrolink Fares Include $10 Unlimited Weekend Riding Starting July 1
Los Angeles Downtown News

Transit Projects May Get Needed Funding ("Brown cancelled the spring bond sale in his initial budget proposal because of concerns about the state's ability to make the interest payments. He is now proposing selling $1 billion in transportation bonds in the fall. L.A. County typically gets about one-third of such sales, meaning it would get a big boost but not all the help it needs.")
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.

5/18/2011

Wilshire BRT, CAHSR, LA's "Backbone Route" At 50, 405 Closure, Expo Signage, LA Ports, Amtrak In The Red & More

50 Years Ago This Week: Planning The El Monte - Century City Backbone Route (Complete With Nuclear Fallout Shelters, Large-Capacity Helicopters And A Beverly Hills Subway)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Amtrak Chief: Trains More Vulnerable Than Planes
Forbes

Amtrak Chugs Deeper Into The Red: Railroad Warns That Rising Ridership Can't Offset Drag Of Money-Losing, Long-Distance Routes
Wall Street Journal

BART Launches Improved Mobile Website With Location Features, Bike Directions
BART

California's Next Train Wreck: The Feds vs. The Golden State's Fiscal Watchdogs
Wall Street Journal

Cutting Train Budgets Could De-Rail Transamerican Routes
StreetsBlog DC

Cyclists May Soon Find Themselves Having To Practice What They Demand From Drivers
KCET

Expo Line Signage Blues? ("But even more peculiar is the wedge color of the new supposedly "Expo" Line: They're blue.")
Militant Angeleno

Gold Line Planners Seek Site For Parking Lot
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

In Consumer Behavior, Signs Of Gas Price Pinch
New York Times
Link
L.A., Long Beach Ports Bet On Bigger Cranes: The Seaports Gamble That giant $11-Million Cranes Will keep Ever-Expanding Cargo Vessels Docking At Their Terminals
Los Angeles Times

LA Noire Isn't Smoggy Enough, Inspires Real 1947 Crime Map
Curbed LA

Melting Pot Cities And Suburbs: Racial And Ethnic Change In Metro America In The 2000s
(16p. PDF)
Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program

No Bus-Only Lane For Wilshire Boulevard After All ("
City Hall also studied traffic patterns and travel times and found that most buses make good time while traveling in Santa Monica, doing away with the need for dedicated bus lanes. It's not until they hit Los Angeles that traffic starts to create delays.")
Santa Monica Daily Press

The Only Train Wreck Is The Dodgers ("
This year Metrolink has begun running later trains to ferry us to Union Station, pairing nicely with a shuttle service between Union Station and the stadium.")
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Opinion: Blowback: Mend, Don't End, California's Bullet-Train Program
Los Angeles Times

Pair Of Alhambra Residents Hope To Add A Voice To Transportation Issues In The City
Pasadena Star-News

Proposal To Remove Amtrak From Direct Congressional Funding Gets Hearing
The Hill

Proposed Inland Empire Train Would Connect San Bernardino And Redlands
KCET

San Diego Freeway's July Shutdown Worries Commuters: Some Are Already Planning Alternate Routes And Early Start Times During The 53-Hour Closure Period
Sherman Oaks Patch

Sen. Kerry On Transportation Funding: "We're In A Crazy Place Right Now"
StreetsBlog DC

Some Glendale And Burbank Residents Want To Opt Out Of New Smart-Grid System
Los Angeles Times

A Train That's Part Plane, Flying Inches From The Ground: Instead Of Finding Ways For Our Track-Tethered Trains To Go Faster, We Could Just Eliminate The Tracks Altogether
Fast Company

U.S. To Host 8th World Congress On HSR
(July 11-13, 2012 : Philadelphia)
Railway Age

Will $795 Million Help Turn Around Amtrak's High-Speed Rail?
TechNewsDaily

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.

5/17/2011

710 Study, Expo Bike Route, Downtown Streetcar, LAX FlyAway Debt, State Transpo Budget, ULI Infrastructure Study, Gas-Guzzling Cities & More

America's Biggest (And Least) Gas-Guzzling Cities ("Incredibly, the City of Angels is among the top gas misers...the L.A.-Long Beach area ranks second among the cities that use the least gasoline, just 630 gallons a year per household.")
Forbes

Big Blue Bus To Change Routes In August
Westside Today

Cost/Benefit Analysis Of Converting A Lane For Bus Rapid Transit: Phase II Evaluation And Methodology (29p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program Research Results Digest

Study: $2 Trillion Needed For U.S. Infrastructure
Washington Post

"Downscaling Ambitions And Finding Creative Solutions": Infrastructure 2011: A Strategic Priority Warns Of Strain On U.S. Cities To Maintain Assets & Build Infrastructure Projects As Federal Funding Declines
Urban Land Institute Press Release
Infrastructure 2011: A Strategic Priority (90p. PDF)
Urban Land Institute

Effective Delivery Of Small-Scale Federal-Aid Projects
(228p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

The FlyAway To LAX $4.6M Deficit ("
A partnership is under development with the Big Blue Bus to possibly open a stop by next year at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, while Culver City could have its own route by 2013.")
Los Angeles Daily News

The Freeway That Ate Summer
KCRW

Governor's Budget 2011-12: Business, Transportation & Housing Revised Budget Detail (May Revision released)
State Of California Department Of Finance

Graffiti: NY Subways Brought "Art To The People," LA Trains Bring "People To The Art"
KCET

High-Speed Rail For California: Just Another Earmark?
ABC News-10 Sacramento

How To Set And Measure Transportation Goals ("Is the public entitled to more detail about how transportation dollars are spent? Is it a worthwhile exercise to identify transportation goals and then measure the progress toward them? What benchmarks, if any, should transportation officials identify? Are certain transportation goals (like livability) too difficult to quantify?")
National Journal Transportation Blog

Masters Of Information: In Today's Ever-Expanding Universe Of Knowledge, Transportation Libraries Can Help Researchers Find What They Need To Make Sound Decisions
Public Roads

Metro Ready To Begin Next Phase In Controversial 710 Freeway Project: Doug Failing Of Metro Said The Transportation Authority Is Ready To Begin Accepting Bids From Contractors To Complete Environmental Review Process
South Pasadena Patch

Omni Seeks Riders' Input
San Bernardino Sun

Opinion: California's Bullet Train: A Fast Track To Nowhere
Los Angeles Times

Plan Now For Huge Summer 405 Closing
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

Raise Some Red Flags Bike Advocates, Expo Line Bike Path/Route Not Looking So Good
Gary Rides Bikes

Rides And Challenges: Biking In Beverly Hills
StreetsBlog LA

Riverside Hopes New Policies Will Help Curb Sprawl, Obesity ("The county, the fourth most populous in the state, is ranked near the bottom of the 58 California counties for having physical environments that are conducive to good health.")
California Healthline

Santa Monica Would Be Spared From Metro Bus Project: A Proposal To Create Bus-Only Lanes On Wilshire Blvd. Would Avoid The City
Santa Monica Patch

Seven Transportation Improvements Everyone Can Agree On
StreetsBlog DC

SF Parking App Gets Passing -- Not Perfect -- Grade
San Francisco Chronicle

South L.A. Bike News: MLK And Expo Lanes
LA Eco-Village Blog

Stay Or Go: Baldwin Park Officials Debate Whether To Stick With COG Following Caltrans Audit
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Streetcar Study Starts With Tuesday Scoping Meeting

Blog Downtown
Early Scoping Briefing Package (11p. PDF)
Metro

T4 Teams Up With Fiscally Conservative Groups To Promote Innovative Transportation Solutions
Transportation For America
The Most For Our Money: Taxpayer Friendly Solutions For The Nation's Transportation Challenges (44p. PDF)
Transportation For America

Trying To Respect Work Toward A Halfway Decent North Spring Street Bridge Project
LA Creek Freak

Value Added: TrafficLand's Love-Hate Relationship With Our Clogged Roads (How TrafficLand "connects with 10,100 traffic cameras across the United States and allows viewers to check conditions on major roads through television and the Internet.")
Washington Post

What Questions Would You Ask Daily Transit User Reps. On Advisory Panel To Metro's Measure R Oversight Committee?
StreetsBlog LA

Yellow Hybrid Stickers For Carpool Lanes Set To Expire: The California Sticker Program That Has Allowed Solo Drivers Access To Diamond Lanes As A Way To Spur Sales Is Ending July 1 -- This Time For Good
Los Angeles Times

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.

5/16/2011

Orange Line Update, ExpressLanes, Wilshire BRT, 405 Widening, Brookings Report, CAHSR Editorials, Ventura Transportation & More

405 To Be Shut Down For Entire Weekend In July
Southern California Public Radio

Alternative Fuel Buses To Represent 50% Of Total Transit Bus Deliveries By 2015
Pike Research Press Release

Baldwin Park Puts New Environmentally Friendly Buses To Use
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Beverly Hills Would Be Spared From Metro Bus Project: A Proposal To Create Bus-Only Lanes On Wilshire Boulevard Would Avoid The City
Beverly Hills Patch

Brookings Institute Study Further Highlights Need For Metro Express Routes ("The good news is that 96 percent of working Angelenos have immediate access to public transit...The bad news? Only 25.6 percent of workers can get to their jobs in 90 minutes using transit. That ranks 69th in the nation. In other words, it's possible for commuters to get to work using Metro, but wildly inconvenient and impractical.")
KCET

Bus-Only Lanes On Wilshire Move Toward Approval
Southern California Public Radio

Cal State Long Beach Economists Forecast Job Recovery In Los Angeles County
Los Angeles Business

Caruso Continues To Sound Like An L.A. Mayoral Candidate ("Caruso also complained about the plans for a "subway to the sea." "To me, it has just been a colossal waste of local and federal money," Caruso said. "I don't get it. We have the best climate in the world and they want to put transit underground.")
Daily Breeze

City Has Tepid Response To Student Bus Passes ("
A reluctant Highland City Council will help pay for a pilot program to provide free bus rides for students at four San Bernardino County colleges.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

County Agencies Aim To Improve Efficiency By Merging ("The Ventura County Transportation Commission and Ventura Council of Governments have agreed to merge, forming a single integrated agency to oversee transportation, housing and land-use issues.")
Ventura County Star

"Development-Oriented Transit": Lessons From Hong Kong
StreetsBlog Network

Downtown Networks: The Oblique Approach ("How important is it that the transit services converging on downtown all go right to the core of downtown's demand?")
Human Transit

Drivers Of Change: Forum Sees Technology Transforming Mobility (Review of CSUSB Leonard Transportation Center's annual transportation technology forum)
San Bernardino Sun

Editorial: California's High-Speed Train Wreck: The State's Plan To Build A Bullet Train Has Become A Monument To The Ways Poor Planning, Management And Political Interference Can Screw Up Major Public Works. We Can Do Better
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Rail Ruin ("California
does not need to revamp its current plans for a bullet train, but scrap them entirely. The Legislature should put an end to a scheme that defies fiscal reality and risks a massively expensive boondoggle.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Expanding Light Rail In LA Means Developing "Complete Streets" For Local Communities
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Exposition Park's Issues Are L.A.'s Issues: Concerns About Development And Preservation Rise In The Coming Space Shuttle's Effect On A Frank Gehry Building, The Future Of The Sports Arena And The Arrival Of The Expo Line
Los Angeles Times

High-Speed Rail Meetings Set ("
Construction of a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Diego -- passing through San Bernardino and Riverside counties -- is more than a decade away. But planners are eliminating possible routes and trying to narrow in on viable options to study as part of a years-long environmental process.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

IRS Examining Loans To Alameda Corridor East's Projects
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

July Is The Wrong Month To Get On The 405
LAist

Los Angeles County Is Poised To Accelerate Its Rail Projects: With Financial Support From Measure R, A Voter-Approved Sales Tax, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Proposed $4.15 Billion Budget Could Pay For Planning Or Construction For Roughly A Dozen Lines
Los Angeles Times

May 16-20 Is Bike Week LA
LAist

Metro Staff Recommends Full 8.7 Mile Wilshire BOL, But City Council Will Make The Call
StreetsBlog LA

Metrolink Moves To Combat Fare Evasion
Los Angeles Times

Might Bullet Train Shoot Across The Grapevine?: Speculation Thick About Backroom Wrangling As Antonovich And Tejon Ranch Protest Study
Mountain Enterprise

Opinion: HSR's Allure More Than Just Speed
Bakersfield Californian

Orange County Transportation Authority Unveils Its New Open Space
Southern California Public Radio

Orange Line Busway Makes Tracks For Chatsworth: Work On The $216-Million Extension From Canoga Park To Chatsworth Passes The Halfway Point With Construction Begun On A Bridge Over The Lassen Street Train Tracks
Studio City Patch

Our View: New Train Service Great For Commute
Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Our View: Taking The Temperature Of The Turnstiles
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Pico Park To Get More Parking As New "Transit Hub"
Whittier Daily News

Ring Around "Rosy": The "Magic Circle" Debacle At Wilshire And Western (How one of Los Angeles' busiest intersections briefly found itself with a roundabout in the 1920s, complete with 12-foot white cement compass topped with a flashing red light. It slowed traffic, which created a bigger problem)
Paradise Leased

San Dimas Storage Center Owners Battling Gold Line Plans
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Should Drivers Pay By Mile Instead Of The Gallon?
USA Today

Trade At L.A., Long Beach Ports In April Up 6.3%: The Nation's Largest Seaport Complex Handled More Cargo Containers For The 15th Straight Month, But Trade-Related Jobs Haven't Grown As Fast
Los Angeles Times

Transit Agency Secures Land For Open Space ("Transportation and environmental groups came together Friday to unveil the purchase of an 84-acre piece of open space that officials say will offset effects of future freeway projects.")
Orange County Register

Update: Regular Carpoolers Will Not Have To Pay To Use ExpressLanes
StreetsBlog LA

Valley Motorists Face Mid-July Nightmare On 405 Over Sepulveda Pass
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.