Today's Headlines - more at Metro

6/10/2011

Metro Is LA's Best Home Page, Angels Flight Shutdown, Constellation Station, Red Light Cameras Get Red Light, LA Transit Comedian & More

Angels Flight Shut Down By Inspector Over Damaged Wheels
Los Angeles Times

Are The Millennials Driving Downtown Corporate Relocations?
New Republic

Basics: "Dead Running"
Human Transit

Behind The Politics Of Yesterday's Split Decision On Bus Only Lanes
StreetsBlog LA

Best Home Page: LA Metro (LA Weekly Best Of The Web 2011 Awards : "Metro’s website is a ridiculously user-friendly portal into the world of public transportation. Use it to plan trips, keep updated on traffic and even check out the Metro Art program.")
LA Weekly

Can High-Speed Rail Reduce Air Travel And Highway Expansion?
StreetsBlog DC

Century City Leaders Call For Subway Station At Constellation Boulevard (video)
KCBS2 / KCAL9 via Yahoo

Century City Subway Station: Where Should It Be?
Southern California Public Radio

Commuter Toolkit: The 405 Project
NBC Los Angeles

Consumers Can "Dump The Pump" As Omnitrans Offers Free Rides June 16
Fontana Herald News

Despite Overheated Rhetoric, Some Are Cool About 405 Closure: The Weekend Shutdown Is Being Called Carmageddon. But What's One Horrific Weekend Next To The Endless Suffering Of Depending On The 405 Day In And Day Out?
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Rejecting Red-Light Cameras In L.A.: The Traffic Cameras Cost The City Of Los Angeles Money While Having Dubious Safety Benefits. A Civilian Board Has Voted To Eliminate Them, And That Makes Sense
Los Angeles Times

Hearings Scheduled To Look Into Bin Laden Rail Threats
The Hill

Identification Of Local Matching Fund Requirements For State-Administered Federal And Non-Federal Public Transportation Programs (117p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program Research Results Digest

Is L.A.'s Public Transit A Joke? This Comedian Sure Hopes So ("Her one-woman show "Going Green the Wong Way" chronicles her attempts to live responsibly in a city that isn't known for its environmental values — including the story about how her biodiesel car burst into flames on a Los Angeles freeway.")
GOOD

Is Monrovia's Gold Line Deal Really In Danger?: The City Painted A Dire Picture Of Its Dealings With The Gold Line Tuesday, But The Whole Affair May Have Just Been A Part Of The Negotiations Playing Out In Public
Monrovia Patch

July Shutdown Of 405 Freeway Will Affect Drivers Across The Region ("Tthe CHP would have preferred to shut down the freeway in October, when traffic is 13 percent lighter. I don’t think anyone at MTA has even turned on a computer and Googled events for that weekend. They number in 2,000 in the area...Law enforcement agencies anticipate that the closure will affect areas within a 30- to 50-mile radius of the work site.")
Thousand Oaks Acorn

LA County Average Gas Price Falls Under $4 For First Time Since March 24
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A.'s Parking Meter Collections Process Flawed, Audit Finds: City Controller's Audit Suggests The City Could Potentially Save Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars By Increasing The Frequency Of Collections On Some Routes And Improving Maintenance And Repairs Of Meters
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Planners To Take A Closer Look At Football Stadium Proposal
Daily Breeze

Opinion: Public Pays Price For Privatization (infrastructure)
Politico

Pawlenty OK With Plan To Privatize Amtrak
The Hill

Residents And Business Leaders Show Up To Support Constellation Subway Station: Councilman Paul Koretz, Backed By About 60 People, Says At A News Conference Thursday That The Century City Stop Should Be In The Center Of The Community Rather Than At Santa Monica Boulevard
Westwood-Century City Patch

The Secret History Of America's Interstate Highway System
Infrastructurist

A Third Greuel Parking Audit Shows DOT In Disarray
StreetsBlog LA


Transportation Bill Gridlock: Is Doctrine Driving Our Country Into A Ditch?
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

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.

6/09/2011

SR710, Regional Connector, Monrovia Gold Line Peril, Culver City Expo Development, Google Live Transit Updates, Twitter Daily, Freedom From Oil & More

Air-Quality Regulators To Study Health Effects Of San Bernardino Rail Yard: The In-Depth Examination Will Try To Determine Whether The Inland Shipping Hub Has Caused An Increase In Cancer And Asthma In Nearby Low-Income Communities
Los Angeles Times

Amtrak California Ridership And Revenue Rises Dramatically
Mountain Democrat

Amtrak Privatization Is Short-sighted; We Should Invest In Rail
The Hill

Announcing The Metro Library Twitter Daily, The Easiest Way To Keep Up With The Transportation Conversation -- Without Joining Twitter!
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

BART Teams Up With Google On New Scheduling Tool For Passengers ("The new service, called Google Live Transit Updates, will provide users with schedules, service advisories, and real-time departures and arrivals.")
San Francisco Examiner
Know When Your Bus Is Late With Live Transit Updates In Google Maps
(More details plus instructional video for the desktop and mobile live updates launched in Boston, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid & Turin)
Google Blog

The Case For Congestion Pricing
Infrastructurist

Chunky Cheetah Rides The Bus: A Committed Car Commuter Learns The Secrets Of Mass Transit When His Ride Breaks Down
Los Angeles Downtown News

Culver City Expo Stop Getting Retail-Fest The Platform
Curbed LA

DASH Fares Set To Rise July 1
Blog Downtown

The Financial Benefits Of Living In Transit-Friendly, Walkable Areas
The Atlantic
Want More Cash In Your Pocket? Live In A Neighborhood With Good Transportation Options
Grist

Freedom From Oil: Policy Solutions From The Livable Communities Task Force (25p. PDF)
Livable Communities Task Force, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Chairman

Gold Line Deal In Peril, Threatens Project's Future: Furious City Officials Said They Thought They Had A Final Deal In Place, But A Gold Line Attorney Insisted Tuesday That No Such Deal Exists. The Future Of The Gold Line Hangs In The Balance ("Seething Monrovia City Council members excoriated the Gold Line Construction Authority Tuesday and threatened to abandon a deal to bring a key piece of the Gold Line to Monrovia unless the two parties could come to terms in the next two weeks.")
Monrovia Patch

High-Speed Rail Can Cover Its Operating Costs: While Paying For Its Hefty Infrastructure Costs May Be Ambitious, Many High-Speed Rail Systems Cover Their Operating Costs And Even Turn A Small Operating Profit
Miller-McCune

If You See Something, Text Something
(New Jersey Transit rolls out a new "Text Against Terror" security campaign : “Texting is more discreet, so people can report their tip in a far more unobtrusive way.”)
Transportation Nation

Locals React To Upcoming 405 Closure: West Los Angeles Residents And Commuters React To The Planned Shutdown Of A 10-Mile Stretch Of The 405 Freeway
Brentwood Patch

Los Angeles Street Construction By 605 Freeway Slated For Early Completion
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

More L.A. Noire: The Google Maps And And Self-Guided Tour Edition (How Metro helps you get around to more than 30 sites featured in the new, much-hyped video game)
LAist

Parking Structures Get Sexy (photo-essay)
Sustainable Cities Collective

Planning Has Evolved In Transit-Oriented Development ("Riders need to be connected to the station not just by the land uses but by technology. It is a whole new world from the early days of the Gold Line. I came away from the Summit and the discussions with our San Gabriel Valley cities thinking that transit, especially light rail, is once again becoming an integral part of the transportation system in Southern California. Even more amazing, we are beginning to become more sophisticated transit riders, a trend that will grow as the number of riders increase - currently nearly 32,000 per day on the Gold Line.")
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

San Diego County Buses To Be Equipped With GPS For Real-Time Schedules: The Metropolitan Transit System Unveils A New System That Will Allow Bus Riders To Text To See How Far Away A Certain Bus Is
Rancho Bernardo Patch

Sen. Kerry Sees Progress On His Bill For An Infrastructure Bank
The Hill

South Pas Mayor Will Pitch SR710 Measure In Highland Park
Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch

Team Chosen For LA Regional Connector ("Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has selected a joint venture of AECOM and Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) to provide conceptual planning and preliminary design for the $1.4 billion Metro Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project, also known as the Downtown Connector or Downtown Light-Rail Connector. Construction on the connector could begin in 2013 and be completed by 2019, depending on the availability of federal funding. ")
Railway Age

Trucks Worth Millions Stay Idle At Port Of Los Angeles ("A highly-touted program to use electric trucks to cut down on pollution at the Port of Los Angeles has stalled.")
KABC-7

What It Takes To Preserve Environmental Justice In California
Huffington Post

Your JetBlue BUR Ticket Gets You A Free Metrolink Ride To and From The Airport
LAist

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.

6/08/2011

405 Closure, Transit TV, Metro Snack Bar, "Bicycle Business District," Open Data Trip Planners, 1915 Map, 1924 Road Projects & More


9 Most Doom-y Official Statements About The July 405 Closure
Curbed LA

405 Freeway Closure Will Make July 16, 17 The "Carmageddon" Of Traffic Mayhem In Los Angeles ("The only good news: The Red Line subway from the Valley to Hollywood will be free of charge that weekend. The Metro's bus fleet, on the other hand, will continue to charge. Thus continuing the grand tradition of working-class bus riders getting screwed in L.A.")
LA Weekly

All Aboard! Student Art Finds Its Way To TransitTV
StreetsBlog LA
Out The Window ("What do you know about Los Angeles? Share your knowledge on Bus TV.")

County Approves Funding Agreement For Lenwood Bridge Project
("The bridge project is also considered part of the Alameda Corridor East, which is a national goods movement plan for moving freight from ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach to the rest of the nation.")
Desert Dispatch

Creating Pacific Coast Highway And Other Landmark Projects From 1924: Metro Library's New Collection Of Historic California Highway Commission Documents

Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Cul-De-Sacs Are Killing Us: Public Safety Lessons From Suburbia
StreetsBlog DC

Enabling Cost-Effective Multimodal Trip Planners Through Open Transit Data
(115p. PDF : Examines whether multimodal trip planners can be developed using open-source software and open data sources)
University Of South Florida National Center For Transit Research

Five Infographics On The Ripple Effects Of Gas Prices

GOOD

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Names Borja Leon As Transportation Deputy: Leon, 36, Said Part Of His New Emphasis Will Be To Help Push Congress To Adopt Villaraigosa's America Fast Forward Plan That Would Speed Construction Of Local Transit Projects, Including Those Approved By Voters

Los Angeles Times

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Issues Statement On City's Largest "Operation Pothole"

California Newswire

L.A. Traffic Cameras May Get The Red Light: Citing Costs And Safety Issues, The Police Commission Votes To Shut The Cameras Down. Unless The City Council Intervenes, Their Use At 32 Intersections Could End Within Weeks

Los Angeles Times

Labor And Environmentalists Unite To Push For Transportation Reforms

StreetsBlog DC
BlueGreen Alliance Calls For Transportation Reauthorization In 2011
BlueGreen Alliance Press Release
Policy Brief: National Policy On Transportation (2p. PDF)
BlueGreen Alliance

Light Rail "For Dummies?" (Transit blogger Jarrett Walker takes last week's Atlantic article and infographic to task)
Human Transit

Long Beach Unveils "Bicycle Business District" Program
KCET

Map Of Los Angeles And The San Gabriel Mountains, 1915
(An early map commissioned by the Automobile Club Of Southern California, which improved roads, standardized traffic laws, and promoted automobile accessibility)
Big Map Blog
Jumbo-Size Close-Up View (click here and spend some time exploring bygone outlying areas of Los Angeles such as Clearwater, Marion, Tropico, Lordsburg and others)

Mayor Villaraigosa Appoints Borja Leon As New Transportation Deputy
Los Angeles Daily News

Muni Cameras Cut Accident Rate By 50 Percent, Agency Says
("Installed in all 800 of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s buses in November 2009, the DriveCam is activated automatically by jarring events such as quick accelerations, the jerking of a wheel or the slamming of brakes. It’s mainly used for recording accidents, collisions and improper driving techniques.")
San Francisco Examiner

Officials To Address Safety Concerns At Downtown Station: Since The Introduction Of Metrolink's Express Service, The Downtown Station Has Seen An Increase In Use
Burbank Leader

Opinion: Case For High-Speed Rail Grows Only Stronger
(co-written by the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno)
Sacramento Bee

Rideshare And Metrolink Aren't Just For The Daily Grind: Metrolink Trains And Ridesharing Offer Local Convenient Methods To Save Time, Money, And Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Walnut Patch

Ridesharing As An Alternative To Transportation Capacity Increases
Transport Politic

Rush Snack Bar Coming To 7th/Metro Subway Station In Downtown LA
Brigham Yen

Transportation Statistics Annual Report, 2010
(222p. PDF : This annual report presents and analyzes data on safety, the state of good repair of the U.S. transportation system, economic competitiveness, livable communities, passenger expenditures, and environmental sustainability, and explores how to improve transportation statistics)
U.S. DOT RITA Bureau Of Transportation Statistics
Press Release and Individual Chapters For Download

U.S. DOT Encourages Production Of Steel Streetcar Rails

Metro Magazine

Will Congestion Pricing Ever Catch On Here?

New Republic

Would You Like A Coffee With Your Bus Ticket? Presto!
("Commuters will eventually be able to pay for coffee and parking with the same Presto smartcard they use to pay their bus fares.")
Toronto Star

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.

6/07/2011

America Fast Forward, Beverly Hills Subway, Bob Hope Transit Center, Suburban Jitneys, Disneyland & L.A. Monorail, Westwood FlyAway & More

Around The Halls: North Spring Street Viaduct, Streetcar Funding, Expo Improvements
Blog Downtown

Bev Hills School District Tries New Tack To Get Its Way On Subway
Curbed LA

Bike Rides In Balance: Claremont Gives Cyclists Their Way

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Bob Hope Airport Officials Go Back To Drawing Board On Transit Center: Officials Look To Scale Back Bob Hope Airport Transit Center Plans After Construction Bids Come In Much Higher Than Anticipated

Los Angeles Times

Can The Private Sector Close The Gap In Suburban Transit?
("For those unfamiliar with them, jitneys are shared taxis running on fixed routes. They occupy a middle ground between buses and taxicabs, with the ability to divert somewhat from their routes to provide door-to-door service. They arose in Los Angeles in 1914 and quickly spread across the country, but generated enough opposition from private streetcar companies that most cities and states had banned them by 1920.")
New Republic

China's New Bullet Trains Plan To Challenge Airlines
Business Report

Cost-Effective Connection Details For Highway Sign, Luminaire, And Traffic Signal Structures (236p. PDF web-only document)
TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Could Focusing On Repairs Please Everyone?
("Could a focus--mandated from Congress--on repair and maintenance, instead of new construction, reduce the cost of a surface-transportation bill such that the legislating process could begin in earnest? Would Republicans and Democrats embrace that idea equally? What are the drawbacks? Why does maintenance get ignored by states and cities? What is the appropriate role for new construction in a tight budget situation?")
National Journal Transportation Expert Blogs

Disneyland's Alweg Monorail: Walt Disney's Highway In The Sky
Micechat

Emergency Responders Prepare For 405 Freeway Closure: Extra Firefighters And Paramedics As Well As Additional Buses And Free Rides On The Red Line Are Planned During Mid-July Weekend
Encino Patch

Emerging Technologies Applicable To Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety And Security
(133p. PDF)
Transportation Research Board Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program

Endangered Westwood FlyAway LAX Shuttle Route Granted 2-Week Reprieve

Daily Breeze

If You Know How Mass Transit Can Adapt To Climate Change, The FTA Has A Check For You

AltTransport

Los Angeles Leads Full-Throttle Dash For U.S. Transit Cash
("LA Metro sees a good omen in the fact that 67 percent of voters approved the sales tax increase to fund new projects. "You've got a whole sea change, a paradigm shift with Los Angeles being a car culture," said Roger Moliere, LA Metro's chief of real property management development. Rail has so far failed to "connect the dots," he said, between the area's six or seven downtowns in places like Century City, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. "It's just now happening.")
New York Times

Motorists Warned About "Nightmare" Of 405 Closure: Northbound And Southbound Lanes Of The Freeway Will Be Closed For 53-Hours In July, Mainly For Demolition Work On The Mulholland Drive Bridge. Officials Are Asking People To Plan Ahead And Consider Alternate Routes
Los Angeles Times

Newest Attempt To Give Cities Power Over Speed Limits Gains Ground In Sacramento
StreetsBlog LA

NYC's Plaza Program: An Open Space Model For L.A.? (Janette Sadik-Khan)
StreetsBlog LA

Pomona Jockeys For Rail: High-Speed Train Route, Funding Are In Question

Contra Costa Times

Port Of Los Angeles Adopts 2011-2012 Fiscal Budget

Logistics Week
Port Of Los Angeles Proposed Annual Budget Fiscal Year 2011-2012 (24p. PDF)
City Of Los Angeles Harbor Department

Ride Along With Metro Chief Art Leahy (audio : "The latest installment in a transportation series with Metro chief Art Leahy, with updates on the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s plans for new highways, railways, and extensions of the existing Orange and Gold Lines. How will the Metro’s decisions to eliminate some bus lines and significantly reduce others affect its low-income ridership, which is expected to increase in light of rising gas prices? Whatever came of the controversy surrounding the construction of a new station in Leimert Park? And are you prepared for the temporary closing of the 405 freeway, July 16-17? Plus, check out the Metro’s new online bus-tracking service, NexTrip, and its revolutionary Spanish-language blog El Pasajero, which attempts to put a “Latino face on Metro.”)
Southern California Public Radio


The Shadow Government: With Little Public Oversight, The Organization That Invented The LEED System Is Remaking An Industry
Architecture Boston

South L.A. Still Fuming Over Metro Leimert Park / Crenshaw Subway Vote
StreetsBlog LA

Southland Gas Prices Drop For 31st Consecutive Day
Los Angeles Daily News

"Stay The Heck Out Of Here," Supervisor Warns, When Part Of 405 Freeway Closes In Mid-July

Los Angeles Times

A Subway Runs Through It: School District Officials Oppose Tunneling Under Beverly Hills High
LAist

Taking The Bars Off West L.A. Park ("Just as Metro is proving there are more ways to get around Los Angeles than by oneself in a car, join us in demonstrating that the business community recognizes that community means open space as well as shops, parking and public safety.")
Los Angeles Business Journal

Using Market Processes To Reform Government Transportation Programs: Report No. 1
Heritage Foundation

Why Building Roads Creates Traffic
Infrastructurist

Will Governor Or Assembly Stop Senate's Attack On High Speed Rail?

California High Speed Rail Blog

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.

6/06/2011

Downtown Streetcar, Westside Subway, LADOT, Bergamot Station, Palmdale & CAHSR, 405 Closure, Angeles Crest Highway & More

Angeles Crest Highway Reopens, And Fans Can't Wait To Hit The Road: Hundreds Of Riders, Drivers And Nature Lovers Trek To The Angeles National Forest To Enjoy The Winding Route That Was Closed For Over A Year
Los Angeles Times

Arroyoland's Next Hot 'Hoods: Where Will Home Buyers Be Flocking To A Decade Or More From Now? Not Necessarily Where You Think("That will make living near rail stations the next hottest real estate trend — one that may be here to stay. Here are five Arroyoland neighborhoods I predict will gain momentum as the rail network matures")
Pasadena Weekly

Bergamot Development Gets $650K Grant
Santa Monica Mirror

Caltrans Reopens 7 Miles Of Angeles Crest Highway
Pasadena Star-News

Can The Hummer Guy Fix L.A.'s Transportation Problems?
Los Angeles Times

Design-Build: The "New, New Thing" In L.A. County -- Wow!
Planning Report

Dismantling The Mulholland Bridge Will Be An Intricate Task

Los Angeles Daily News

DOT's Stimulus Spending Hits $28.4 Billion: Department Disbursed $3.7 Billion So Far In 2011
Journal Of Commerce

Editorial: Put Union Station Tie In Streetcar Vision ("We think the northeast extension is a solid idea worth serious consideration. While it would likely spur a price hike for an already expensive effort, it seems like a no-brainer to ensure that the line would have a connection to Southern California’s primary mass transit center. Not making the streetcar reach (or get close to) Union Station would be a Downtown equivalent of the goof of not running the Green Line into LAX.")
Los Angeles Downtown News

Find Everywhere You Can Go In 15 Minutes Or Less (more on Mapnificent)
Flowing Data

Group Launches Central Valley Campaign Against High-Speed Rail Project
Central Valley Business Times

The Insane California High-Speed Rail Project

Washington Examiner

It Is Time For Beverly Hills To Give Up ("Numerous schools elsewhere in the world have subway tunnels under them – Berkeley High School in Northern California has a cut and cover subway tunnel just below the surface that has no influence on the regular operation of the school. Other far more vulnerable targets, like the US Capitol, have rail tunnels under them.")
Wilshire/Vermont: Transportation In Los Angeles And Beyond

Jaime De La Vega To Lead The Troubled Los Angeles Transportation Department: Villaraigosa Wants Him To Improve Management Practices And Develop Measure R Programs. Mayor Also Names A Police Commander To Oversee Reforms In Parking Enforcement Operations
Los Angeles Times

Judge Rejects Argument Against Video Cameras In Metrolink Locomotives
Los Angeles Times

Legislature Votes To Tighten Up Oversight Of High-Speed Rail ("The Assembly approved Assembly Bill 145, which would make the authority an advisory body while shifting control of the project to a new state agency called the Department of High-Speed Trains.")

Sacramento Bee

Metro: Free Subway Rides During 405 Nightmare
Los Angeles Daily News

Metro Offering Free Subway Rides During 405 Closure

CBS Los Angeles

Metro To Offer Free Subway Rides During July 405 Fwy Closure

KABC-7

Officials Tussle Over Rail Crossing: Proximity Of Adjacent Propane Facility Constitutes A Danger, One Says
Burbank Leader

Palmdale Challenges High-Speed Rail Study Of Alternative I-5 route
Los Angeles Daily News

Palmdale To Pursue Legal Action If High-Speed Rail Authority Considers Bypassing Antelope Valley
Los Angeles Times

Report: California Mulls A "Department Of High-Speed Trains"
Government Technology

Residents Brace For Closure Of 405 Freeway

Los Angeles Daily News

Road Crews Fan Out Across Los Angeles To Fix Potholes: For This Weekend's Operation Pothole, City Crews Hope To Fix About 20,000 Potholes In Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times

School Officials Oppose Subway Extension Under Beverly Hills High: School District Officials Say One Of The Routes Being Considered Would Quash Their Plans To Renovate The Aging Campus. Prominent Developers Prefer That Route Because It Goes Through The Heart Of Century City
Los Angeles Times

Top Ten Reasons To Have The Subway Station At Constellation & Avenue Of The Stars
Century City Chamber Of Commerce

Value Capture As A Tool For Tying Land Use To Transit
Human Transit

The Virtues Of Investing In Transportation ("Infrastructure spending, adjusted for inflation and accounting for the depreciation of existing assets, is at about the same level it was in 1968, when the economy was one-third smaller. Public investment on transportation and water infrastructure as a share of gross domestic product has fallen steadily since the 1960s and now stands at 2.4 percent, compared with 5 percent in Europe and more than 9 percent in China.")
New York 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.