Today's Headlines - more at Metro

10/21/2011

Green Line LAX, Westside Subway, Amtrak, Calif Cap & Trade, Rail Yards & More

Amtrak Reports Record Ridership Along California Corridor
CBS San Francisco

Amtrak Soft Launches Wi-Fi, But With Content Filtering
Greater Greater Washington

BART Proposes Policy To Govern Cell Phone Blackouts
Silicon Valley Mercury News

Beverly Hills, Century City Property Values Will Tank
Beverly Hills Courier

Beverly Hills Subway Extension Needs To Go Under 90210 High School, Metro Says: District Blasts Earthquake Report
LA Weekly

Bicycle Awareness: For Those In Power, Ignorance Is Still Bliss!
StreetsBlog LA

Big Surprise: MTA Will Put Tunnel Under Beverly High (update from Oct. 19 story)
Beverly Hills Courier

Buresh Hosts Community Walk Through Of Potential BHHS Tunnel
Beverly Hills Courier

California Adopts Nation's Most Sweeping Cap & Trade Plan
KQED

California's Government 2.0: How Local Governments Are Using Technology To Become More Accessible ("Enough with long lines at the DMV and other horrors of local government. It's time for cities to drag themselves into the 21st century. Here are the steps some are taking." Spotlight on smartphone graffiti and pothole reporting)
Fast Company

Can Smartphone Apps Replace Permanent Airport Signage?
Future Travel Experience

Century City Area Tunneling Safety Report (130p. PDF)
Parsons Brinckerhoff for Metro
Century City Area Fault Investigation Report (40p. PDF)
Parsons Brinckerhoff for Metro
Executive Summaries (14p. PDF)
Century City Area Tunneling Safety And Fault Investigations (13p. PDF)
Tunnel Advisory Panel
Related Documents for Westside Subway Extension
Metro

Chicago Proposes "Congestion Fee" On Parking To Fund Transit
StreetsBlog NY

City Considers Making Homeowners Responsible For Sidewalk Repairs And Legally Liable For Mishaps
Los Angeles Daily News

City To Cancel Some Driveway Apron Parking Tickets
Eastsider LA

Comprehending A Comprehensive "Green Line To LAX"
CityWatch

Congress Is Broken, And HSR Pays The Price
California High Speed Rail Blog

Fight On Westwood: Ignore The UCLA Subway Station Diversion
CityWatch

Freight Facility Location Selection: A Guide For Public Officials
(80p. PDF)
National Cooperative Freight Research Program
Background Research Material For Freight Facility Location Selection: A Guide For Public Officials (125p. PDF)
National Cooperative Freight Research Program

FTA Distributes $1 Billion To Local Transit Agencies
StreetsBlog DC

If Faults Are Dangerous, Why Did MTA Staff Hide The Data?
Beverly Hills Courier

Hard Work Of De-Grunging Westwood Village Has Begun
Curbed LA

Healthy El Monte, Not Just About Transportation But About Healthy Eating
StreetsBlog LA

It's The Parking, Stupid: One Transportation Consultant's Tough Love Approach
The Atlantic: Cities

Lawsuit Delays Metrolink Extension
Inland News Today

Legislation Allowing Electronic Signs On Big Blue Buses Becomes Law
Argonaut

Metro Experts Support Constellation Boulevard Station: Scientists Have Advised The Metro Board Of Directors Planning Committee To Select The Subway Route That Requires Tunneling Under Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills Patch

[D.C.] Metro Line To Dulles Could Run $150 Million Over Budget, Officials Say
Washington Post

Metro's Geotechnical Experts Recommend Tunneling Under Beverly High
(p. 3)
Beverly Hills Weekly

MTA Experts Recommend Constellation Station In Century City
LA Observed

No More Play: Conversations On Open Space And Urban Speculation In Los Angeles And Beyond
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Omnitrans Readies New Coaches For Service
Omnitrans Blog

Passenger Rail At A Glance 2011: Transit Trends (Data and infographics from a survey conducted by APTA of 117 transit agencies)
Progressive Railroading

Plan Proposes To Convert Industrial Land Into "Green" Community
(Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan)
EGP News

Railroads Sued Over Diesel Soot At California Rail Yards: Environmental Groups Demand That Three Rail Companies Replace Older, More Polluting Locomotives And Trucks, Ban Idling Near Homes And Adopt Technologies Designed To Reduce The Particulate Matter
Los Angeles Times

Reframing The Transportation Debate
("In sum, the U.S. has already spent over $6 trillion in direct costs for transportation infrastructure, not including a good deal of associated infrastructure and land values, and not fully accounting for replacement costs in 2011 dollars. (If I had to guess, I’d peg the current present value of all of it at perhaps double that: $12 trillion.) The mere existence of that infrastructure, which is to say our complete dependence on it, means that we’re already committed to spending at least $1.6 trillion additional dollars per year in maintenance, new vehicles, and fuel (leaving out the associated costs, like military expenditures). Again, the real numbers, if we had them, would be substantially larger.")
Smart Planet

Remembering Glendora's First Passenger Rail System: The Pacific Electric's Monrovia-Glendora Line Ran Through Glendora To Downtown Los Angeles ("The first Red Car reached Glendora in Dec. 1907. On average, 24 daily cars went in and out of Glendora in 1949 for a fare of 50 cents.")
Glendora Patch

Seismic Experts Back Subway Extension Under Beverly Hills High: The Conclusions Come After An Investigation Of Tunneling Safety And Fault Locations In The Proposed Westside Subway Area
NBC Los Angeles

Senate Panel To Vote On Transportation Bill Next Month
StreetsBlog DC

The State Of Private HSR Financing
California High Speed Rail Blog

Subway-To-Sea Route To Track Beneath Beverly Hills High School?
KABC Los Angeles

Techies Embed In City Hall
("While some cities like San Francisco and New York have been leaders in developing a software side of the city, others simply don’t have the time or resources to upgrade to Government 2.0. A program entering its second year is on a mission to help those cities get there, and so far it has produced some promising results.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Three Infrastructure Ideas That Already Have Bipartisan Support (details about state-issued transportation bonds, surface transportation grants, and national infrastructure bank)
Washington Post

To Win Riders, Mass Transit Should Get Wired ("A survey we administered to riders waiting at curbside boarding locations showed that almost half consider Wi-Fi important when they choose a travel mode, and about 55% plan to send texts or emails on their trip. The ability to freely use portable devices, while undoubtedly less important than the low fares, helps explain why so many affluent travelers now hop on curbside buses, even when travel times are longer.")
The Atlantic: Cities
Privacy Invades Public Space: The Growing Use Of Portable Electronic Technology On Intercity Buses, Trains & Planes Between 2009 & 2010 (22p. PDF)
DePaul University Chaddick Institute For Metropolitan Development

Transportation Technology Is Moving Ahead (Interviews with 10 transportation professionals about interesting career options)
Diversity Careers

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Says Intelligent Transportation's Safety Technology Will Put People Back To Work
ITS America

With Little Hope For Near-Term Federal Support, California High-Speed Rail Struggles
Transport Politic

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.

10/20/2011

Beverly Hills Subway, LA County Bicycle Master Plan, OC Transit Funding, Deficient Bridges, Rail Yard Pollution & More

210 Million Vehicles Cross Deficient Bridges Daily: Report
Transportation Nation

Anaheim Gets Federal Dollars For Planned Transportation Center
Voice Of OC

The Beverly Hills Unified School District Responds To Metro Report On The Santa Monica Fault
PR Newswire

City Seeks Federal Money To Expand L.A. River Bike Path (Nate Baird, Bicycle Coordinator for Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT): "We'll be asking City Council for the authority to match the federal funding with $5,000,000 of Measure R returns.")
KCET

Clock Again Ticking For Historic 6th Street Viaduct As Environmental Review Resumes
Blog Downtown

Community Meetings To Discuss Start Of Van Nuys Corridor Rapidway Environmental Clearance
Van Nuys News Press

The Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan: Livable Streets Dream Or Affordable Housing Nightmare?
StreetsBlog LA
Draft Environmental Impact Report Chapter Links

County Of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan (214p. PDF)
Los Angeles County Department Of Public Works
Appendices (195p. PDF)

Cue The Fury: Scientists Recommend Century City Subway Stop That Would Require Tunnel Under Bev Hills High
Curbed LA

Even The Godfather Of Rail~Volution Wouldn't Raise The Gas Tax Right Now
StreetsBlog DC

Experts On Board With Westside Subway
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

Experts Report On Seismic And Safety Issues Concerning The Westside Subway Extension ("Scientists recommend a Constellation station, say tunneling can be done safely under Beverly Hills High School campus. No decisions about the subway's route were made.")
Metro
Biographies (6p. PDF : "Some of the world’s leading seismologists as well as tunneling engineers and other experts were involved in preparing or independently reviewing two geotechnical studies that examined engineering issues and earthquake risks associated with building a subway station in Century City or tunneling through Beverly Hills, Westwood and Century City as part of the planned Metro Purple Line.")

Five Ways Market Research Paints Bright Future For Public Transit
StreetsBlog DC

Great Los Angeles Walk 2011 Is November 19, Will Explore Hollywood
LAist

Groups Sue California Rail Yards Over Diesel Pollution
Media Newswire

Highway Trust Fund: All States Received More Funding Than They Contributed In Highway Taxes From 2005 To 2009 (38p. PDF)
U.S. Government Accountability Office

How Cities Should Work: The Director Of "Urbanized" Talks About The Universal Issues Cities Face And How Twitter Is Changing Filmmaking
Salon

How Congress Shapes Your Commute ("At the end of this year, the mass-transit benefit, authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is scheduled to expire (the benefit cap will drop back to $120 per month). Not surprisingly, many transit advocates are already cranking the siren.")
Washington Post

How To Fund U.S. Infrastructure? Reduce Defense Spending
Infrastructurist

Improving Safety-Related Rules Compliance In The Public Transportation Industry
(127p. PDF)
Transit Cooperative Research Program

ITS America Announces 2011 Awards
Transit Wire

It's Time To Get Serious About Bicycle Education
StreetsBlog LA

L.A. Area Home To Dozens Of Deficient Bridges, Report Finds: Of The 99 Most Heavily Trafficked Structurally Deficient Bridges In The United States, L.A. County Is Home To 91, According To An Analysis By A Group Advocating National Transportation Improvements
Los Angeles Times

L.A.'s Bike Lanes, Not Just For Bikes!
StreetsBlog LA

The Last Mile: How Bike-Ped Improvements Can Connect People To Transit
StreetsBlog DC

Los Angeles Prefers Local Businesses ("The port, airport and redevelopment agency, along with the city's Department of Public Works, already have adopted local hire agreements that require at least 30 percent of the workers to come from the city, and Villaraigosa is negotiating with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to implement a targeted hire strategy.")
American City & County

MTA Will Tunnel Under Beverly High
Beverly Hills Courier

New Report Ranks Deficient Bridges By Metro Areas
Transportation For America
The Fix We're In For: The State Of Our Nation's Busiest Bridges (16p. PDF)
Transportation For America
McDonald's vs. Deficient Bridges In 102 Largest US Metropolitan Areas (comparative infographic)
Transportation For America via Yfrog

NJ Transit Jumps Onboard Google Wallet: Contactless Pay Service Lets Passengers Buy Train And Bus Tickets Using Smartphones
Information Week
Google Wallet Partners With NJ Transit For Easy Ticketing
The City Fix

OCTA Breaks Ground On $600 Million Project: The O.C. Bridges Program Is Expected To Create More Than 1,000 Jobs Over The Next Year
OC Metro

OCTA Receives $9.3M In DOT Grants
Metro Magazine

The Only Hope For Reducing Traffic (According to new research, "no matter how many lanes of road you build in and around American cities, you can't stop cars from jamming them up. Despite the claims of highway advocates like the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, urban congestion can't be addressed by increasing road capacity.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Operational And Safety Impacts Of Restriping Inside Lanes Of Urban Multilane Curbed Roadways To 11 Feet Or Less To Create Wider Outside Curb Lanes For Bicyclists
(97p. PDF)
Florida Department Of Transportation

Panel Backs MTA Subway Extension Under Beverly Hills High: The Team Of Engineering And Seismic Experts Says That Option Is Safer Compared To A Route Through The Fault-Riddled Ground Beneath Santa Monica Boulevard. Foes Disagree
Los Angeles Times

Parking Solutions Don't Have To Be Taxing: San Francisco's "Smart Parking" Experiment Could Offer Model For Chicago
Chicago Tribune

Patrick Foye Named New Executive Director Of NY-NJ Port Authority
Transportation Nation

Phone Tracking Tech To Reward Walking, Biking ("Londoners who walk or bike around town with a smartphone that records their whereabouts will soon earn points redeemable at shops and restaurants.")

Rest In Peace: Santa Monica Blvd. Subway Station
StreetsBlog LA

The Role Of FHWA Programs In Livability: State Of The Practice Summary
(40p. PDF)
Federal Highway Administration
Livability In Transportation Guidebook: Planning Approaches That Promote Livability (120p. PDF)
Federal Highway Administration / Federal Transit Administration

Sixth Street Viaduct Hurtling (Again) Toward Destruction
Curbed LA

Slides From Today's Metro Century City Station Meeting
Angelenos Against Gridlock
Metro Century City Station Seismic Presentation 10-19-11 (video)
Ending Gridlock via YouTube

TfL Spreads Digital Information On Bus Travel: Transport For London Makes Digital Information For Every Bus Stop In The Capital Available Online And On Mobile Phones
Guardian (U.K.)

Tony Curtis Leaves The Hollywood Freeway ("After 16-years of re-touching the Tony Curtis mural after numerous vandal attacks and few hundred thousand road miles on his truck, muralist George Sportelli of Whittier has begun the delicate process to remove the mural from the Sunset Blvd. bridge on the southbound side of the Hollywood Freeway .")
Caltrans District 7

Tools For Assessing Exposure To Land Transport Emissions (110p. PDF)
New Zealand Transport Agency Research Report

Transportation Enhancements Program Beats Back Another Assault
StreetsBlog DC

Transportation Planning: Off The Grid In Los Angeles
APA Reimagine Los Angeles

U.S. Depts. Of Transportation, Commerce, Partner To Boost Domestic Manufacturing
Metro Magazine

Why Congestion Pricing Will Always Be Unpopular
Reuters

Zipcar Launches Facebook App
The City Fix

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.

10/19/2011

FlyAway, Train Pollution, High Speed Rail, Metro Green Line, LA Bike Master Plan, Metrolink, Orange Line, Transportation Funding and more…

Airport officials conducting passenger survey for Westwood FlyAway bus
Daily Breeze

Amtrak's Banner Year - Even as ridership increases, it still can't cut its losses
Wall Street Journal

Clock Again Ticking for Historic 6th Street Viaduct as Environmental Review Resumes
BlogDowntown

Cypress Park and Elysian Valley residents target train pollution and noise
Eastsider LA

Dan Walters: High-speed choo-choo to nowhere
Sacramento Bee

Denver Hits 2.2% Bicycle Commuter Mode Share for 2010
Denver Urbanism

Discounted Metro Tickets Available for Grad Students - Graduate and professional students at USC can now enjoy public transportation at a cheaper rate
Annenberg TV News

Environmental Group Sues Railroads over LA Pollution
CBS

FTA launches its revamped website (with an MTA metroliner bus photo in the upper right)
Federal Transit Administration

Government as Advocates: Expo Construction Authority Wants Your Comments to CPUC
LA Streetsblog

GPSS begins Metro savings pilot program
Daily Trojan

Green Line/LAX Update: The Sound of One Hand Clapping
CityWatch

INLAND: RTA, Omnitrans get $10.8 million in federal grants
Press Enterprise

L.A. County Finishes Bike Master Plan – Hearing Scheduled on November 16
LA Streetsblog

LaTourette introduces bipartisan bill to help public transportation (H.R. 3200) (would allow federal funding to be used for operating assistance)
Steven C. LaTourette

Metrolink cancels Orange County, Inland Empire lines for 3 weekends
CBS

Metrolink, L.A. Metro win NARP award
Metro Magazine

Orange Line Conversion to Light Rail: It can happen
LA Curbed

Strategies for Reuse of Underutilized or Vacant Airport Facilities (.pdf)
Transportation Research Board

Time to Get America Moving: Invest in Transportation Infrastructure
NRDC Switchboard

Transit-Oriented and Joint Development: Case Studies and Legal Issues (.pdf)
Transportation Research Board

U.S. Depts. of Transportation, Commerce, partner to boost domestic manufacturing
Metro Magazine

Video: Virgin Galactic Unveils Spaceport America
Wired Autopia

W.H. jobs focus roadblock to transportation funds?
Politico

Why American Commute Times Are Difficult to Compare to Other Countries
The Atlantic/Cities

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.

10/18/2011

Amtrak, Colton Crossing, High Speed Rail, Infrastructure, Transportation Bill, Ports, Rail-volution, Federal Grants and more…

Amtrak sets ridership record in fiscal year 2011
Smart Planet

Building for a new America: RailVolution 2011 in Washington, DC
Smart Growth America

California Bullet Train Suffering, Vegas Chugging Along
LA Curbed

Can train technology re-invent the wheel?
BBC

Congressional Leaders Continue to Push for Long-Term Transportation Bill
National League of Cities

Green Signal Light For Colton Crossing
Inland News Today

Helsinki Public Transport Visualized
YouTube

Investors may not back bullet train until after it's running, agency says - In a letter to key legislators, the California High-Speed Rail Authority's acknowledgment about private funding again raises serious questions about how the $43-billion construction cost will be paid over the next decade
Los Angeles Times

LACCD Inspector General Releases Report on the Sale of Counterfeit I-TAP Cards by District Employee - LACCD Staff Member Was Selling Counterfeit Cards on Craigslist
Business Wire

LaHood Warns Of Crisis For US Logistics and Transportation Infrastructure Blasts Bipartisanship Politics
HandyShippingGuide

LA Metro Gets $25 Million In Grants For Natural Gas Buses
CBS and Los Angeles Times

Lessons From the Former Chairman: Oberstar on Ending the Interstate Era
LA Streetsblog

Long Beach Spending $4B on Port Expansion Project
FOX Business News

One More Year With LaHood
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Proposed Fairway-60 Freeway Railroad Project in Design Phase - The Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority has engineers at work on preliminary designs for a proposed grade separation project at Fairway Drive and the 60 freeway
Walnut Patch

Rail~volution: Will New Americans Fuel Smart Growth or Suburbanism?
Streetsblog

SGVCOG officials set to meet with Caltrans to seek further reductions in audit
Whittier Daily News

Thoughts While Riding the Expo Bike Lane
LA Streetsblog

Trade bills could help increase Long Beach, LA Port traffic
Press Telegram

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $928.5 Million To Put Americans Back to Work Repairing, Rebuilding, Modernizing the Nation’s Transit Infrastructure - Federal funds will create jobs nationwide by strengthening transit choices while improving safety and reliability
USDOT

10/17/2011

Infrastructure, High Speed Rail, TOD, TAP, Urban Bikeways, Transit Manufacturing and more…

$9 billion is looking for a job - There's plenty of work to do in California, and infrastructure bonds have been sold to cover it. But the money just sits there
Los Angeles Times

AB 1298 Signed Into Law (mobile billboards)
Canyon News

Drivers steer clear of HOT lanes over cost- State tinkers with price formula to increase usage, ease congestion
Atlanta Journal Constitution

Experts: U.S. must spend on infrastructure
UPI

Federal funding is needed for vital I-15/I-215 freeway interchange project
Fontana Herald News

‘Gargantuan large’ investment in infrastructure needed, experts say
Washington Post

GM's Super-Smart Pod Vehicle Looks at Future Transportation
TreeHugger

Gov't cameras in your car? E-toll patent hints at Big Brotherish future
MSNBC

High Speed Rail Between Las Vegas, Southern California On Track For 2012
Las Vegas Tribune

L.A. Is America's Most Stressful City, Says Forbes
LAist

Montebello Bus Lines Celebrates 80 Years With Video Contest
Eastside Sun

Parking Disrupted as Metrolink Goes Green - The parking lot in the City of Industry will undergo construction for the next eight months as Metrolink builds solar-paneled carports to improve energy consumption. Parking will no longer be free at the station
Walnut Patch

Pasadena TOD Projects Set the Stage for Denser, More Walkable Development
ULI

Plan for High Speed Rail Just Inching Along
Wall Street Journal

Push to Return Transit Manufacturing to NYC
New York Times

Spot-Checking at Locked Metro TAP Turnstiles Yields 53 Citations & 5 Arrests
LAist

Traffic Is Going to Suck Even More When the Economy Finally Improves
LAist

Urban Bikeway Design Guide for U.S. Cities
The City Fix

Visa to Improve Payment Experience for Commuters in Los Angeles and Paris
TransNational News