Today's Headlines - more at Metro

2/21/2012

710 Houses, Move LA, Park 101, Mt. Lowe, "Drill & Drive," Walk/Bike, Gas Prices, Bus Benches & More

February 21: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (A landmark date for one of Southern California's world famous -- but now, mostly forgotten -- tourist attractions)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

2 Key Freight Elements In House Transportation Bill
Transportation Issues Daily

1891 Map Of LA Includes Drawings Of Long-Gone Buildings
Curbed LA

Airlines And High Speed Rail: Unholy Alliance Or Blessed Partnership?
California High Speed Rail Blog

Back-Seat Driver: U.S. Transportation Funding Rattles Nerves In Sacramento
Sacramento Bee

Bipedal? Curious? Americans Give Walking And Biking A Try
Grist

Brown Pins Legacy To Calif. High-Speed Rail Plans
Associated Press

Caltrain Plan Would Fast-Track Electric Rail ("Officials with Bay Area transportation agencies are in negotiations with each other, and with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, to craft an agreement that would fund an advanced train-control system, electrify the rails on the Peninsula and eliminate some of the rail crossings - perhaps as soon as 2016, five to 10 years earlier than previous estimates.")
San Francisco Chronicle

Caltrans Urged To Sell Homes: Spokeswoman Says The State Is Several Years Away From Unloading Residences In The 710 Corridor
Pasadena Sun

A Changing Of The Guard In Little Tokyo: Replacements At Three Prominent Organizations As Community Undergoes Vast Alterations
Los Angeles Downtown News

Code For America's Vision For Peer-To-Peer City Governance
Shareable

Council Debates Parking Rules
Glendale News-Press

CSULB Commuters Deal With Traffic Woes
California State University, Long Beach Daily 49er

Divisions Deepen On U.S. Transportation Bills: March 31 Deadline For Transportation Legislation
Reuters

Event Examines How To Make LA A Mobile City Again
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog
LA On The Verge Of A Transit Breakthrough: Move LA 4th Annual Transportation Conversation (February 24)
Move LA

Free Archaeological Tour At San Gabriel Railroad Site
Los Angeles Times

The Future Of Infrastructure Design: The Impending Infrastructure Crisis Provides A Unique Opportunity To Bring Infrastructure Into The 21st Century ("Another possibility for roadways is to incorporate solar power elements directly into the infrastructure, enabling long stretches of pavement to essentially become part-time power plants. Whether with incorporated solar paneling, newly developed solar ‘paint,’ or a variety of other innovations in the solar power market, roadways provide a near ideal medium to tap into the power of the sun..")
Construction Digital

Gas Price Hike Has Drivers Worried
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Gas Prices Surging Beyond $4 A Gallon -- And They Will Go Higher
Silicon Valley Mercury News

Gold Line Bridge Work On Track, More 210 Freeway Closures Ahead
Pasadena Star-News

Highway Bill Stalled; Chamber Campaigns Outside Beltway
The Hill

How Public Perception Of Light Rail Influences Its Economic Benefits
The Atlantic: Cities

L.A.'s New Bus Benches Look Better, But Still Don't Serve Riders
LA Weekly

LACMTA To Host Community Meetings On LAX Rail Link Study
Progressive Railroading

Maybe It's Time For Public Transit: High Pump Prices Have Drivers Looking For Other Ways To Get Around
NBC Los Angeles

Motion Activated Pothole Sensors...In Your Phone
The Atlantic: Cities

Native American Monitors On San Gabriel Dig Help Ensure Cultural Preservation (Alameda Corridor East San Gabriel Trench project)
Whittier Daily News

Nighttime Full Closures Of The Southbound I-405 Freeway Scheduled For Tuesday Night, Feb. 21
Orange County Breeze

Officials Stand By High-Speed Rail Estimate
Fresno Bee

Offshore Drilling Approved In House, But Rest Of Transportation Bill Is In Conservative Crosshairs
Huffington Post

Optimal Transport Policy For An Uncertain Future ("The House bill reflects the older transport planning paradigm, which assumes that transportation means driving, so transport problem refers to constraints on driving and transport improvement refers to reducing constraints on driving. The new transport planning paradigm recognizes that mobility is seldom an end in itself...")
Planetizen

Our View: Driving Debate On Mass Transit ("The White House's 2013 budget includes $50 million for Los Angeles' Westside subway extension and $31 million for a downtown underground light rail to tie several regional lines together. How about more funding for the Gold Line extension along our foothills, too?")
Pasadena Star-News

Park 101 Keeps The Ball In The Air ("Four freeway caps are under active consideration in Southern California right now, including three along Highway 101 -- Park 101, a cap to accommodate a park along Highway 101 in Hollywood, and a cap on Highway 101 in Ventura that would reconnect the downtown to the beach. Santa Monica is considering a cap on Interstate 10 that would reconnect the Civic Center with the rest of the its downtown. All are the subject of planning efforts funded either by their respective cities or by the Southern California Association of Governments.")
California Planning & Development Report

Pounding Pavement In Search Of A Smoother Drive ("In California, researchers are trying to stretch those resources by developing next-generation pavements that are quieter and more fuel-efficient to drive on.")
NPR

QuickPay Makes Your Smartphone A Parking Attendant
Wired

Reducing Vehicle-Miles Traveled Through Smart Land-Use Design (232p. PDF)
New York State Energy Research And Development Authority / NY DOT

Reminder: States Already Control Transpo $, And They Waste Billions
StreetsBlog Network

Roads To Ruin: Why "Drill And Drive" Is The New Motto In Washington ("We spend an estimated $186 billion each year to maintain our ground transportation system in this country. Despite that, we’re losing ground. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that just getting “structurally deficient” bridges up to snuff will require more than $70 billion...Perhaps the wisest choice is to kiss some of our beloved blacktop goodbye. Ultimately, we may have no choice. Besides, the real road to he future looks more like a set of train tracks or a bike lane.")
Grist

SGV Board Backs Completion Of Highway 39 To Wrightwood
Whittier Daily News

Silver Lake Boasts L.A.'s First Polka-Dotted Pedestrian Plaza
LAist

Sonia Romero's Urban Oasis At The MacArthur Park Metro Station ("Recognizing that art can engage transit riders, beautify public space, and reflect the diverse communities that use these systems as well as the region’s rich history, Metro initiated an ambitious public art program in 1989 that has become an important component of its planning and construction programs.")
Curating Los Angeles

Southern California Cities Rally Behind Ontario Efforts To Take Control Of L.A./Ontario International Airport
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Surface Transportation Reauthorization In The 112th Congress: Summary And Sources (28p. PDF)
Congressional Research Service

Transit Tax Break Buried In Partisan Debate
Transportation Nation

Transpo Bills Delayed In House And Senate As Congress Enters Recess
StreetsBlog DC

Transportation Agencies Seek Bullet Train Funds To Upgrade Local Corridors ("New proposals call for spending an additional $4 billion from a $9-billion bond fund to improve existing tracks in Northern and Southern California that would later become part of the bullet-train system.")
Los Angeles Times

Washington Delivers For Regional Connector
Los Angeles Downtown News

What Do You Want The Future 2B? LA City Planners Ask For Help
Blog Downtown

What Would You Like Subway Announcers To Say?
New York Times

Would Mitt Romney Invest In The Highway System?
Radials

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