Today's Headlines - more at Metro

3/29/2012

Expo Line Precursors, Beverly Hills Subway, Gold Line Videos, Dodgers & Transpo, Highway Bill Deadline, 710, Canoga Park At 100 & More

$7 Billion Public-Private Plan In Chicago Aims To Fix Transit, Schools And Parks
New York Times

Are These Gold Line Videos A Waste Of Tax Dollars? ("The Gold Line Construction Authority has released a series of videos explaining the coming attractions for the Gold Line Foothill Extension. One local blogger thinks the money would be better spent elsewhere.")
Monrovia Patch

Assembly Candidates Pledge To Oppose Subway Route Under BHHS: Their Comments Come As Residents' Opposition To Subway Tunneling Under Beverly Hills High School Gains Momentum
Beverly Hills Patch

Canoga Park Centennial (Canoga Park celebrates its 100th birthday tomorrow. The West San Fernando Valley community is rich in Pacific Electric history. Includes timeline)
Canoga Park 100
Recalling Pacific Electric's Leading Role In Valley
Los Angeles Daily News

City Revs Up Efforts To Get Millions In Federal Funding For 101/23 Expansion
Thousand Oaks Acorn

City To Test New Paint On Spring Street Bike Lane
Los Angeles Downtown News

Countdown Clock ("Time remaining for the House to pass the bipartisan Senate Bill to avert a transportation shutdown: 2.9 million jobs at stake.")
U.S. Senate Democrats

Dodgers Sale Creates A Chance To Fix Broken Parking Lot/Transportation
StreetsBlog LA

Evacuated Tube Travel To Replace Trains, Planes And Automobiles?
Huffington Post

Gold Line Foothill Extension From Pasadena To Azusa: Small Business Opportunities (video)
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority via YouTube

Google Maps 6.5 Gets A Face-Lift, Adds Public Transit Features
CNET

Graphic: A Closer Look At The Senate MAP-21 Vote By State
Transportation For America

Ground Broken On Next Phase Of I-5 Freeway At Alondra Blvd. Bridge
Los Cerritos News

Guidelines For Providing Access To Public Transportation Stations (146p. PDF : "Several issues underlie contemporary rapid transit station access planning: What is the best way or “process” for station planning and development? Which groups should be included in this planning process? What travel modes should be accommodated? How do development densities and land use patterns affect the use of various access modes? How can station ridership and access modes use be estimated? What are the likely effects of parking on station ridership? How can the sometimes-differing concerns of transit agencies and communities be addressed? How do access issues vary between mature and new stations? How should pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and auto access be integrated into the site plan for the station and its environs? What guidelines underlie the provisions of park-and-ride? When are garages preferable to surface parking? What provisions should be made for TOD and integrating station access with the surrounding neighborhoods? Under what circumstances are feeder bus services likely to provide a cost-effective means of providing station access? What are ways to maximize access at constrained stations?")
Transit Cooperative Research Program

The Hitchhiker's Guide To Congress Not Re-Upping The Highway Bill By March 31
Fox News

Hollywood Debates Its New Planning Standards At City Hall
Curbed LA

House GOP Is Back To A 90-Day Extension, Will See Debate [Today]
StreetsBlog DC

House Nears Vote On Highway Bill To Avert Halt To Road Projects
Business Week

How And Why We Should Green Parking Facilities
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

The Latest Fantastic Transportation System That Will Never Be Built ("Beijing to New York in two hours.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Metro Community Meeting Thursday At Temple Emanuel ("Residents are encouraged to attend the session and weigh in on plans to tunnel under BHHS as part of the Westside Subway Extension.")
Beverly Hills Patch

Metro EIR Targets Beverly Hills Buildings For Demolition: Restaurants, Offices And Apartments Could Be Bulldozed For Subway Extension (cover story plus related articles)
Beverly Hills Weekly

Metro Seeking Community Liaisons In 710 Study: Metro Trying To Bridge Gap Between Community And Government
South Pasadena Patch

Parking On SaMo's Colorado Ave. Taking Hit From Expo Line
Curbed LA

Pressure Mounts On House To Take Up Senate Bill. Does The House Care?
StreetsBlog DC

Public Transit Holds Key To America's Hidden Energy Reserve
The Hill

Rail Returns To The Westside: The Expo Line's Historical Precursors ("Although its tracks, signals, and power lines are all new, much of the light rail line's right-of-way dates to 1875, when the first rail link between downtown L.A. and the Westside opened and gave birth to the city of Santa Monica." Includes numerous photos from Metro Transportation Library's Archive as well as other historical photos and maps)
LA as Subject via KCET

Rep. Mica Calls On Dems To Support Short-Term Highway Bill
The Hill

Road Bill Gridlock Worries States ("The Highway Trust Fund -- the place where federal gas taxes are deposited -- will start incurring losses to the tune of $110 million each day the law is lapsed. That means states won’t be reimbursed for projects already under way, putting them in the uncomfortable position of trying to decide how long they can float the money before they have to shutter projects midstream. The uncertainty created will also mean states just won’t start new projects already planned.")
Politico

Santa Monica Perks Up Streets With New Lights, Landscaping
Curbed LA

Tax Collector Wants To Freeze State Levy On Gasoline
Los Angeles Times

The Utter Futility Of A Gas Tax "Holiday"
StreetsBlog DC

We're Number 1! In Density, That Is
KCET

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