Today's Headlines - more at Metro

8/24/2012

101 Cap Park, Long Beach Transit, 710 Extension, CEQA Overhaul, Complete Streets, Griffith Park & More


We are taking a Summer Break next week.  The Los Angeles Transportation Headlines will return Tuesday, September 4th.

August 24:  This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission is created)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

33 Democratic Legislators Come Out Against CEQA Reform
California High Speed Rail Blog

710 Freeway Extension Routes Thinned ("Connector to the 2 Freeway is among seven eliminated, but a tunnel remains under consideration.")
Pasadena Sun

Aileen Getty Foundation Donates $1.2 Million To Hollywood Central Park ("Friends of the Hollywood Central Park (FHCP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a 44-acre street-level park over the Hollywood Freeway in a densely populated and park-poor area of the city, accepted a $1.2 million gift today from the Aileen Getty Foundation. The donation, combined $825,000 from the city fully funds the park’s environmental study, a study needed before fundraising can truly begin for design and construction.")
StreetsBlog LA

A Brief History Of The Birth Of Urban Planning
The Atlantic: Cities

A Bus Fight Or Sign Of More Transit Conflicts? ("Local bus riders are hoping Long Beach Transit officials and Seal Beach council members can get past a bizarre encounter at a public meeting in May where Seal Beach residents were invited to comment on route changes.")
KCET

California Department Of Transportation: Its Poor Management Of State Route 710 Extension Project Properties Costs The State Millions Of Dollars Annually, Yet State Law Limits The Potential Income From Selling The Properties (100p. PDF)
California State Auditor

Carmageddon II PSA (video featuring Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa)
Metro via YouTube

CEQA Overhaul Amended Into Senate Bill
Sacramento Bee

Coast Rail Corridor Now Has Joint Timetable
StreetsBlog LA

Complete Streets: Policy Analysis 2011 (66p. PDF : "This report documents the growth of that diverse movement and its strengths by analyzing the more than 350 existing written policies adopted by states, regions, counties, and communities before January 1, 2012. Policies that come closest to meeting the ‘ideal’ are highlighted.")
Smart Growth America

Connecting With Trouble: Lawmaker Calls For An End To 710 Extension And A Probe Of Caltrans Following Scathing State Audit
Pasadena Weekly

Councilman Tom LaBonge Wants Olympics To Return To Los Angeles
NBC Los Angeles

El Sereno Group Seeks To Renovate Caltrans Bungalows
EGP News

Fewer Tech-Savvy Teens Are Driving ("The more time young people spend connecting through texting, email, Facebook and other social media sites, the less interest they have in driving, study finds.")
Los Angeles Times

Finally, The Presidential Race Turns To Transportation
StreetsBlog DC

How Grid Systems Promote Urbanism And Winding Streets Undermine It
StreetsBlog Network

How L.A. Got One Of The Country's Largest Urban Parks ("The Ostrich Farm Railway connected Los Angeles to Rancho Los Feliz and, later, Burbank. The line eventually became part of the Los Angeles and Pacific Railway, which later merged into the Pacific Electric Railway system.")
LA as Subject via KCET

How Much Should Agencies Explain Their Planning Thoughts?
Human Transit

How Well Will "Google Now" Get You Around? So Far, Not Very
The Atlantic: Cities

Huizar Takes Stand On SR-710 Extension Options
EGP News

Learning From Los Angeles (The entire August/September issue of "The Urbanist" dedicated to Los Angeles)
SPUR: San Francisco Planning And Research Association
The Benefits Of Big ("On a recent visit to Los Angeles, SPUR discovers the benefits — and challenges — of living in a county that encompasses over 4,000 square miles.")
Transit, Transformed ("Los Angeles County is at a moment of transformation. If things continue on their present course, in the next decade we may remedy one of urban America’s most fabled and historic missteps, made seven decades ago. At that time, the seemingly endless opportunity for development offered by Southern California real estate conspired with the boundless ambitions of the American automobile industry to demolish the Pacific Electric Railway, Southern California’s then-extensive rail transit system.")
A New Course For The L.A. River
Urban Field Notes ("A Trip on L.A.’s Rapidly Growing Rail Network.")

McCarthy Breaks Ground On $73M L.A.-Area Transit Center
Commercial Property Executive

Metro Phasing In TAP Cards
NBC Southern California

Metro Unveils Station Design For Regional Connector
StreetsBlog LA

Positive Train Control: Implementation Status, Issues, And Impacts (53p. PDF : "The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration has released a report that summarizes technical and programmatic issues experienced by railroad carriers that may inhibit them from implementing Positive Train Control systems by December 31, 2015.")
Federal Railroad Administration Report To Congress

Realizing The Potential Of Bay Area Boulevards ("Can the Bay Area follow in Los Angeles’ footsteps in re-envisioning its boulevards and arterials?" Discusses Downtown Los Angeles Metro Service)
SPUR: San Francisco Planning And Research Association

Romney Energy Plan: More Drilling, More Oil Dependence
StreetsBlog DC

San Rafael Neighborhood Association: "No 710 Freeway, Anywhere"
Pasadena Star-News

Three-Foot Passing Bill Up For Vote At State Assembly Friday
StreetsBlog SF

Using Smartphones To Collect Bicycle Travel Data In Texas (84p. PDF)
Texas Transportation Institute

Vehicle-To-Vehicle Technology Hits The Streets In Ann Arbor Safety Pilot
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Will Driverless Cars Abolish Buses?
Human Transit

With Regional Connector Stations, A "Less Is More" Design
Los Angeles Downtown News


What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Dailyour online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Sourceyour window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles

8/23/2012

Connected Cars, 710, Gold Line Foothill Extension, MAP-21, Bikes and more...

August 23: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The first streetcars roll out for Los Angeles Railways)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

33 Democratic Legislators Come Out Against CEQA Reform
Los Angeles Times

CBO: If nothing changes, we’re in for another recession
ThomasNet

Connected Cars Take to Michigan to Reshape the Driving World
Highland Park Mount Washington Patch

INLAND: ONT teamwork
Press Enterprise

LAX is a regional economic force. But it still needs major work
LA StreetsBlog
blogdowntown
Long Beach Press Telegram
Reconnecting America

Update: Furor grows over Caltrans audit, 710 extension - Portantino wants freeway extension killed; neighbors want criminal probe of Caltrans
ThinkProgress

LA StreetsBlog

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Dailyour online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Sourceyour window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.


8/22/2012

Bikes, Gold Line EIR to Montclair, High Speed Rail, Boyle Heights, X-Train to Vegas and more...

August 22: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The Southern California Rapid Transit District, a direct predecessor of LACMTA, is established)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

APTA President and CEO Michael P. Melaniphy to Deliver Keynote Address at 17th Annual BusCon Conference and Expo
Mass Transit

Bike Rack City Ride: Learning How to Install Bike Racks in Boyle Heights
LA StreetsBlog

The Case for Separated Bike Lanes
The Atlantic - Cities
California High Speed Rail Blog
NBC
The Hill
The Transport Politic
The Atlantic - Cities
USA Today

LAX Flyaway® Bus Sservice at Irvine Stations to Cease Operations
LAWA
Richmond Times Dispatch
Christian Science Monitor
Daily Kos
Curbed LA
Press Telegram
Curbed LA

Culver City Times

Take Back Boyle Heights (Demand that Metro replace what they demolished with the Gold Line construction)
East LA Community Corporation (Via Facebook)

Obama plan for high-speed rail, after hitting a bump, chugs forward again - High-speed rail plans, announced by the White House in 2009, are back on track after Amtrak commits to upgrades in the Northeast and California approves billions to build new tracks.
Christian Science Monitor

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Dailyour online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Sourceyour window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.

8/21/2012

Bus-Cycles, 710, Transit Oriented Development, LAX Economic Impact, Biking and more...

Big Blue Bus Offers $1 Rides to Culver City Expo - New nonstop service will take riders from downtown Santa Monica to the light rail station and UCLA
Culver City Patch
Bombardier
Riding in Riverside
LA StreetsBlog

Los Angeles Times
The Atlantic - Cities
Curbed LA

Metro all-access transit passes to go paperless
BlogDowntown

Our View: When Caltrans owns 500 historic houses
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Rail Impact: Mapping Gentrification in Los Angeles
Institute of Transportation Studies - UCLA

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Dailyour online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Sourceyour window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.


8/20/2012

Benefits of Big, Gold Line, Highways, High Speed Rail, Data, Bike Culture, and more...

28 miles of bike lanes and trails planned for Orange County
Orange County Register

AASHTO Bike Guide Book Video
American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials

Amtrak CEO Boardman Begs Congress For Billions In Funding But The Private Sector May Have To Right The Railroad
International Business Times

Curbed LA

Azusa residents get chance to air complaints about planned Gold Line parking structure
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

The Benefits of Big - On a recent visit to Los Angeles, SPUR discovers the benefits — and challenges — of living in a county that encompasses over 4,000 square miles
Washington Examiner
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Long Beach investment in bike culture boosting business
Contra Costa Times

Long Beach to vote on bicycle rental network proposal
Press Telegram

Mass Transit TV: 8/17/12 (video)
American Public Transit Association

Santa Monica BBB: Fall Service Begins August 26 & 27
Santa Monica

A seat at the table of power (710)
Burbank Leader

Service Change Preview
Riverside Transit Authority

Smart plans to trim the impact of our busy ports
Desert Sun

Thailand: High-Speed Train Bids to Start in 2013
Mass Transit Magazine

Transit to the Los Angeles County Fair
Southern California Transit Advocates

Walking Rates in America Improve, Still Pitiful
StreetsBlog

What the Heck Is Going on with the Expo Bikeway?
L.A. Streetsblog

White House offers states $470M in unspent funds for transportation projects
Washington Post

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Dailyour online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Sourceyour window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.