Today's Headlines - more at Metro

6/27/2009

Transportation Headlines for Saturday June 27, 2009

Abandoned Rail Line Gets New Life As NYC Park
NPR

California Leads Nation in Federal Obligations for Recovery Funds Designated for Transportation
Imperial Valley News

CityWatchLA - Park[ing] Day LA is On the Way
SoapBoxLA

Council terminates Downtown Loop - Funds saved could be diverted to city’s other four bus lines, which cost less to run and draw more riders
Burbank Leader

D.C. Metro crash highlights underfunding of public transit systems - About $50 billion in backlog repairs is needed for rail transit systems, but just $5.6 billion was spent in 2006, according to one report
CS Monitor

Eastside and Long Beach Celebrate Biking
LA Streetsblog

Gardena receives federal funds for hybrid buses
Daily Breeze

House Passes Landmark Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change
Transport Gooru

House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee Approves Bi-partisan Surface Transportation Authorization Act – Full Committee Consideration Possible in July
American Public Transportation Association

HSR and Historic Stations
California High Speed Rail Blog

Latest in de-car-ing: Contest for L.A.’s most transit-friendly community — and the opposite of de-car-ing
Green LA Girl

Lawmakers distance themselves from El Monte transit center developers
SGV Tribune

Light Rail Doing Just Great in the Phoenix Desert
Curbed LA

Metro Crash and Tax: Leaseback Infrequently Asked Questions
Concurring Opinions

Montebello Bus Lines Running on Borrowed ‘Fuel’
Eastside Sun

New LA River Bicycle Path to Break Ground on Monday
LAist

Statement of EDF President Fred Krupp on House Passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act
EDF

Statement By William Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Regarding New Transportation Agreement In Energy Bill
American Public Transportation Association

Transportation Reauthorization (STAA) Updates: Media-Roundup
Transport Gooru

Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
LA Streetsblog

6/26/2009

Transportation Headlines for Friday June 26, 2009

AC Transit considers deep service cuts
San Francisco Chronicle

Assembly approves budget package, but Schwarzenegger says he'll veto it
Los Angeles Times

Beyond D.C.'s Metro Crash: A Nation's Aging Transit System
TIME

Boxer: Forget Transportation Bill, Work with Me on Something Else
LA Streetsblog

DOT Secretary LaHood: Payments To States May Be Delayed
Morningstar

Express Lanes Coming To Our County
LB Post

Government estimates $20 billion highway funding shortfall
Reuters

Historical Documents: Oberstar’s Two-Page Handwritten Outline Of The Transpo Bill
The Infrastucturist

L.A. Breaks Ground on Orange Line Extension - Busway will head up Canoga Ave from current western terminus
Transport Politic

LAUSD on Expo
Curbed LA

Looking for a Transit Friendly Community? Try Claremont
LA Streetsblog

Los Angeles History Bits (Orange Line)
LA Observed

Metro Board Punts on AnsaldoBreda
LA Streetsblog

Metro to Use Funds for Upgrades, Not Bank Lease Deals
Bloomberg

MTA Works to Avoid D.C. Train Tragedy - Officials improve training and review systems
NBC

Officials say crash like D.C. Metro not likely in other cities
CNN

Probe Finds Metro Control 'Anomalies' - Investigators Test Electronics Near the Scene Of Fatal Crash
Washington Post

Tram-Train Technology Debuts
Planetizen

Transportation Bill Is Dead As A Doornail For 2009 Because Nobody Can Figure Out How To Pay For It
The Infrastrurcturist

Westside traffic relief coming with widening of Sawtelle
Los Angeles Times/LA Now

Where Should the LADOT and Planning Do Workshops on Bike Plan?
LA Streetsblog

White House is Happy about 405 Freeway Project
LAist

6/25/2009

Transportation Headlines for Thursday June 25, 2009

10 Great Reasons to Work in Public Transit
Bus, Trains and the Media

Accident Raises Issues Over Metro Funding
Washington Post

BART workers vote to sanction a strike
San Francisco Chronicle

Car Sharing Goes Electric
Wired

Citing student safety, school board opposes Expo Line rail route
Los Angeles Times

Communicating the Value of Transportation Research
Full Report: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_610.pdf
Transportation Research Board

Crash Puts Focus on Aging Rail Fleets
New York Times

Data for All: Why Obama's Geeky New CIO Wants to Put All Gov't Info Online
Wired

Demolished! 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball (And The Crappy Stuff Built In Their Place)
The Infrastructurist

Denver RTD adopting ‘thin client’ technology
Metro Magazine

Find Your Way Around LA - A Guide For Public Transit Newbies in Los Angeles
Irwin’s Random Thoughts

High-Speed Rail Numbers Game: Is $13 Billion and 110 MPH Enough?
LA Streetsblog

House Dems Agree: Climate Bill Can Help Pay for Greener Transportation
LA Streetsblog

How does the new transportation bill draft measure up?
Transportation for America

If You Want Transit-Friendliness, Try the Downtown
LA Streetsblog

LADOT Converts Former Meters Into Bike Racks in Hollywood
LA Streetsblog

L.A. Metro breaks ground on BRT extension
Metro Magazine

Lawmakers reject budget fix; state could begin issuing IOUs next week
Los Angeles Times

Local transit officials monitoring D.C. train crash probe - MTA officials say major parts of the L.A. subway system rely on an automated train control system similar to the one targeted for scrutiny. Nine people were killed in the Washington crash
Los Angeles Times

Metro Orange Line extension breaks ground
Daily News

Not Exactly a Blue Ribbon Moment: LA's Air Most Toxic in Nation
LAist

NY MTA: LOCKHEED MARTIN SCREWED UP ON SUBWAY SECURITY
New York Post

Oberstar's highway bill would mandate EOBRs for all carriers within 4 years; ATA has concerns
The Trucker

Officials Break Ground on Orange Line Extension
KNBC

Officials Break Ground On Orange Line Extension
KNX 1070 AM

Old Parking Meters Reborn As Bike Hitches in Hollywood
Curbed LA

Peril at the Pump - How a new oil-price spike could force a double-dip in the Great Recession
Foreign Policy

President Obama short of money on highway fund
Politico

Reauthorization: a missed opportunity for transportation funding reform
Toll Road News

Riverside bus station security guards would stay if proposal is adopted
Press Enterprise

Senate Debates Need for High-Speed Trains
PC Magazine

SEPTA Delays ‘Smart-Card’ System Again
Philadelphia Inquirer

Successful retirement - Which of three careers was the most significant? For Hankla, it's hard to say
Press Telegram

Sunline puts two routes on hold
Desert Sun

Train-on-train collisions still occurring: Why?
Examiner

Transportation Bill Hits The Street
Wired

U.S. and Canada’s Top Rail Projects for 2009 (New Jersey #1, Los Angeles #13)
Metro Magazine

Webinar Alert: ITS America Announces Webinar Series on Climate Change and Transportation
Transport Gooru

Why Google Transit Rocks
Riding in Riverside

Yellow Timing and the Grand Jury Report
City of Ventura Transportation Engineering

6/24/2009

Transportation Headlines for Wednesday June 24, 2009

Canoga Park-Chatsworth busway construction kickoff Wednesday
Daily News

Can your grandma's bus do this?
EDF

City Leased The Streets Along With Its Parking Meters: Study
Huffington Post

Computer failure may have caused D.C. subway crash
USA Today

Dana Gabbard: Why My Community Is the Best for Transit
LA StreetsBlog

GAO Questions DOT’s HSR Strategy - Director of Infrastructure points to lack of true strategic plan
Transport Politic

High-speed rail proposal picking up steam
Whittier Daily News

High-speed train plan gets notice in D.C. - Projects like DesertXpress should be part of federal strategy, Nevadan tells panel
Las Vegas Sun

House Transportation Bill Lays Groundwork for Reform, But Key Details are Missing, Significant Work Still Needed
Transportation for America

Los Angeles County passes $22.7 billion budget without layoffs steep cuts in service
Daily Bulletin

Metrolink ridership takes hit; economy, cheap gas blamed - High unemployment, lower gas prices lead to lower ridership, county transit official says
OC Register

Metro Was Warned Over Aging Fleet
NPR

M.T.A. Sells Naming Rights to Subway Station
New York Times

New Federal Transportation Bill Connects Needed Reforms to Fighting Climate Change - EDF says reforms in reauthorization legislation critical to cutting greenhouse gas emissions
EDF

NTSB Says It Warned Of Train Safety In 2006
NPR

Old Business Highlights Transportation Committee and Metro Board
LA StreetsBlog

Once Again, City Transit Panal to Talk Bicycle Issues
LAist

Orange Line extension is vital for Valley transit
Daily News

Pasadena bus, car collision injuries 7
Pasadena Star News

Rail Car in D.C. Crash Was Type U.S. Wanted Replaced
Bloomberg

Rough Days for Transit Riders
LA Curbed

Senators Push for Rail Safety Tech Grants
Journal of Commerce

Senators Seek Rail Safety Funding in Aftermath of Metro Crash
LA StreetsBlog

Train chefs keep quality on track
Los Angeles Times

Train in fatal crash had emergency brake on - Investigators also find evidence that the train was in automatic mode, meaning the onboard computer should have slowed it down. Monday's wreck killed nine people
Los Angeles Times

Why the Economic Downturn Has Been Good News for Amtrak and the Future of Rail Travel
Alternet

6/23/2009

Transportation Headlines for Tuesday June 23, 2009

7 Seven dead in D.C. Metro rail crash - A commuter train rear-ends another, ripping open cars in the system's worst accident in 33 years
Los Angeles Times

Airport board OKs $126.5M for parking lot
Daily Breeze

APTA Rail Coverage: Advances in Fare Collection Technology Presented
Passenger Transport

Battle of the Bike Safety P.S.A.’s: LADOT vs NYCDOT
LA StreetsBlog

Bike trail plans move ahead with $1.5 million contract
Press Telegram

Caltrans chief hired as O.C.'s new transportation director
Los Angeles Times/LA Now

Caltrans chief hits the road
Sacramento Bee

Canadian transit ridership breaks record
Metro Magazine

Chairman releases full transportation bill text
T4America

CityWatchLA - Hey! I’m Walkin’ Here!
SoapBoxLA

Credit where it's due
Riding in Riverside

EPA Joins HUD, DOT in Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Smart Growth Online

Fitch cuts credit rating of Las Vegas Monorail bonds
Las Vegas Journal Review

Head of $14 billion Caltrans moving to $1.2 billion OCTA - Governor announces the Caltrans director's departure
OC Register

Iwasaki to replace Kempton as Caltrans chief
San Jose Business Journal

London's Underground to 'Go Mobile' - Plans are in the works to install cell phone coverage across the British capital's transport system ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics
Business Week

MARTA fares jump to $2 starting in October - Trains will run till 1 a.m., but fewer buses will run
Atlanta Journal Constitution

New Transit and Visitor Center opens at First and Pine
Press Telegram

Oberstar’s Transportation Bill: The Early Word
LA Streetsblog

Public Input Requested on Central City Community Plan
BlogDowntown

Santa Clarita Transit Service “TAPs” New Technology For Riders
Santa Clarita City Briefs

Seattle Metro Presents Service Cut Planning Strategies
Seattle Transit Blog

Slimmed-down airport budget wins OK
Daily Breeze

Smart Growth Leaders Hail EPA-HUD-DOT Partnership
Smart Growth Online

Train Crash in Washington Leaves 6 People Dead
New York Times

US House Wants More Transit Spending, Fewer Tolls
TruthAboutCars

U.S. proposal makes road funds conditional on safety
Canadian Driver

Waiting for Gold - Little Tokyo and the Arts District Prepare for the Metro’s Eastside Extension
LA Downtown News

What Difference Would An 18-Month Delay In Reauthorization Make?
National Journal

WMATA: Experts Suspect Failure Of Signal System, Operator Error
Washington Post