Today's Headlines - more at Metro

9/17/2010

Metro's New Fare Models?, Metrolink's New Railcars, L.A. Stimulus Jobs: $2M Each, Blue Line Walk & Transit Score, World's Most Luxurious Trains & More

Another Frantic Period Of Transit-Related Meetings Is Upon Us (El Monte Transit Center, Westside Subway Project, Downtown Regional Connector, California High-Speed Rail)
StreetsBlog LA

Assessment Of The Commercial Benefits Of Positive Train Control
(93p. PDF)
Association Of American Railroads

Bill Proposes Raising Train Crash Liability Cap ("Rep. Elton Gallegly said his bill is intended to help victims of a Metrolink commuter train crash that killed 25 people and injured more than 100 two years ago.")
Ventura County Star

Brown Pledges "Green" Jobs, But Costs Loom ("Among other things, Brown pledges to make "robust investment" in roads, highways, ports, airports and public transportation; accelerate construction of high-speed rail in California; and prioritize fixing the levees of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to shore up the reliability of the state's water supply.")
Contra Costa Times

Congress To Examine Trickle Down Of Rail Rates (Congress to examine ripple effect of railroad industry profits and price hikes on customers)
Associated Press

Despite Dwindling Tax Revenues, Top 100 Fleets Soldier On ("With dwindling sales tax revenues causing significant budget shortfalls, most of the 78 percent of respondents who said they are experiencing budgeting issues have implemented some form of service cuts, fare increases or both. Many others have also been forced to lay off employees, freeze hiring and salary increases, and delay implementing new services or purchasing new equipment.")
Metro Magazine

Discover Downtown's Secret Stairs On Saturday
Blog Downtown

Do L.A. City Councilmembers Really Care About Pedestrian Safety?
LAist

Don't Let Transportation Get Lost In The Political Shuffle; Send A Letter To Your Local Paper
Transportation for America

El Monte Bus Station's Last Days
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Extension To The MOCA In Los Angeles (What if we turned MOCA into a quintet of skyscrapers?)
Evolo

Eye Of The Beholder: For Today's Students, The Idea Of Urban Beauty Proves Both Elusive And Downright Confusing ("I had planned to use the idea of beauty as a lens through which to view a famously unbeautiful city. Part of my curriculum involved dispatching students to handpicked locations across Los Angeles to seek out that elusive quality.")
Metropolis

Giving Traffic Lights A Mind Of Their Own Can Reduce Congestion: Decentralized Networks Capitalize On Traffic Chaos
Popular Science

Invisible Cyclists Of Los Angeles ("You won’t see invisible cyclists at Los Angeles City Council meetings demanding bike lanes. You might not see them in the street either, as these cyclists tend to ride alone, often intermingled with pedestrians on the sidewalk, and without lights or reflective clothing. These cyclists are also often Latino immigrants, and nearly 20,000 of them in the L.A. metropolitan area use a bicycle as their main means of transportation to work...This particular group has different needs than other cyclists, yet their interests receive little attention.")
Planners Network: The Organization Of Progressive Planning

Japan Offers Loan To Build CA HSR Project
California High Speed Rail Blog

L.A. Westside Subway Extension Debate
LA Weekly

Managing Increasing Ridership Demand (32p. PDF)
FTA Transit Cooperative Research Program

Metro Taking A Look at New Fare Models ("Finally, Metro’s fascination with installing fare gates at rail stations, despite near universal ridicule for the project, is starting to make sense.")
StreetsBlog LA

New Map Shows Completed And Planned Bicycle Projects In L.A.
LAist

New Pricing Rules Weighed For Freight Railroads
Wall Street Journal

Portland: A Global Model Of Transit-Oriented Development
(video)
Fast Company via YouTube

Push For Control: Ontario Report Slams Operation
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

The Rise Of Apps Culture (46p. PDF : While the report didn’t single out transit-related applications, travel- and navigation-related apps generally score well among users)
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Overview

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Expo Line, But This Time It's Against The Bikeway
StreetsBlog LA

Six Senate Races That Pit Climate Heroes Against Global Warming Deniers
Think Progress

Three Transit Villains Exit The Stage In 2010 Primaries
StreetsBlog

Tight Budgets Might Slow Metrolink's Purchase Of Safer Passenger Cars: The Agency's Chief Executive Wants To Buy More Hyundai Rotem Cars That Feature Energy-Absorbing Crush Zones Now Required By The U.S. But The Agencies Funding Metrolink Might Lack The Necessary Funds
Los Angeles Times

Time Is Money In Bay Area HOT Lanes
Transportation Nation

Transit Network Maps: Draw, And Market, Your Own!
Human Transit

Transportation Porn: All Aboard The World's Most Luxurious Trains (photo essay)
AltTransport

Two L.A. Agencies Get $111 Million In Stimulus Funds But Have Created Only 55 Jobs: Controller Wendy Greuel, Who Audited The Public Works And Transportation Departments, Says The City Needs To Move More Quickly To Spend The Federal Money. The City's Budget Director Disputes Figures

Los Angeles Times

USC Bans Bicycles On Campus Paths Considered Bike Lanes
LAist

Use Of Contractors Is Generally Enhancing Transit Project Oversight, And FTA Is Taking Actions To Address Some Stakeholder Concerns (42p. PDF)
U.S. Government Accountability Office Report To Congressional Committees

Walk Score And Transit Score For Blue Line
MetroRider LA

A Week Of Biking Joyously (On a fact-finding mission to the Netherlands, a delegation of California public officials marvel at the promise of bicycles for 21st century transportation)
Planetizen

Whose Commute Is Worse? Yours Or Your Neighbors? (Mapping commutes by zip code yields interesting results)
Fast Company

Would A National Infrastructure Bank Help?
The Atlantic