Today's Headlines - more at Metro

1/29/2010

Transportation Headlines for Friday January 29, 2010

TheSource.metro.net

$4.5 Million To Fund Sound Wall Design
La Canada Valley Sun

Big Blue Bus Announces Next Phase Of Its Bus Stop Redevelopment Project Around City
Santa Monica Argonaut

A Bike-Ped State Of The Union: 9.6% Of Trips, 1.2% Of Federal Funding
DC StreetsBlog

Busway Extension Gets Boost From MTA: Local Funds Will Be Used To Keep The Orange Line Advancing
Los Angeles Daily News

The Cable-Car Test
Antiplanner

Californians Bucked Trend, Consuming Less Gas, Says Report
LAist

Car Sharing Program A Success, But Plans To Expand Are Tentative
LAist

Expo Timetable Stays On Track, But Faces Hurdle
Santa Monica Daily Press

Has Sprawl Recovered Enough For The National Economy? (new study shows that car-dependent communities have statistically higher rates of mortgage foreclosure than those with multiple transportation options)
New Republic
Full-Text Report: Reducing Foreclosures And Environmental Impacts Through Location-Efficient Neighborhood Design (4p. PDF)

High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: National Summary Of Selected Projects (map : recipients and funding)
U.S. Department of Transportation

Intelligent Transportation Systems: U.S. Not Leading The Pack
Government Technology

Issues Related To The 2010 Reauthorization: Testimony Before The Subcommittee On Aviation, Committee On Transportation And Infrastructure, House Of Representatives
(25p. PDF)
National Transportation Safety Board

LADOT: Car Sharing A Hit At UCLA, USC. No Plans To Broaden The Program Or Encourage Competition To ZipCar
LA StreetsBlog

L.A. Officials Recommend Privatizing 10 Public Parking Garages: Analysts Estimate That Letting Private Firms Run The Lots Could Enable The City To Quickly Raise Between $100 Million And $200 Million To Help Close A Budget Shortfall
Los Angeles Times

L.A. To Study Ways To Protect Bicyclists, Considers “Bill Of Rights”
Los Angeles Times

MTA Explores 710 Tunnel Financing: Decision Puts Opponents Of Proposed 710 Freeway Project At Unease
Glendale News Press

MTA, LADOT Contemplate Cutting Routes: Students Without Cars Could Soon Find Themselves With Even Fewer Options For Getting Around Los Angeles
USC Daily Trojan

Nevada Not Included On List For High-Speed Rail Projects (announcement could be beneficial for the DesertXpress plan to connect Las Vegas with Victorville)
Las Vegas Sun

New Report: Biking And Walking Could Save Lives (states with lowest levels of biking and walking have higher traffic fatalities and chronic disease)
The City Fix
Alliance For Biking & Walking Press Release
Fact Sheet (2p. PDF)
Full-Text Report (196p. PDF)

New Report Links Homeowners’ Auto Dependence With Foreclosure Risk
DC StreetsBlog

Obama To Biden: Talk To Me About High Speed Rail
LAist

RFID Enables Biking System
RFID News

State Lawmakers Take Aim At Free Parking (there is too much of it, they say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or bicycling - a Senate proposal would prompt cities and businesses to reduce its availability)
Los Angeles Times

State Of The Union: Billions Of Dollars For High-Speed Rail, But What About Other Modes Of Transport?
The City Fix

State Of The Union: Let’s Fix-It-First And Fix-It-For-All
EDF Way2Go Blog

Stimulus Money Will Spur Construction On California High-Speed Rail Project, Officials Say
Los Angeles Times

Thinking Through The Right Transportation In The Right Place At The Right Time
Planetizen

1/28/2010

Transportation Headlines for Thursday January 28, 2010

TheSource.metro.net

And The High Speed Rail Cash Goes To...
Infrastructurist

Bay Area Transit Brouhaha A Harbinger For LA?
LA Curbed

Board Members Predict Even Feds’ Threats Can’t Derail Oakland Airport Connector
SF Weekly

Breaking News: CA Gets $2.35 Billion Stimulus For HSR And Other Passenger Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog
Fact Sheet On The California High-Speed Train American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Application (2p. PDF)

California Northern Railroad Converts To Green Locomotives
Sacramento Bee

California To Get $2.25 Billion In High-Speed Rail Funding: The Federal Stimulus Grant, The Largest For Any State, Is Intended To Help The Anaheim-To-San Francisco Project To Fruition
Los Angeles Times

EPA Sets Stricter Air-Quality Standards Near Roads
Wall Street Journal

Exercising And Transportation Policy
American Prospect

Explaining International IT Application Leadership: Intelligent Transportation Systems (58p. PDF)
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Following Noise Complaints, LAPD Halts 24-Hour Construction Of Westside Rail Line
Los Angeles Times

How the LA Metro Is Part Of The “Green” Mass Transportation Movement
Travelin’ Local

Irvine Spending $19 Per Rider On City-Run Bus System
Orange County Register

Metro Eyes Hollywood & Koreatown, City Envisions Downtown & USC For Bicycle Sharing Programs
LAist

Next Steps After Copenhagen: Transportation (wrap-up of key messages from EMBARQ’s Transforming Transportation 2010)
World Resources Institute

One More Reason To Dig TIGER: Transit And Roads On The Same Footing
DC StreetsBlog

Port Of Los Angeles Fights Crime With Mobile Video
CIO

State, Federal Officials Tout Long-Term Transportation Plans (Rep. Oberstar and Secy. LaHood speak out on the “Surface Transportation Reauthorization Outreach Tour”)
Finance & Commerce

Traffic Info Line Now Live In Inland Area
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Transit Riders Launch Grassroots Lobbying Push In Dire Political Climate
DC StreetsBlog

1/27/2010

Transportation Headlines for Wednesday January 27, 2010

TheSource.metro.net

6 Cities That could Easily Be Car “Lite” Or Car Free (only one is in the US, and it’s in California)
Treehugger

Airport Connector Doomed, But Will Bay Area Get Its Stimulus Funding Back?
San Francisco Chronicle

BART launches API to spur innovation in transit app development
BART Press Release

Designing Bicycle Cities: Planning Clearly-Marked Urban Biking Systems Can Help us Educate Car Drivers And Decrease Cycling Accidents
GOOD

Does Your City Need A Web 2.0 Makeover? Act Now
Government Technology
Code For America

Fifty Years On The New York City Subway
Fans In A Flashbulb: International Center of Photography

Government Bans Texting By Truck And Bus Drivers
New York Times

How To Make LA Safe, Effective And More Enjoyable For Cyclists
LA StreetsBlog

Major Smart Card Market Players Join Forces To Advance Open And Secure Public Transport Smart Card Applications
Mass Transit Magazine

More Teens Are Choosing To Wait To Get Driver’s Licenses
Washington Post

Senate Weights $14B For Roads, $7.5B For Transit In Jobs Bill
DC StreetsBlog

Transbay Project Receives $171 Million Federal Loan
San Francisco Chronicle

Transit: You Can’t Work If You Can’t Get There
New Republic

Unemployment And The Transit Imperative
Human Transit

Ventura Is First In Southern Cal To Get Hybrid Bus (school bus)
Ventura County Star

Vroom! Speed Limit Increases In Front Of City Council
LA StreetsBlog

1/26/2010

Transportation Headlines for Tuesday January 26, 2010

TheSource.metro.net

2010 LA Street Summit: Biking, Walking And Beyond
Be A Green Commuter

Anti-Transit Freeway/Tollway-Building Politician Now In Charge Of OCTA: Welcome, Tustin Mayor Jerry Amante
TransitRiderOC

California High-Speed Rail Project’s Flaws Publicized
Sacramento Bee

Chandler Blvd. Speed Limit Should Increase From 35 To 45 MPH, Study Recommends
LAist

D.C. Art Activists See Old Trolley Station As Buried Treasure
Washington Post

Downtown’s Grand Avenue Now A Candidate For Eli Broad’s Art Museum
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Managing L.A.'s Mass Transit: The MTA Needs To Boost Fares And Make Other Moves To Cope With A Structural Deficit
Los Angeles Times

Fast Track The Future: A High-Speed Rail Agenda for America
Progressive Fix
Full-text policy memo (12p. PDF)

Gas Tax Ignorance Revisited: Are Vehicle Mileage Fees The Answer?
Infrastructurist

Into Performance-Based Transportation Policy (experts weigh in on how to develop effective and practical performance measures, as well as what data, resources and institutional changes will be needed)
National Journal Transportation Blog

Ken Greenberg On The Future Of Urban Planning
(cycling, shifting demographics, and the end of the lifespan for much of the post-WWII highway infrastructure)
Metropolis

L.A. May Boot More Cars To Ease Shortfall
Los Angeles Daily News

LA StreetSummit 2010 website (LA Trade Tech College : March 20, 2010)
LA StreetSummit

Long Beach Makes Way For Bicycles: The City Is Proactive In Becoming More Cyclist Friendly, Even Creating "Sharrows" For Bikes To Share Lanes - And 20 Miles Of New Bike Lanes Are Coming Soon
Los Angeles Times

New York: Cutting Service Without Cutting Mobility
Human Transit

OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante And CEO Will Kempton Share Their 2010 Transportation Goals (audio)
AudioBoo

Officials Rally Against 710 Extension
Glendale News Press

Plane Crazy? Meet The Academic Who Will Spend The Next Year Living In An Airport
Daily Mail (London)

Santa Monica Newspaper Makes Its Feelings Known On Bergamot Development
LA Curbed

Saving Money By Cutting Traffic
(a look at the traffic in major U.S. metropolitan areas, as well as what the municipalities are doing to combat the congestion)
GOOD

A Spending Freeze: President Obama's Appeal To Fiscal Conservatives Is Likely To Result In Little Substantial Change, But It's Exactly The Wrong Message
Transport Politic

States Go After Texting Drivers
USA Today

Stimulus Payouts Through DOT Reach $8.26 Billion
Journal Of Commerce

Thursday Is HSR Stimulus Day
(the federal government will announce the recipients of $8 billion in HSR stimulus funds)
California High Speed Rail Blog

Times Covers Coming Metro Cuts, Avoids Mentioning Pols By Name
LA StreetsBlog

Transit In Mexico City Beats Most U.S. Cities (including Los Angeles)
Straight Outta Suburbia

Transportation Deputy Gives Up Infamous Hummer
LA Curbed

What $36 Billion Buys: Not Enough
(contractors and construction industry officials on new hiring in transportation)
CNN

1/25/2010

Transportation Headlines for Monday January 25, 2010

TheSource.metro.net

Can Slime Mold Solve Traffic Jams? (a species of gelatinous amoeba could help urban planners design better road systems to reduce traffic congestion)
Fox News

Could Eli Broad's Art Museum Be Headed To Grand Avenue?
Blog Downtown

DOT Joins Haiti Relief Efforts
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Feds On New Miami HOT Lanes: Good For Transit
DC StreetsBlog

Gov.'s Newest Transit Raid Receiving A Frosty Reception
LA StreetsBlog

L.A. County Transit Agency Projects Historic Budget Shortfall: A Broad Array Of Options Is On The Table For Bridging The Gap, Which Is Blamed On Cuts In State Funding And A Drop In Ridership - Major Expansion Projects Are Unlikely To Be Severely Affected
Los Angeles Times

Maglev Train Backers Woo Contractors With Promise Of Jobs
Las Vegas Sun

Main Street Chases Transportation Money: Why 650 Local Governments Use Lobbyists To Get Cash For Buses, Trains, And Roads
The Center For Public Integrity

Metro's TAP Card Embezzlement Scam
The Bus Bench

NTSB Determines Engineer's Failure To Observe And Respond To Red Signal Caused 2008 Chatsworth Accident; Recorders In Cabs Recommended
NTSB Press Release
Report Summary of Findings

Omnitrans Bus Riders Brace For More Hikes
Contra Costa Times

Open TripPlanner Project (When finished, the multi-modal trip planner software will plan journeys by a combination of biking, walking, and transit in the areas where it has been implemented)
Trillium Solutions

Railroads Signal A Tepid US Economic Recovery: Major Freight Railroads Report Lower Profit As Weak Economy Continues To Limit Shipping Demand
ABC News

Riding The Rails: The Gold Line's Eastside Extension
Franklin Avenue

Successful "Fiasco:" Chicago's Parking Meter Mishap - Critics Call Chicago's Privatization Of Parking Meters An Epic Failure, But Could It Be It's An Epic Success?
Governing

U.S. Transit Needs An "Emergency Operations Fund"
Human Transit

US Transportation Secretary Urges Swift Passage Of Jobs Plan
NASDAQ

White House Restarts Search For TSA Head
Wall Street Journal

You Can't Fight The State DOT -- Or Can You? (how citizens can exert political and technical influence over large transit agencies)
Urbanophile