Today's Headlines - more at Metro

7/30/2010

Expo Farmdale Approved, Westwood Subway Station, Pasadena Bus-less Sundays, Traffic And Health, & More

Bullet Train Loaded With Spin
Fresno Bee

Congress' Failure To Enact Climate Legislation Makes Transportation Reform More Important Than Ever
Transportation For America

Getting The HSR Poll Right
California High Speed Rail Blog

The Government's Landlord Smartens Up And Goes Green
Fast Company

Keeping Trains On Track: Tel Aviv University Helps Develop Early-Warning Hazard System For The World's Railways
American Friends Of Tel Aviv University Press Release

LA Commuters, Get Ready To Ride Your Bikes
(audio : "CicLAvia comes to Los Angeles and Santa Monica," Brian Taylor, Director, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies; Joe Linton, CicLAvia Board Member)
KCRW Which Way L.A.?

Legislative Analyst Says Prop 26 Increases Budget Deficit By $1 Billion
California Progress Report

Lime Energy Awarded Contract With Los Angeles Metro: Company Will Provide Lighting Upgrade And Uninterrupted Power At Five Metro Stations
MarketWatch

More Evidence That Walkability Is Marketable
Planetizen

New Work Out Plan: Take Public Transit
The City Fix

Pasadena Bus Service To Be Eliminated On Sundays
Pasadena Star-News

Placing A Subway Station In Westwood
LA Observed

Plan A Trip Using Public Transportation (Google rolled out a new version of its transit site that makes it easier to see which parts of the U.S. are Google Transit-capable. Each state now has a little sub-list of regions and the respective transit companies that are a part of Google’s index. Missing, however, is the transit layer, which lets you see routes in all forms of transportation at once. Google added this to its Maps product earlier this month, and says it will be a part of the transit site soon.)
Google Transit

Radically Modernised Bus System Should Be Part Of Solution For London's Transport
Global Urbanist Planning

Regulators Clear Way For Expo Line Completion
Los Angeles Times
CPUC Approves Expo Line Rail Station At Farmdale Avenue
California Public Utilities Commission Press Release

Residents Angry At Council Majority For Backing MTA's Prime Transit Site
Los Angeles Wave

Schwarzenegger Declares California Fiscal Emergency
Reuters

Senator Coburn Puts Federal Transit Safety Bill On Hold
Transportation Nation

This Bus Is Not In Service: The Shrinking Routes Of AC Transit
KALW Crosscurrents

Today On The High-Speed Rail Seesaw...
OC Weekly

Tracking The Hype And Hope Of High-Speed Rail
CityWatch

Using Tolls To Fund Highway Improvements (video)
Fox Business

What Does Transit Do About Traffic Congestion? (Updated)
Human Transit

Why Don't We Have This? (Universal transit passes)
Riding In Riverside

Why Isn't Traffic Reduction A Top Public Health Concern?
StreetsBlog Network

7/29/2010

Rail LA Exhibit, Burbank's Airport Hub, California Planning Problems, "Learning Livability Locally," Smart Meters, Whittier Light Rail & More

Airport Hub Moves Forward: Council Vote Allows Bob Hope Officials To Clear More Hurdles For Transit Center
Glendale News-Press

California's Planning Problem, Part 1: Bad Math (audio : Travels the planned route of California high-speed rail, stopping in on supporters, detractors and those taking a hard look at the math behind a project that will cost at least $40 billion dollars by the time its done)
Transportation Nation

California's Planning Problem, Part 2: Errors, Bias And Lying
(audio : The public is weary of projects which go years past due and over budget. Are these planning discrepancies the result of trying to predict the unpredictable, or “strategic misrepresentation?” An expert opinion, and how this plays into the planning process and its problems)
Transportation Nation

Elysian Valley Bike Path Delays Lead To Renegade Action
Curbed LA

Irvine-Corona Tunnel Is A Highway To Many Hells
Salem News

Learning Livability Locally: New PBS Series Imagines Future Of American Communities
The City Fix
Blueprint America: PBS Reports On Infrastructure

Los Angeles Metro Transportation Library And Archive
Pix Feed LA

Los Angeles Will Be So Much Fun When We Get High-Speed Rail (RailLA Exhibition opens today at City National Plaza)
Curbed LA

Most Californians Want Bullet Trains, State Poll Finds
San Jose Mercury News

NTSB Blames '09 [D.C.] Metro Crash On Track Circuit Failures, Negligent Safety Attitude
Washington Post

Orange Is At It Again
California High Speed Rail Blog

Picture This, And Risk Arrest
New York Times

Planning History: A Few Of The City And Metropolitan Plans You Should Know
Planetizen

Putting The American Commitment To High-Speed Rail in Context
Transport Politic

Reid Energy Bill: No $ For Transit, Billions For Electric And Natural Gas Cars
StreetsBlog DC

San Francisco Spends $25 Million To Test "Goldilocks" Parking
NPR

Smart Parking Meters Spark Debate (audio : "Smart" parking meters can talk to wireless sensors embedded in the asphalt, tell the wider world when that spot is empty, and report to the city when your car has outstayed its welcome. Includes interview with parking guru Don Shoup regarding "performance parking," a smart parking plan under consideration by Los Angeles that includes congestion pricing)
California Report

T&I Unveils New Searchable Database For Member-Designed Projects: Committee Increases Transparency And Accountability
U.S. House Of Representatives Committee on Transportation And Infrastructure Press Release

Whittier Route Gets Support In Light-Rail Talks
Whittier Daily News

7/28/2010

L.A. Smog Archives, Santa Monica Ciclovia, Women In Transportation, HSR Poll & More

Advocacy How To: Road Design Review
Cyclelicious

Antonio R. Villaraigosa: A Blueprint For Reinventing City Planning In Los Angeles
Los Angeles Daily News

CHSRA Poll: 76% Support High Speed Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog

Cities Tackle Traffic Head-On With Commuter Options
USA Today

Day Of Bicycles Could Be In Works (Planning for Santa Monica's first Ciclovia, which for a day, would shut down Main Street to cars and open it up for cyclists, pedestrians, skate boarders, people in wheel chairs and any number of alternate modes of transportation. October 10, Main Street)
Santa Monica Daily Press

Denver Transit Gets $300 Million In DOT Loans
("First loan package to combine rail program with federal highway lending...will help Denver remake its Union Station passenger rail center into a light rail and bus hub.")
Journal Of Commerce

DOT Expands Internship Program To Get More Women Working In Transportation
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Environmentalists, Transpo Reformers Brace For Scaled-Back Energy Bill
StreetsBlog DC

Gas Pump Prices Rise Across The Country
Associated Press

If On-Time Performance Is 96%, Why Am I Always Late?
Human Transit

July 26, 1943: L.A. Gets First Big Smog
Wired
Attack Of The L.A. Smog Archives (historic photos)
Wired

LA Beyond Cars: RailLA Displays Artistic Interpretations
Westside Today

LADOT: Sharrows on Abbot Kinney
LADOT Bike Blog

Mayor Villaraigosa Announces A "Bike Summit" Following His Own Bicycle Crash
LA Weekly

National Transportation Safety Board Report On [D.C.] Metro Crash May Reach Nationwide
Washington Post

Obama Nixes Gas Hike, Fees
Bond Buyer

On The 20th Anniversary Of ADA, Too Many Streets Remain Inaccessible
StreetsBlog Network

Opinion: Give Rail A Chance (Letters in response to "Metro Rail to mark its 20th anniversary," article, July 23)
Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Our View On Gas Tax: Price Holds Key To Ending Nation's Addiction To Oil
USA Today

Park Turns To Parking Lot In Lincoln Heights
Curbed LA

Reflexive Congestion Self-Management?
Planetizen

7/27/2010

A.D.A. At 20, Less Tax & More Tolls?, L.A. Planning Head's Goals, Old San Juan Bans Cars & More

7 Most Popular US Light Rails
Huffington Post

95% Of Trains Are On Time? Riders Beg To Differ
New York Times

A.D.A. Turns 20: Transportation And The Americans With Disabilities Act
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Ads On License Plates Could Be Trend Of The Future: But Is It A Good Idea? No
AOL

Cell Service, Wi-Fi Coming To A Subway Near You: MTA Deal With Transit Wireless Back On Track
New York Daily News

DOT's Big Plans Take Shape
Journal Of Commerce

A Guide For Planning And Operating Flexible Public Transportation Services (98p. PDF)
U.S. Transportation Research Board

It's A Planning Party As LoGrande Is Confirmed As Planning Dept Head
("In terms of some his immediate planning goals, LoGrande mentioned the Mayor's 30-10 plan and the need to build around the city's planned transportation projects.")
Curbed LA

L.A. Planning Department's First Public Participation Webinar
Planetizen

L.A. StreetsBlog Lives: Time To Party
StreetsBlog LA

LaHood Says No Fuel Tax Increase Needed For Transport
Journal Of Commerce

Modest Goals For New L.A. Planning Head
California Planning & Development Report

Opinion: An Easy Ride On The Bus
Santa Monica Daily Press

Pedestrians In Canada Take Back The Streets
(Moves to decriminalize jaywalking)
Where The Sidewalk Starts

Perspective: It Takes A Village And Leadership To Develop Port Projects (Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach)
Cunningham Report

San Juan To Ban Cars, Make "Walkable City" ("The oldest city in the Americas bans cars from its colonial streets and outlines a plan to make San Juan more livable.")
Planetizen

Secretary LaHood: Republicans Tell Me In Private The Stimulus Is Working
Huffington Post

Sen. Schumer To Work To Make Transit Tax Break Permanent
Reuters

Should We Scrap The Gas Tax And Simply Have More Tolls?
Infrastructurist

Soundwall Project Will Finally Bring Noise Relief To Two Duarte Schools
Pasadena Star-News

Tom Bradley And Downtown Development: The End Of A $750 Million Project Marks A Time For Reflection
Los Angeles Downtown News

Travelers Behaving Badly: Behavioral Economics Offers Insights And Strategies For Improving Transportation
In Transition

What Villaraigosa Says About His New Planning Director
LA Observed

Zip It (An around-the-world overview of anti-disorder campaigns that change urban norms include the claim that mimes mocking jaywalkers have led to fewer traffic fatalities in Bogota)
City Journal

7/26/2010

L.A. Rail Ridership "Down?," Comparing 5 LV-LA Proposals, Transport Broadband, New L.A. Planning Chief & More

Aging Transit Systems Face Budget Crunch
New York Times

Caltrans Veteran Joins OCTA (Jim Beil is the new Executive Director of Capital Programs)
Better Roads

Comparing, Contrasting Southern Nevada Train Proposals: Getting From Here To California Depends On Many Factors
Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Decline And Revival Of An American Suburb
(The evolving lifecycle of the San Gabriel Valley)
New Geography

GAO Issues Report On Social Media Challenges
Transit Wire
Challenges In Federal Agencies' Use Of Web 2.0 Technologies
(18p. PDF)
U.S. Government Accountability Office

Here Is The British High Speed Train Set To Challenge Asia's Dominance
Business Insider

Hey Hollywood, Who Needs A Car In L.A.?
Huffington Post

L.A. Marks 20 Years Of Riding The Rails -- The Second Time Around: Five Light-Rail Train And Subway Lines Have Been Built In Two Decades, And Plans Call For More Growth
Los Angeles Times

Live From Las Vegas: Ray LaHood Discusses DOT's Increased Support For Public Transit
Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate

Los Angeles: Rail Has "Forced Ridership Down"?
Human Transit

Master Plan L.A.: That's Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's First Step For Reviving Los Angeles And His Image
Los Angeles Daily News

Mayor Villaraigosa, The Need To Take Action For Safer Streets In Los Angeles Is Now Painfully Clear
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

MetroFlickrLA: Metro Gold Line Poster
MetroRider LA

Moving To Broadband On Public Transport
Mass Transit

Netroots Nation Puts Focus On Listening, Engagement & Representation
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Olympic-Era Mural Returned To The 101 In Miniature
Blog Downtown

People On Public Transit Illustrated
The City Fix

Prettifying Of East Hollywood Underway
Curbed LA

Proposals For Vegas-SoCal Passenger Rail Now At 5
California High Speed Rail Blog

Review: Next Exit For Transportation's Future
(Review of "Our Cities, Ourselves: The Future Of Transportation In Urban Life" on exhibit in New York City)
Architect's Newspaper

Senate Committee Ups Amtrak Appropriation, Cuts High-Speed Rail Funding
Progressive Railroading

Sunset Bridge, The Early Years (historic photos)
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District
On The Eve Of Its Destruction, The 405's Sunset Bridge In 1966
Curbed LA

Swap Proposed: Courthouse Site For Parker Center
Blog Downtown

Talkback L.A.: Was L.A.'s $8-Billion Investment In Rail Worth The Money?
Los Angeles Times

To Remove A Freeway In Long Beach
(Proposals for reinventing Shoreline Drive and Terminal Island (I-103) Freeway)
Long Beach Post

Transportation Group Starts Southwest Chapter
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Union Pacific's CEO Young Says U.S. Congress Discouraging Rail Investment
Bloomberg

The U.S. Emphasis On Passenger Rail And The Future Of Freight
Transport Politic

Villaraigosa Chooses City Hall Veteran As Planning Chief
("Michael LoGrande, the city’s chief zoning administrator, will be put in charge of a Planning Department that has been buffeted by budget reductions, including the departure of a number of senior planners.")
Los Angeles Times

What Does The FREIGHT Act Really Mean For Our Freight And Ports?
Transportation For America

What Does Transit Do About Traffic Congestion?
Human Transit

What If Roads Really Did Have To Pay For Themselves?
StreetsBlog Network

The World's Sexiest Parking Garage
Infrastructurist