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
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
9/16/2010
Bike lanes, Infrastructure Bank, High Speed Rail, Fares, Silver Line, Clean Air and more
Alt Transport
Bay Area Gets First HOT Lane
Planetizen
Bike Lanes for Santa Monica Boulevard? A local coalition of cyclists wants designated lanes in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills Patch
BLUEPRINT AMERICA - Hard times then, hard times now as another stimulus is in the works
PBS
China Says Can Offer `Complete Package' for California High-Speed Trains
Bloomberg
Despite Expenses, Athens Enjoys Transit Legacy of 2004 Olympics
Planetizen
Don’t let transportation get lost in the political shuffle; send a letter to your local paper
Transportation for America
EPA’s Clean Air Act Celebrates 40 Years And Cleaner Air
Alt Transport
Following the Flow of the People with Crosswalks
The City Fix
High-Speed Update: Wooing Asia, NorCal Resistance
Curbed LA
Is the National Infrastructure Bank a Slam-Dunk Win?
The Infrastructurist
Lack of Congressional Infrastructure Focus Frustrates Transportation Officials
Capitol News Connection
LA County Sidewalk Riding: Finale (part 7)
LADOT BikeBlog
LA-Long Beach August Imports Surge 23.9 Percent
Journal of Commerce
L.A./Ontario International Push for control - Ontario report slams operation
Daily Bulletin
Local agencies can't limit train emissions, court rules - U.S. 9th Circuit panel says Southern California air quality board can't impose restrictions that could interfere with interstate commerce
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles' proposed cap freeway parks
Examiner
Making Los Angeles more bike friendly
Public Radio International
Metro Taking a Look at New Fare Models
LA Streetsblog
NCTD gambles on lower fares
San Diego Union Tribune
New Silver Line Bus Station for Downtown's Union Station
Curbed LA
New Temporary El Monte Bus Terminal Begin Operations
Mid Valley News
New Website for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) News - TODNews.com Launches Transit Oriented Development and Smart Growth Focused News Website
PR Web RSS feeds and email options at www.TODnews.com
NoHo Express marks first anniversary
Santa Clarita Signal
Ontario seeks to take control of airport - Officials say the Los Angeles agency that runs the facility has driven away carriers with increases in costs and failure to maintain the airport. L.A. says the facility was especially hard-hit by the recession
Los Angeles Times
Poll: What type of mobile device do you use?
TheSource.metro.net
Railroads vs. federal regulation
Business Journal
Rail-yard pollution: Federal court rules against air quality board
Los Angeles Times
Report: Calif. economy will keep lagging
ABC News
San Fernando Bike Path Offers New Roads for Oxy Cyclists
Occidental Weekly
Shedding Light on the Creeping Costs of Sprawl
Planetizen
Site maps the commutes of Southern Californians
Los Angeles Times
Good: Find out who commutes where
This Train Seat Will Make Your Head Spin
Wired
UCLA economists say growth will be hard to notice
Press Enterprise
USA Today on infrastructure spending: what do Americans want?
Transportation for America
Why a Streetcar Is Something to Be Desired - Rule 1 for sustainable communities: Restore the streetcar city
The Tyee
Wide, wide world of transit: Metro and Beijing Transport team up to battle traffic congestion
TheSource.metro.net
9/15/2010
Growing Port Traffic, Managing Increasing Ridership Demand, President's Transportation Plan, Wednesday Metro Meetings and more.
Mass Transit Magazine
2009 Urban Congestion Trends: How Operations Is Solving Congestion Problems
Federal Highways Administration
Despite Dwindling Tax Revenues, Top 100 Fleets Soldier On
METRO Magazine
Downtown Los Angeles Streetcar Project - Connecting Neighborhoods and Developing Communities
Urban Land Institute
Fifth and Flower Stop May Get Axed from Downtown Connector
LA Curbed
Google Transit - San Bernardino County Wins
Riding in Riverside
Internalizing positive transit externalities
Market Urbanism
Is the New Parking Meter Policy Fraud?
LAist
Japan readies loans for California high-speed train
Reuters
LA Open House at Metro Headquarters - Please join John A. PĂ©rez, Speaker of the Assembly, for an informational open house on high-speed rail in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Metro.net
L.A. port is hatching a revitalization - PortTechLA, a business incubator run by a group that includes the port and city, will nurture start-ups that make products that reduce pollution and shippers' dependence on fossil fuels
Los Angeles Times
L.A. Westside Subway Extension Debate
LA Weekly
Managing Increasing Ridership Demand
Transportation Research Board
Metrolink’s New CEM Trains - Metrolink is the nation’s first commuter rail system to adopt state-of-the-art crash energy management (CEM) features for cab and passenger cars
Mass Transit Magazine
Next Friday is Park(ing) Day. Here’s Our Park(ing) Day Plans
LA Streetsblog
New Metro Motion TV Show Discusses What A Difference 10 Years Can Make
Metro.net (30/10, Hollywood Redevelopment, robotic maintenance tech & more)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU26faQLcNQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjBxXwjL6oE
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB9Xh-MQUyI
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5O_yE2pbVo
No, We Want It! Politicians Argue for Gold Line in Their Neighborhood
LA Curbed
Oberstar pleased with Obama's transportation plan, but is enough time left to pass it?
Minn Post
Oil companies split on bid to suspend global-warming law - Three are bankrolling Proposition 23, but one opposes it and others are neutral or on the sidelines. A national industry group issues an appeal for money to back the initiative
Los Angeles Times
Ontario: L.A. should relinquish control of Ontario Airport
Daily Breeze
Port of Los Angeles sees increase in cargo traffic - The port moved 23% more containers filled with imported goods last month than in August 2009, and 8% more than in July
Los Angeles Times
President’s plan: Create jobs through infrastructure investments
Finance and Commerce
Rail Front Lines
Mass Transit Magazine
Report: Amtrak improperly removed its watchdog
Washington Post
Rocky Road to a Transport Plan
Journal of Commerce
San Bruno Explosion Evidence of Need for Massive Infrastructure Improvements
Firedog Lake
Shipper Groups Merge to Push Heavier Trucks
Journal of Commerce
Some people do walk in LA - Does Downtown fit into the growing American desire for better public transportation and walkways?
Los Angeles Downtown News
Sound Transit partners with Safeway on fare cards
METRO Magazine
States Struggle To Share Cost Of High-Speed Rail
NPR
Strike slows 215 Freeway jobs - Full project completion still expected in 2013
San Bernardino Sun
UCLA Bike-U-mentary gets ‘Diamond’ from Metro
Be a Green Commuter
Wednesday Metro Meetings: Planning Gold and Green Extensions
LA Streetsblog
What Could We Do With a Pedestrian Plaza on Broadway?
LA Curbed
9/14/2010
Obama's Infrastructure Plan, Keeping Jobs in LA, Gas Prices, Metro's Congestion Management Plan, and more
Assessing Obama's Infrastructure Plan
Nation Journal – Transportation
California eyes China's high-speed rail
Big Pond News
Center For Transit-Oriented Development Releases Updated MITOD.org - Mixed-Income TOD site boasts updated case studies, resources and news
Reconnecting America
Editorial: Yes on Proposition 22 - This will put a stop to state politicians' audacious thievery of local money
Press Telegram
Editorial: Prop. 22 defends the indefensible
Orange County Register
FTA Assuming Power Over Local Transit Agencies
Planetizen
Gas prices drop for 31st straight day
Daily Breeze
Going electric - Ecoliners hit streets - Foothill Transit introduces buses
Daily Bulletin
Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems
Transportation Research Board
How to keep jobs in L.A. (and in the U.S.) - Los Angeles is behind the curve in adopting a local preference ordinance, which would give local businesses an edge in landing city contracts. Washington should also act to keep jobs onshore
Los Angeles Times
Judge expected to approve $200M settlement from 2008 Chatsworth Metrolink crash
Daily News
Morris has high hopes for San Bernardino as major transit hub - Mayor takes a very wide view
San Bernardino Sun
New Google Map for all 2010 LADOT Bicycle Facilities
LADOT BikeBlog
Ontario expected to issue proposal to take control of its airport
Daily Breeze
On the Waterfront: Ports distributing grants to combat pollution
Press Telegram
Prop 23's threat to the California dream - For decades, the state has pioneered the way to a green future. Now that narrative is in jeopardy at the ballot box
Salon
President Announces Vision for New Transportation System
National League of Cities
Quick-Charge Electric Bus Rolls Into L.A. County
Wired
Rail Shippers Say Regulatory Bill Could Have Momentum
Journal of Commerce
Redlands to study having more downtown parking
San Bernardino Sun
State cancels plan for Arbor Vitae freeway interchange in Inglewood
Daily Breeze
There is Still No Way to Fund Sustainable Infrastructure in America
Huffington Post
To ease congestion, port traffic must spread out
Daily Breeze
Transportation for America Director Supports Obama’s Infrastructure Plan
The Infrastructurist
Tuesday Metro Meeting: Adoption of the 2010 Congestion Management Plan
Streetsblog
TTC and Ontario still at odds over fare system
The Transit Wire
Two years after Chatsworth crash, Metrolink tries to look forward
KPCC
Use Figueroa between Downtown and Exposition Park? Plans are Afoot to Improve the Street
LAist
Where Did the Transportation Stimulus Money Go?
TIME
With 10,000 to 15,000 Bicycles a Day on USC's Campus, Calls for a Beefier Bicycle Plan
LAist
9/13/2010
Gold Line Extension Routing, Little Tokyo Station, Hollywood Car Sharing, Future Of Regional Organizations, Las Vegas Rail Race & More
Assessing Obama's Infrastructure Plan (panel of experts weighs in)
National Journal Transportation Blog
Bikes And Streetcars Under Threat As The Suburban Car Loving Politicians Fight Back
Treehugger
The First 21 Infrastructure Projects Obama Should Fund
Business Insider
Frequent Network Maps By Routefriend (Example: Los Angeles)
Human Transit
Routefriend
FTA Getting Set For Role In Transit Safety
Washington Post
High Speed, High Stakes Dominate Vegas Rail Race (An extended look at the Desert XPress, Maglev, and Desert Lightning plans. "If there are two places facing an uncertain future for how people travel, they are Southern California and southern Nevada. Growth is increasingly making them more of one mega-region than two distinct locales. Travel between the two is also becoming a burden for transportation officials and the commuting public.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise
L.A.-Long Beach Stakeholders Working Group Chipping Away At Terminal Issues
Cunningham Report
Long Beach Transit Service Reductions Take A Toll
California State University, Long Beach Daily 49er
Meet The Spring Street Park
Blog Downtown
New York To Study Red Hook Streetcars, But What Are The City's Goals? (Historic streetcars for Brooklyn)
Transport Politic
Policy Shift: Cities Invest In Public Transport
Financial Times
Politicians Duck Blame For Transit Mess: New Poll Finds That 60% Of New Yorkers Hold The MTA - Not Elected Officials - Responsible For Fare Increases, Service Cuts
Wall Street Journal
Rocky Road: Past Metro Mistakes Complicate The Effort To Build Houston's Light-Rail
Houston Chronicle
Regional Organizations, Past And Present: Will They Work In The Future? (Colloquium, October 2, 2010 : "The Metropolitan Water District brought Southern California abundant and cheap water; the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports gave the Los Angeles region the opportunity to be a global player; the Los Angeles World Airport brought the people of the world here; the Alameda Corridor gave us a world class goods rail link and, overnight, Metrolink gave us a regional passenger transit system. All of these regional systems have been hugely successful. Now the issues of water, goods movement, aviation, and regional transit face new and daunting challenges.")
Los Angeles Region Planning History Group In Cooperation With Huntington-USC Institute On California And The West
Scwharzenegger Checks Out China's High-Speed Rail
Associated Press
Schwarzenegger Says Asia Trip Will Help To Select High-Speed Rail Provider (“In each one of the countries that we go to, which is China, Japan and Korea, we are going to ride high speed rail and they all are going to be part of the bidding process in California,” Schwarzenegger said.)
Bloomberg
The Station Equation: Budget Could Nix Regional Connector Stop At Fifth And Flower
Los Angeles Downtown News
Subway Trains To Generate Power For The Grid: A Battery Will Capture Power From Braking Trains
MIT Technology Review
Waiting for PRT: How About Some Moonshot Mojo? (personal rapid transit)
Citiwire
We Don't Know What We're Talking About (Planning is overrun by verbiage with vague definitions, to the detriment of the process)
National League Of Cities
What MacArthur Park's History Tells Us About CicLAvia
CicLAvia