Today's Headlines - more at Metro

10/29/2010

Extension Westside Subway & Downtown Connector Coverage, Pasadena Streetcar Proposal, New & Notable Titles, L.A. Sustainability Collaborative & More

Westside Subway Extension & Downtown Regional Connector Routes Approved - How They Reported It:

Beverly Hills Courier
Beverly Hills Patch
Beverly Hills Weekly (20p. PDF)
Blog Downtown
CBS Los Angeles (audio : interview with MTA spokesman Marc Littman)
Curbed LA
Huffington Post
KABC-TV
LA Observed
LA Weekly
LAist
Los Angeles Business Journal
Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Times
MyFoxLA
NBC Los Angeles
North Of San Vicente Real Estate Voice
Opposing Views
Pasadena Real Estate With Brigham Yen
Santa Monica Daily Press
StreetsBlog LA
Southern California Public Radio
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy


Details Emerge For D.C. Streetcars, Set To Begin In 2012
Washington Post

DOT Releases Second Round Of High-Speed Rail Grants, Bringing Good News To California
Transport Politic

The Dream Of A High Speed Rail Network Inches Closer To Reality
Transportation Nation

Even After Death, Oropeza May Win (The former Metro Board Member remains on the ballot in Tuesday's election)
Long Beach Press-Telegram

For Amtrak Riders, It's All Aboard Despite The Cost
NPR

Governor Moonbeam Versus eMeg: What's At Stake For Transportation?
StreetsBlog DC

L.A. Sustainability Collaborative Bridges Gap Between Academic Research And Local Environmental Concerns
Southern California Public Radio
Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative

New & Notable: Inventing L.A.'s Autopia, Rival Transcontinental Rails, Rules For Sustainable Communities & Transportation Privatization
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Rack Map ("Over 450 bike racks have been installed by the LADOT Bike Program since July of 2009 and we want to give you an idea of where we’ve put them.")
LADOT Bike Blog

The Road Signs Are A Changin' ("America’s road signs are about to undergo a massive makeover)
Infrastructurist
Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Federal Highway Administration

Siemens Awarded $466 Million Locomotive Contract By Amtrak
PR Newswire

Streetcar Desire Hits Pasadena
("A $100,000 study commissioned by business interests and the city found that a streetcar line through downtown Pasadena - though pricey - could bring about an economic boon.")
Pasadena Star-News

Summary Report: Assessment Instrument For The Certified Transit Technician Program
(44p. PDF)
University Of South Florida Center For Urban Transportation Research

Survey: Most [D.C.] Metro Workers See Safety Violations, Many Do Nothing About It
Washington Post

Too Big To Miss: Confronting The Costs Of Freight Transport At The Moving Forward Together Conference
StreetsBlog LA

Westside Subway: Beverly Hills Opposes Tunneling Under Their Properties, But Neighboring Comstock Hills Sees It Differently
LAist

What Does Today's $715 Million HSR Grant Mean For Corridor Selection?
California High Speed Rail Blog

Will Burbank Cheat On Its Diet?
StreetsBlog LA

10/28/2010

Beverly Hills Subway And Downtown Regional Connector Considerations, Monrovia Maintenance Yard, Made In America Plan, Research Roundup & More

America Thinks 2010 Transit Survey (2p. PDF)
Think Innovative Solutions; HNTB

And The Winner Is...The Communities Of San Pedro And Wilmington
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Bike Sharing: The Newest Mode Of Public Transport
("As more and more cities add programs, it is important to more concretely define bike sharing as a mode of public transportation.")
The City Fix

Booming China Shows Off Its 220 MPH Train
MSNBC

Downtown's 2020 Vision: A Group Of Local Experts, Including The "Titans," Discuss The Opportunities And Challenges Of The Next Decade
Los Angeles Downtown News

Green Line Extension: Making The Line To Nowhere Go Somewhere
Curbed LA

High-Speed Rail And The California Governor's Race
Transportation Nation

High-Speed Rail: Not Just Fast. Smart
Huffington Post
IBM Global Rail Innovation Center

Injunction Bars Port Of L.A. From Limiting Types Of Truckers Allowed
Daily Breeze

Judge Allows Injunction Against Port Of LA's Employee-Driver Rule
Land Line

Key Component Of Gold Line Extension Poised To Be Erected In Monrovia: A Maintenance Yard Needed For The Gold Line Could Create 200-300 New Jobs In Monrovia
Monrovia Patch

L.A. City Council Extends Taxi Franchises
StreetsBlog LA

LaHood, Bennett, Millar, Others Discuss Plans For High-Speed Rail In Western U.S.
Passenger Transport

LaHood: Drivers Should Never Use Cell Phones
NPR

Library Borrowing From Redbox: Might Use Similar Machines For Books, DVDs At CTA Stops
Chicago Sun-Times

Los Angeles' Bicycle Scene Hits Adolescence
USC Daily Trojan

Make It In America: The Apollo Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan
Apollo Alliance
Full-Text Report (20p. PDF)
Executive Summary (4p. PDF)

MTA To Choose Routes For Westside Subway, Downtown Light-Rail Connector: Staff Recommend Route To The VA Hospital In Westwood; Other Options Would Go To UCLA Or Santa Monica, And West Hollywood. The Downtown Project Would Link The Gold Line, Blue Line And Expo Line
Los Angeles Times

Opinion Rail Doubt ("California should park its high-speed rail plans on an empty siding, and find better uses for public funds. The latest infusion of federal cash does not answer the fundamental questions that surround the project's financing. And faster travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco is hardly California's most pressing transportation need.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Opinion: Should City Spend $100K On Lobbying Metro? The School Board Calls On City Council To Help Lobby Against An MTA Subway Line Under BHHS
Beverly Hills Patch

A Parent's Guide To Public Transportation In LA
Huffington Post

Re-Envisioning LA Sprawl: Multi-Modal, Multi-Layered, Costing Multi-Billions
Wilderuptopia

Regional Connector Goes To Metro Board Minus One Station
Blog Downtown

Research Roundup: Sprawl Crawl And Rethinking Peak Hour Commutes, The New Sharing Economy & Smart Mobility For The 21st Century
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

School Board Gears Up For MTA Battle: The BHUSD School Board Asks City Council For $100K To Fight Any MTA Plan That Calls For Tunneling Under Homes And BHHS
Beverly Hills Patch

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Talks About Livable Communities
Grist

UCLA Students Can Rent Bicycles For $35 A Quarter
Southern California Public Radio

What America Can Learn From Europe's High Speed Rail Battle
AltTransport

Yaroslavsky Looking For Subway Alternates That Avoid Beverly Hills
StreetsBlog LA

10/27/2010

710 Tunnel Costs, Ginormous Bus, Digital Documents, Positive Train Control, The Walkable City, "Subway To The Sea" Only Going To Westwood? & More


As [D.C.] Metro Struggles, Metro Blogs Flourish
(audio : "Metro's many high-profile difficulties have given rise to dozens of bloggers and Tweeters who focus their Internet ire on the transit agency. Metro says the influx in requests has been a challenge--particularly when the bloggers who contact Metro are anonymous." Includes links to nine of the dozens of blogs and Twitter feeds about WMATA)
WAMU American University Radio

Beyond "On-Time Performance"
Human Transit

Bike-Sharing Project Expected To Begin Next Year
(Bay Area prepares to launch first regional bike-sharing program in the nation, with bicycles available the entire length of the Caltrain Corridor, from San Francisco to San Jose. 1,000 bikes will eventually grow to nearly 13,000)
San Francisco Chronicle

Connecting Claremont: Critics Say New Rail Expansion Will Help Rich, Hurt Poor
Claremont Port Side

Constellation Blvd. Is The Wrong Choice For The Westside Extension Century City Station
Huffington Post

Cycling Tips From A Bike-Commuting Bus Driver
StreetsBlog Network

Feds Grant $2.25 Million To Study Revitalizing Glendale Narrows Stretch Of L.A. River
("Transportation-related ideas being considered, the agency said, included the introduction of secure bike parking areas, links to mass transit and the launching of a bike-leasing program or a car-sharing system.")
Los Angeles Times

Former Metro Board Chair: How Much Will 710 Tunnel Cost?
StreetsBlog LA

From Manager To Minister In A Flash: Engineer Hussein Farah Departs Metro For Cabinet Post In Somaliland, His Native Country Located On The Eastern Horn Of Africa
Somaliland Globe
Metro Engineer Appointed To Cabinet Post In Somaliland In Eastern Africa
The Source

Ginormous Traffic-Swallowing Straddling Bus Coming To U.S.
Wired
Futuristic Mass Transit Vehicle Becomes A Reality
(Presss Release)
EIN Press Wire

How Cities Can Crack The Code To Successful Green Branding
Green Biz

Infrastructural Ecologies: Principles For Post-Industrial Public Works
Design Observer Places

LA's New Design Guidelines On The Line: The Voluntary Rules Promise Many Urban-Design Fixes, But Critics Charge They Don't Go Far Enough
Architect's Newspaper

Locals Prefer Light Rail: L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Met With The Community On Monday Night To Discuss The South Bay Mass Transit Project, Still In The Early Stages Of Development (Green Line extension)
Redondo Beach Patch

Majority Of L.A. Taxis To Go "Green" Over Next 5 Years
LAist

Metro Library's Digital Documents Collection: What You Need To Know About "Anytime, Anywhere" Access
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Obama's $2.5 Billion High Speed Rail Spending For Election Week
Transportation Nation

Officials Set To Select Routes For Westside Subway, Downtown Rail Project
Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Bay Area Politicians Ride Wave Of Misguided Transit Projects
San Francisco Examiner

Opinion: Parking Fine Fairness: Fines Are Necessary To Enforce Parking Regulations. But Higher Fines For Repeated Parking Offenses Are The Most Logical Way To Go
(UCLA professor Donald Shoup writes that in Los Angeles, for example, 8% of all the license plates that received tickets in 2009 accounted for 29% of all the tickets that year, and stronger punishments for serial offenses are standard legal practice)
Los Angeles Times

Parsons Selected For Metrolink Positive Train Control System Contract
Marketwire

Proposal To Update Community Plans May Head To A Vote
Curbed LA

Public Private Passe
Parking Today

Revolutionary Mural To Return To L.A. After 80 Years
(David Alfaro Siqueiros' America Tropical to be restored next to Olvera Street)
NPR

The Rise Of The Walkable City
Infrastructurist

Safety And Regulatory Reform Of Railways
(58p. PDF)
OECD; International Transport Forum

State High-Speed Rail Chief Admits Lapses In Disclosing Foreign Travel
Los Angeles Times

"Subway To The Sea" Only Going To Westwood
Los Angeles Daily News

A Tale Of Two Cities: Is L.A. Glorified Sprawl Or A Great American City?
GOOD

You've Got Stub, LA: Should City Change Its Skyline?
Curbed LA
Flat Roofs And Fire Safety: Pelli's Red Fin Rises Amid Helipad Debate
Curbed LA

10/26/2010

Metro's "Mad Men," L.A. River Walk, UCLA's Bike-Lending Library, New HSR Funding, Measuring Citywide GHG, School Bus Seatbelt Safety & More

Avoiding The Unintended Consequences Of Transit-Oriented Development
StreetsBlog DC

BART Breaks Ground On Rail Extension To Oakland Airport
San Jose Mercury News

Building Storm: L.A. Camps Feud Over Zoning Code Rewrite
Los Angeles Business Journal

The Case Against Linking Bike Safety Improvements To Cyclists' Behavior
StreetsBlog Network

Does New Public Transit Increase Gentrification And Lower Ridership?
Grist

Global Competitiveness In The Rail And Transit Industry (36p. PDF)
Worldwatch Institute; Northeastern University Kitty And Michael Dukakis Center For Urban And Regional Policy

Half-Marathon Leaves Metro Buses In A Tight Spot
Eastsider LA

Halloween In West Hollywood Means Street Closures, Relaxed Parking Permit Restrictions
LAist

High-Speed Train Project To Receive At Least $731 Million In Federal Funds: According To The U.S. Department Of Transportation, $715 Million Will Help Pay For A Section Of The Planned Bullet Train In The Central Valley. An Additional $16 Million Is Earmarked For The High-Speed Rail Corridor Between San Francisco And San Jose
Los Angeles Times

John Mica Ready To Take Powerful Gavel Of Transportation Chairmanship: If GOP Wins The House, He'll Have A Chance To Be Head Of The House Transportation And Infrastructure Committee
Florida Times-Union

Metro Committee Backs Fully Underground Regional Connector: Voices From Little Tokyo, Both In Favor And Opposed To The Project, Are Heard At A Meeting At Metro Headquarters
Rafu Shimpo

Metro's "Mad Men" Riding High ("The creative services department, whose 13-person staff generates all the ads, maps, graphics, web/mobile data, merchandising and fleet design for Metro, has won more than 50 awards in the past five years for its rebranding efforts, including at least a half-dozen this year.")
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

Moscow Metro Map And Usability Of Public Transportation Maps
The City Fix

New Report: How To Measure Citywide GHG Emissions From The Transport Sector
The City Fix
Citywide Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories: A Review Of Selected Methodologies (19p. PDF)
World Resources Institute

No More Thinking Big: Has The US Lost Its Appetite For Huge Public Works Projects?
Canadian Press

Opinion: We Can't Let Crenshaw Rail Line Plans Lose Momentum
Daily Breeze

Photos From the 5th-Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar
(slideshow : more than 80 L.A. As Subject participating institutions on October 23)
USC Libraries Libwire

Population Shifts "Substantially Influence" Emissions
BBC

Rebuilding America: APA National Infrastructure Investment Task Force Report
(121p. PDF)
American Planning Association

Seat Belts On School Buses Don't Save More Lives (video : results of three-year study)
NBC-13

Shanghai And Fast Trains: How About U.S.?
Citiwire

Students Now Able to "Check Out" A Bike From The Library
UCLA Be A Green Commuter!
UCLA Bike Library

Study: Greater Investment Could Revive U.S.' Leadership In World Rail Industry
Metro Magazine

TIGER II Proposals Already Under Attack By Auto Interests
Infrastructurist

TOD Turnaround: Bike Wood Coming To Hollywood And TOD Standards Coming To Everywhere
StreetsBlog LA

Two Cities Moving Ahead With Plans To Transform Glendale Narrows Into LA River Walk
Los Angeles Daily News

U.S. Set First Fuel Standards For Big Trucks
Reuters

Walkscore.com And The Lure Of The Single "Score"
Human Transit

Will Los Angeles Ever Be Something Besides A "Suburban Metropolis"?
Grist

10/25/2010

Crenshaw Line To LAX, L.A. Grade Crossings, Disconnected L.A., Bullet Train Troubles, Ethanol For Transpo, ADA Essentials For Board Members & More

ADA Essentials For Transit Board Members: Fundamentals Of The Americans With Disabilities Act And Transit Public Policy (76p. PDF)
Easter Seals Project Action; APTA

Agriculture Secretary: We'll Boost Ethanol For Transpo Fuel
Transportation Nation

California Bullet Train Agency Can't Document Details Of Officials' Foreign Trips: The Travel Was Funded By Governments Of Nations Whose Companies May Seek Contracts On The Massive Project. Disclosure Of Information On Such Trips Is Generally Required By State Ethics Regulations
Los Angeles Times

CicLAvia Follow Up (videos and testimonials from 10/10/10)
KCRW Shortcuts

Could Common Design Standards Bring Back U.S. Transit Manufacturing?
StreetsBlog DC

Critic's Notebook: There's A Growing Disconnect On A Better-Connected L.A.: The Movement For More Mass Transit Meets Constant Resistance From Opponents Who View Projects Through A Narrow, Car-Centric Lens. Just Look At The Purple Line Subway Debate
Los Angeles Times

Even Portland's Model Transit System Has Labor Disputes
StreetsBlog DC

HSR And Property Values
California High Speed Rail Blog

LA Live: Really, ULI? (a look at the Urban Land Institute's dubious award to LA Live)
California Planning & Development Report

Metro Staff Stalls Decision On Beverly Hills Alignment
(p. 1, 11)
Beverly Hills Courier

New Report Shows States Want To Cut Infrastructure Spending
Infrastructurist

Ninth Annual Southern California Transportation Summit (Friday, October 29, Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim)
Mobility 21: The Southern California Transportation Coalition

No Buses, Please: How The Crenshaw Line Might Connect To LAX
Curbed LA

Obama: Infrastructure A Top Priority ("Obama's Columbus Day plea was splashy, but it met with a collective yawn from Capitol Hill and an outright rebuff from Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who is slated to chair the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee if Republicans win control of the House next year." Top experts weight in on what's next for infrastructure)
National Journal Transportation Blog

Opinion: L.A.'s Crooked Heart: Downtown, The Streets Lead Not To The Cardinal Points Of The Compass But To The Uncertain Spaces In Between
Los Angeles Times

Out Of Touch Critics Knock TIGER; And We Launch A New Interactive Map Of Winners
Transportation For America

Plainclothes Sheriff's Deputies Patrol The City's Transit System
Los Angeles Daily News

Public Transit In The Crosshairs: Why Anti-Transportation Elections Are Good For Infrastructure
AltTransport

Ridley-Thomas Wants "Subjective" Analysis When Determining Grade Crossings
("The proposal would greatly increase the power of neighborhoods in deciding the design of grade-crossings in their community. Some rail advocates worry that the motion would effectively derail the Measure R light rail projects.")
StreetsBlog LA

RTD's (And Metro's) Summer Fun Bus: Line #460
(history of bus service between Los Angeles and Disneyland, as well as Anaheim service to L.A. dating back to 1916)
More Than Red Cars

School Board Gets Tough With MTA: Members Of The BHUSD School Board Vow Legal Action Against Any MTA Plans To Tunnel Under Our Homes And High School
Beverly Hills Patch

The Selfish Automobile (interesting data showing why cars are the most space-intensive, least cost-effective way to get around)
Planetizen

Subway Extension To Avoid Houses & Schools (Beverly Hills alignment)
Canyon News

Subway Foes & Transit Boosters: Just Growing Farther Apart?
Los Angeles Times

The Subway In Pictures (slideshow : 100 years of fantastic photos from the New York subway)
New York Times

Time-Based Versus Distance-Based Fares
The City Fix
Evaluation Of Time And Distance-Based Fare Policies (13p. PDF : "Staff reviewed the current pricing strategies of 244 North American transit properties from data collected by the American Public Transportation Association.")
Metro Operations Committee Report

Traffic Accidents Are Top Killer Of U.S. Travelers Abroad
USA Today

Valley Motorists Set To Pay $29 Million Bad-Air Penalty ("The decision, first of its kind in the nation, would add $12 to vehicle registration fees in the Valley beginning next year -- if air-quality activists don't successfully challenge it in court.")
Fresno Bee

Voices From the Rail-Volution (video : interviews with an assortment of conference attendees)
StreetFilms

Walk Score Can't Walk The Walk
Conservative Planner

When Voting For The Lesser Of Two Evils Could Save A Transit System
Transport Politic

The World's First "Transit Appliance" (video : "It can deliver real-time transit arrival estimates to a display in your home, coffee shop, library or, well, anywhere frequented by transit users.")
StreetsFilms