Today's Headlines - more at Metro

2/07/2011

Expo Line Testing, Westside Transit Rivalries, Free Transit For Homeless, How Late Is Late?, CalTrain Freefall, Innovative Bus Stops & More

19 Most Innovative Bus Stop Concepts (fascinating photos and renderings)
Waylou

$200 Million Settlement Fund Finalized For Victims Of Deadly Los Angeles Metrolink Train Wreck
Los Angeles Times

AASHTO Suggests Some Tools For Getting Out Of The Transpo Funding Mess
StreetsBlog DC

Announcing CicLAvia 2011: April, July, October
(dates and preliminary routes announced)
CicLAvia

Brooklyn Bus Riders Get Real-Time Bus Tracking Via Cellphone
Engadget

Caltrain Proposes Shuttering Half Its Stations (Service would be cut 44%, half the stations would close, mid-day and weekend service would be eliminated unless $30 million can be found for the West's oldest commuter rail)
San Jose Mercury News

Do American Drivers Get A "Dictator Discount" On Gasoline?
The Atlantic
Egypt And The Gas Pump: Do Revolutions Mean Higher Gas Prices?
Newsweek

Efficient Use Of Highway Capacity Summary: Report To Congress (100p. PDF : Evaluation of safety shoulders as travel lanes as a method to increase the efficient use of highway capacity)
Texas Transportation Institute

Establishing Best Practices For Removing Snow And Ice From California Roadways: Final Project Report (113p. PDF)
Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University for Caltrans Department Of Research And Innovation

Expo Line Train Testing To Start
Curbed LA

Getting It Done Or Getting It Right
("The surface transportation bill is likely to come up short on funding for everything the administration wants, but is it better to pass half a bill than no bill at all? Is this year the best chance for major transportation legislation to be completed? Or should we wait until Congress is less divided and budgets are less tight?")
National Journal Transportation Blog

GOP Targets Transportation, Housing For The Deepest Cuts (Sets spending ceilings, "cutting the budget for the Transportation and HUD Subcommittee by 17 percent, or $11.6 billion.")
StreetsBlog DC

Government Social Media: Five Questions For 2011 (Who are the public faces of government agencies online? Why is government social media organized around agencies and not topics? What is the relationship between social media for government and things citizens care about? Is government prepared to interact with Citizen 2.0? Where are the open government entrepreneurs?)
Fast Company

Homeless To Get Free Rides On Mass Transit In Santa Clara County
San Jose Mercury News

Infrastructure Needed For Proposed Downtown Stadium, But So Far No One Will Commit To Paying For It ("Among them are a scarcity of parking, outdated roadways and meager mass transit options.")
Whittier Daily News

The Interdependence Of Land Use And Transportation
Transport Politic

Is Six Minutes Late "On Time"? The [N.Y.] MTA Thinks So
Gothamist
PCAC Releases New Research Report On Performance Measurements (Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee To The [N.Y.] MTA)
Minutes Matter: A Review Of Performance Metrics At The MTA: Research Report (65p. PDF)

Letter From Bike Lane Opponents To DOT: Don't Make Us Pursue "Legal Remedies"
Transportation Nation

[N.Y.] MTA Eyes Sliding Doors On Subway Platforms To Prevent Falls Onto Tracks, Litter Thrown Onto Rails
New York Daily News

New York's Open-Fare Transit Plan Starts Down The Development Path
Digital Transactions

Simi Valley Residents Want More Highway 118 Sound Walls
Ventura County Star

Transportation Secretary Optimistic About Bill
Reuters

The Ugly Political Rivalries Of Westside Mass Transit
CityWatch