Today's Headlines - more at Metro

1/14/2011

Metro Tweaks Regional Connector, Gold Line Foothill Extension To ONT?, L.A. Pothole Repair & More

16,000 Potholes Filled During Intensive Weekend "Operation"
LAist

High Speed Rail Seminar Hits Downtown: Japan's High Speed Rail Seminar May Provide Blueprint For California
Los Angeles Downtown News

House Of Horrors: GOP To Put Transportation On The Chopping Block?
Mobilizing The Region

How It Gets Here: Trains And The Green Supply Chain
(video)
How Tomorrow Moves via YouTube

Make BART Trains Run 24 Hours (new Facebook group advocating for increased BART service quickly grows to 22,000 members)
via Facebook

Meetings Start For Gold Line To Montclair, But What About Ontario Airport?
Curbed LA

Metro Tweaks Little Tokyo Alignment For Regional Connector: Underground Track And Station Lessens Impact On Businesses, Parking
Los Angeles Downtown News

New Data Adds Job Creation To The Many Benefits Of Bicycle Infratructure
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

OCTA Names Patricia Bates Its New Chairwoman: The 5th District Supervisor Replaces Jerry Amante
OC Metro

Planning Wrap: Commissioner Vacancy, Planning Department Could Shut Once A Week
Curbed LA

Post Unfairly Criticizes California High-Speed Rail
Greater Greater Washington

Proposed Apartments Along Expo Line In South L.A. Draw Comment From Backers, Foes ("It's the first transit-oriented project in South Los Angeles, and it will probably have a weight as to how we design future projects.")
Los Angeles Times

Rosendahl Continues Process Of Removing Westside From Wilshire Bus-Only Project
StreetsBlog LA

Top Planning Issues Of 2010
Planetizen

What It's Like To Ride The Fastest Trains In The World (videos)
TreeHugger

What Value For Empirical Claims In The Development Of A National Rail Network?
Transport Politic

When The Red Cars Came (And How They Left): For 44 Years, Sierra Madre Was Serviced By An Offshoot Of The Vast Pacific Electric Rail Line That Once Spanned [Four] Southern California Counties
Sierra Madre Patch

1/13/2011

Culver City Preps For Expo, Regional Connector & Little Tokyo, L.A.'s First Diesel Buses, Debating Wilshire BRT, LA's Transit-Oriented Stadium & More

Bay Bridge Travel Time Reduced In Morning Rush Hour Since Congestion Tolls Added
San Jose Mercury News

Bullet Trains From LA To San Diego, Riverside Work Best
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Connector Refines Plans To Fit Into Little Tokyo
Blog Downtown

Council Committee Set To Debate Wilshire BRT Project
StreetsBlog LA

Culver City Seeks Shuttle Buses, Street Improvements For Expo Line
Curbed LA

Downtown High-Speed Bus Line Workshop Details Project
San Bernardino Sun

Downtown LA's Transit-Oriented Stadium ("With no end in sight to the challenge of securing the cash we needed yesterday to build out Metro and with the agency facing an operating deficit that threatens to reduce existing bus operations I'm for any deal that gets Metro the money it needs to operate and expand.")
Huffington Post

Google Transit Search Gets Smarter ("Google Maps has added a new feature: search transit directions by types of transit and time spent outside.")
Read Write Web

Los Angeles Council Proceeds With Garage Leasing Plan: Rejecting Opposition From Business Owners, Lawmakers Say The Alternative Is Cutting Services
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles' First Diesel Buses: A Look Back At The Fleet & The 1943 Birth Of Smog
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Metro Tows Away Last Diesel From Clean Fleet
Blog Downtown

Natural Gas Plays Key Role In Fight Against Air Pollution As Metro Retires Last Diesel Bus
PR Newswire

No Left Turn: "Superstreet" Traffic Design Improves Travel Time, Safety
North Carolina State University Press Release

Orange County's Planned Mega Transit Center Questioned: Long-Planned ARTIC Mega Transit Center Is Supposed To Be Funded Through A County Sales Tax Measure And Has Ties To The State's Uncertain High-Speed Rail Project
Los Angeles Times

Where Does the Money From Los Angeles' $190 Jaywalking Tickets Go?
(Infographic)
GOOD

Will City Look, Or Just Leap At Plan To Lease Lots?
StreetsBlog LA

1/12/2011

Metro Retires Last Diesel Bus, Leasing L.A.'s Parking, HSR's Most Promising Corridors, Freight Rail Competition, Transit And Social Media & More

2010 Turned Out To Be A Good Year For The Local Ports
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Better Transit, Even On The Cheap, Doesn't Always Come Easy
Transport Politic

California Budget: On Balance, Not Bad For Transportation
Transportation Nation

California Needs Smart Station Planning To Maximize High-Speed Rail's Benefits
Transportation For America

City Of Los Angeles Call For Projects Review: Car Capacity Enhancements
StreetsBlog LA

Community Watchdog Cary Brazeman Fights Villaraigosa's Crusade To Allow Development Everywhere: L.A.'s Postwar Zoning Code On The Chopping Block
LA Weekly

Diesel Era Ends For MTA Buses: Metro Will Become The Only Major Transit Agency In The U.S. With A Fleet Run Entirely On Alternative Fuels. Officials Say The Shift Has Sharply Cut Emissions Of Cancer-Causing Pollution
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Hit The Brakes On California's High-Speed Rail Experiment
Washington Post
The Washington Post's Ignorant Attack On California HSR
California High Speed Rail Blog

Editorial: L.A. Must Turn Over Parking Garages
Los Angeles Daily News

Editorial: L.A.'s Garage Opener: It's Time To Lease City-Owned Parking Structures To Private Businesses
Los Angeles Times

Experts: Tales Of State's Demise Greatly Exaggerated
California Watch

LAX Exit Ramps Will Close Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Nights
Beverly Hills Courier

Major New Study ID's Best U.S. High-Speed Rail Corridors: Most Promising -- Populous Regions With Large Job Centers And Transit, Recommends Federal Investment In Corridors With The Greatest Ridership Potential (3p. PDF)
America 2050 Press Release
High-Speed Rail In America (56p. PDF : Full-text report)
America 2050

Mica Is "Pretty Confident" That New Rules Won't Starve Highway Trust Fund
StreetsBlog DC

New Study Reveals The Hidden Environmental Cost Of Parking
Infrastructurist
Parking Infrastructure: Energy, Emissions, And Automobile Life-Cycle Environmental Accounting
IOP Science Environmental Research Letters

Opinion: The Pitfalls Of "Realignment": With "Realignment," In Which State And Local Governments Swap Various Funding Streams And Service Responsibilities, The Devil Is In The Details (by Zev Yaroslavsky and Gloria Molina)
Los Angeles Times

Public Transit Funding Slightly Better In Jerry Brown's Proposed Budget
StreetsBlog SF

Social Media: Transit Agencies Connect With Riders In New Ways
("LACMTA also has been using Twitter and Facebook for several years. In addition to the typical news and service alerts, the agency uses the tools to obtain feedback on projects. With dozens of transportation projects under way or on the drawing board following the 2008 passage of the Measure R sales tax, there are plenty of projects that LACMTA wants the public to have a say in.")
Progressive Railroading

Stockholm's Central Station Harvests Body Heat
GOOD

U.S. Considers Rules To Spur Freight-Rail Competition
Wall Street Journal

1/11/2011

Gold Line Foothill Extension 2B Scoping, Westside Subway Testing, Metro Live Help Online, Metro Retires Last Diesel Bus, Brown's Draft Budget & More

Brown's Countdown Day 1: Plan Takes On Powerful Redevelopment Forces
Sacramento Bee

The Case For Streetcars
The City Fix

Catching A (Bumpy) Ride On The CR
("Are there areas where federal transportation budgets can be reduced without harming the programs? Will Obama's priorities (such as high-speed rail) suffer in the belt tightening, or will non-rail entities get the shaft? And what happens to the current surface transportation law, now in its sixth temporary extension since it expired on September 30, 2009?")
National Journal Transportation Blog

Century City Subway Transportation Update: Top Ten Reasons To Have The Subway Station At Avenue Of The Stars & Constellation
Century City Chamber Of Commerce

City Prepares List For Metro Call For Projects
StreetsBlog LA

Don't Miss This Bus: Metro To Retire Last Diesel Bus In Fleet
LAist

DOT Stimulus Payouts Reach $24.6 Billion
Journal Of Commerce

Governor's Budget 2011-12: Proposed Budget Summary
California Department Of Finance
Business, Transportation, And Housing (BTH) Budget Proposal (6p. PDF)

Governor Proposes Elimination Of Redevelopment Agencies
California Planning & Development Report

Guidance For Developing A Freight Transportation Data Architecture
(106p. PDF)
National Cooperative Freight Research Program

Highway Expansion Rampant In Wisconsin, Which "Can't Afford" Rail (A look at what's happening in one state that rejected high-speed rail funding)
StreetsBlog Network

Household Deficit Reduction: Transit Saves People Almost $10K A Year (Savings in Los Angeles surpass $10,000 annually, according to APTA)
StreetsBlog DC

How Amtrak Can Request Use Of Another Railroad's Track During An Emergency
Government Security News

How To Pay Per Ride With Your TAP Card (A look at Metro's new "Live Help Beta")
Southern California Public Radio
Metro's Live Help Online

Mayor Villaraigosa, CRA Head Essel Speak Against Plan To Shut Redevelopment Agencies
Curbed LA

Meet The Pesky Kids Of The Expo Line Western Stop
Curbed LA

Metro Begins Testing Westside Subway Routes In Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills Courier

Metro To Talk Construction Process, Impacts Of Westside Subway At Next Set Of Public Meetings
KCET

New Report: Commercial Density, Not Street Geometry, Facilitates Walkable Centers
Infrastructurist

Obama's Urban Policy: Slow Start. Sustainable Finish?
City Limits

Planning Commission Looks To Long Beach Bike Guru For Guidance
Santa Monica Daily Press

Red Line Turns To White Line For No Pants Subway Ride
Curbed LA

Research Roundup: Climate Change In State Transportation Policy, OCTA's Draft Long Range Plan & Green Jobs From Freight Rail
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Safety Issue Resurfaces At Bob Hope: Inspectors Looking Into Near Crash In April Bring Up Terminal's Proximity To The Runway
Glendale News-Press

Scoping Meetings For Next Gold Line Foothill Extension Begin Tonight (Phase 2B, Azusa to Montclair)
StreetsBlog LA
Phase 2B Overview, Planning, Studies, Meetings & Events
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority

U.S. Seeks Help On Transport Security (Homeland Secretary Napolitano calls for "more international cooperation in protecting transport routes against attack and controlling trade in potentially dangerous materials.")
CNBC

Villaraigosa Says He Will Lay Off More City Workers If Parking Garage Deal Is Abandoned
Los Angeles Times

1/10/2011

Metro May Buy Union Station, Expo Bidder Scrutiny, Arcadia Bridge Retrofit, CAHSR And China, CAHSR And Economic Growth, Intercity Buses & More

The American Energy Spectrum (infographic)
GOOD

Arcadia Railroad Bridge Retrofit Causes Traffic Delays
Pasadena Star-News

Bike Lanes Create More Jobs Than Other Road Projects, Per $1 Mil
League Of American Bicyclists
Estimating The Employment Impacts Of Pedestrian, Bicycle, And Road Infrastructure (4p. PDF)
Political Economy Research Institute Of University Of Massachusetts, Amherst

Camarillo Meeting To Address Train Projects
("The 351-mile-long railroad corridor from San Luis Obispo to San Diego is one of the busiest in the nation, and Caltrans and federal railroad officials are proposing millions in enhancements over the next two decades to improve its reliability and safety.")
Ventura County Star

China Eyes A Piece Of California's High-Speed Rail Pie
AltTransport

Expo Line Bidders Under New Scrutiny In Fraud And Construction Problems: Probe Comes After An Initial Review Disclosed Federal Investigations, Alleged Evasion Of Hiring Requirements And Other Problems
Los Angeles Times

Facebook Modifies Terms Of Service For State And Local Government
Public CIO

Going Car-Free In A Car-Centric City
StreetsBlog Network

In Moscow, Escalators To Carry The City ("This is a system, like Washington's, with deep, deep stations, but, unlike in Washington, passengers here are rarely left to hoof it on their own up or down immobilized stairways. It wouldn't work, because people don't walk fast enough. At rush hours fully loaded trains run on 90-second intervals; it's up to the escalators to get the passengers delivered, but just as important, to whisk them away again before they start bunching up and spilling off the platforms and onto the tracks.")
Washington Post

Intercity Bus Industry Shows Major Rebound For First Time In Nearly 50 Years
(2p. PDF)
DePaul University Press Release
The Intercity Bus: America's Fastest Growing Transportation Mode: 2010 Update On Scheduled Bus Service (12p. PDF)
DePaul University College Of Liberal Arts And Sciences

L.A. Crews Begin Repairing Thousands Of Potholes: Street Repair Workers Hope To Patch Up To 15,000 Holes In Asphalt Caused By Recent Storms. But City Budget Cuts And Furloughs Are Making The Job More Difficult
Los Angeles Times

Long Beach-Area Drivers Brace For Roadwork
Contra Costa Times

Lots Of Bike Lanes To Come In The New Year
LADOT Bike Blog

Metro Confirms Talks To Buy Union Station
Blog Downtown

Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Hosts Public Scoping Meetings
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Metro, High-Speed Rail Group May Buy Union Station: Deal Could Be Completed By February
Los Angeles Downtown News

New House Rules Threaten TIGER And Livability Programs
StreetsBlog DC

New Republican Rule Changes Highway Funding
Steel Market Update

Obama Administration Factors "Sustainability" Principles Into Transportation Funding
Politifact

Study: Renewable Fuel Mandate Can't Be Met With Ethanol
Wired

Symbolism In The Transit World: Helping You Find Your Way
The City Fix

Two Hour Free Parking Ordered Back On Ballot By Appellate Court
Beverly Hills Courier

The Ugly Walk Between 7+Fig And L.A. Live
Los Angeles Downtown News

Why California Budget May Slam High Speed Rail
Transportation Nation
Beyond The Tracks: The Potential Of High-Speed Rail To Reshape California's Growth (22p. PDF)
SPUR: San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association

Why Riders Are Getting Drenched At LA's Bus Shelters
CityWatch