Today's Headlines - more at Metro

5/13/2011

BH Subway Battle, CAHSR Route, Expo To Change Santa Monica, Rail Terrorism Threat,World's Most Dangerous Roads & More

The Battle Over The Metro: Board Of Education Member Steven Fenton Says Mayor Barry Brucker Needs To Do More To Stop The Proposed Subway Stop Under Beverly High
Beverly Hills Weekly

BHUSD Seeks Court Order For MTA Documents: The School District Says The Metrpolitan Transportation Authority Is Dragging Its Heels In Releasing Requested Subway Information Regarding Contested Expansion Route For Century City
Century City Patch

Bike Lanes, Car Parking, Horses And Backbones, Planning For Bikes In The Foothills
StreetsBlog LA

Bike To Work Day Comes With Unprecedented Growth In Bike Infrastructure
StreetsBlog SF

California Considers New (Old) Route For High-Speed Rail
Infrastructurist

Cargo Shipments Increase For 15th Straight Month At Port Of L.A.
Daily Breeze

The Cities With The Best And Worst Public Transportation
247 Wall Street

City Weighs Plan To Increase Bike Parking
Los Angeles Daily News

Development-Oriented Transit: Minimizing Taxpayer Investments, Maximizing Community Value
The City Fix

Don't Hold Your Breath For A White House Transportation Bill
StreetsBlog DC

Energy And Commerce Dems Aim To Link Roads, Broadband
National Journal

Expo, Bus Changes To Reshape Public Transportation In Santa Monica
Santa Monica Mirror

Gas Prices Push Commuters To The Train
CNN

Inland Transit Fares Poorly Connecting Workers To Jobs
Riverside Press-Enterprise

LaHood Says Congress Should Figure Out Details Of Transportation Bill
Governing

Metro Really Wants To Bring The Green Line To Torrance
Curbed LA

MTA Transportation Deputy Mike Bohlke Moonlights As Lobbyist
LA Weekly

Participate (An independent group is seeking to "ignite essential discussions about art in Los Angeles" by getting locals to put APPROVE or DISAPPROVE stickers on public art around the city)
MOCA-Latte

Rail Yard Pollution Is More Toxic Than In Other Areas
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Raise $1 Million In A Week To Save School Jobs? Not Even In Beverly Hills ("Two legal opinions supported the maneuver because subway tunneling would affect the district's plan to strengthen the building foundations and seismic safety at the high school.")
Los Angeles Times

Reaction Is Mixed To BHUSD's Decision To Use Measure E Funds On Subway Fight
Beverly Hills Patch

Redistributed High-Speed Rail Funds: Still Useful!
TIME

Senate Finalizing Transpo Bill: It's Up To Boxer To Preserve Bike/Ped Funding
StreetsBlog DC

Studies Gives State, L.A. Region Good Marks For Transit Systems
Los Angeles Times

Terror Worries Ride Rails: Plot Detailed In Bin Laden Trove Renews Concerns About Sectors Vulnerability ("For every $50 the Transportation Security Administration spends on aviation security, the agency budgets $1 to protect surface transportation.")
Wall Street Journal

Terrorist Attacks On Railroads Would Be Difficult: Past Experiences Suggest That Terrorists Who Want To Derail A Train Are Facing A Much More Complex Task Than Just Leaving A Penny On The Rail
Miller-McCune

Testing Begins For Eastside Gold Line Train Crossing Gates: Traffic Delays Should Be Expected At Three East LA Gold Line Intersections
EGP News

The Ugly Truth About Infrastructure And Taxes
Infrastructurist

What Would Presidents Reagan And Clinton Do? ("The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced the launch of a radio and television ad campaign featuring these presidential icons. The two groups aim to elevate transportation investment into the ongoing congressional debate about the federal budget and future investment priorities.")
PR Newswire

The World's Most Dangerous Roads: Get The Data (data crunched for nearly every country in the world. )
Guardian (U.K.)

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the
Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

5/12/2011

Expo Line, TOD Study, Measuring Transpo Investments, Transit & Jobs In America, Amtrak At 40, BBB Changes & More

America 2050 Praises USDOT's High-Speed, Intercity Rail Grants
Progressive Railroading

Amtrak Faces Congestion And Criticism As It Celebrates 40 Years Of Service
Washington Post

The Art Of Campaigning For High-Speed Rail
Grist

Big Blue Bus Routes To Change
Santa Monica Daily Press

Calif. Auditor Slams Management Of $43B High-Speed Rail Project, Urges Overhaul
New York Times

Can Nothing Stop The Idea Of Privatizing City-Owned Parking Garages?
StreetsBlog LA
Parking Vultures Want Closed Door Meetings
CityWatch

City Bus Routes To Change: New Routes Will Become Effective Sunday
Moorpark Patch

City To Consider More Bicycle Parking
NBC Los Angeles

Expo Line Meets Halfway
Corsair

Expo Rail Builders Listen To Santa Monica At Design Kick Off
Santa Monica Lookout

Future Of Railway Should Include Loma Linda, Council Says: Loma Linda Council Members Encourage SANBAG To Find Ways To Connect Loma Linda To Proposed Passenger Rail Project
Loma Linda Patch

How Would Blumenauer's New Commuter Benefit Proposal Work?
StreetsBlog DC

Job Sprawl And The Importance Of Transit To Suburban Employment Centers
StreetsBlog Network
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) And Employment (28p. PDF)
Center For Transit-Oriented Development

Livable v Lovable (The problem with "Most Livable Cities" lists)
Financial Times (U.K.)

Many States Fail To Measure Performance Of Transportation Dollars ("States spent an estimated $131 billion on transportation in fiscal year 2010, but many cannot answer critical questions about what returns this investment is generating, according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation. The study comes at a time when some members of Congress are proposing that the next surface transportation authorization act, the law that governs the largest federal funding streams for states’ transportation systems, more closely tie dollars to performance.")
Pew Press Release
Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road To Results (108p. PDF)
Pew Center On The States

Missed Opportunity: Transit And Jobs In Metropolitan America
(64p. PDF : "An analysis of data from 371 transit providers in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas")
Brookings Institution
Press Release

New Reports: Higher Gas Prices Mean Safer Roads
Infrastructurist

Officials Testing Rail Crossing Gates Along Metro Gold Line For 2 Weeks, Traffic Delays Expected
Los Angeles Daily News

Peak Oil? Now It's Peak Cars (click "show transcript" or listen to audio)
The Science Show

Peer Report Urges Quick Action By High-Speed Rail Authority
Bakersfield Californian

Ray LaHood: Amtrak Already Has Passenger List To Screen Against Threats
Huffington Post

Washington, California, And The Curious Case Of The Railway To Somewhere
Transport Politic

With 160,000 Miles Of Track, How Safe Are America's Railroads From Terrorist Attack?
CNN

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

5/11/2011

LAO High Speed Rail Report, Express Lanes, Expo Design, Regional Connector, Beverly Hills vs. Subway, Complete Streets & More

15 Of The World's Most Bike-Friendly Cities (Two of them are in California)
CNN

Americans Want More, Not Less, Action To Advance Laws, Regulation, And Enforcement To Improve Highway Safety
PR Newswire

America's Biggest (And Least) Gas Guzzling Cities
Forbes

Beverly Hills Files Legal Complaint Against Metro Over "Public" Documents
StreetsBlog LA

Bin Laden Fallout: Do US Trains Need A "No-Ride-List"?
Christian Science Monitor

Blumenauer Bill Would Level The Field For Commuter Tax Benefits
StreetsBlog Network

Complete Streets: It's About More Than Bike Lanes (video)
StreetFilms

Courier Allegedly Misreported Subway Extension
Canyon News

Downtown Did Automated Parking Garages In The 20s And 50s
Curbed LA

Expo Design Process Gets Going
Santa Monica Daily Press

ExpressLanes Transponders, Coming To A Store Near You...And To The AAA! ("A clearer picture is emerging on how drivers will be able to access the variable toll lanes on the I-10 and I-110 as part of Metro’s “Express Lanes” program. The plan to turn High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes into High Occupancy and Toll (HOT) Lanes on these two highways has drawn criticism from both conservatives who see it as double-taxation and liberals who see it as creating a two-tiered transportation system.")
StreetsBlog LA

Gardena Bus Route Changes To Emphasize Local Routes ("
Gardena's five bus routes - which connect the city with Torrance, Hawthorne, Los Angeles and Compton - will change dramatically this summer.")
Daily Breeze

High-Speed Rail Is At A Critical Juncture
(28p. PDF)
California Legislative Analyst's Office
Press Conference Webcast (video)

[D.C.] Metro Enhances Multi-Lingual Web Site: New Translations Improve Communications ("Metro has enhanced its Web site with translations of critical pages in five languages, Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.")
WMATA

Give Buses A Chance
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog
Federal Subsidies For Passenger Transportation, 1960-2009: Summary Of Results (3p. PDF)
American Bus Association

How Wilshire Blvd. And 7th St. Could Get Green Travel Friendly
Green LA Girl

Knowing Is Half The Battle: States Lack Data To Make Good Transpo Decisions
StreetsBlog DC

Movie Theater In North Hollywood To Start Construction: Laemmle Theatres Will Build A Seven-Screen Cineplex. It's The Capstone To The Final Phase Of The 10-Year North Hollywood Redevelopment Project to Improve The Blocks Around The Subway Terminus ("A $250-million development near the Metro Red Line station.")
Los Angeles Times


[N.Y.] MTA Cards May Soon Be Replaced By "Contactless" Credit Card As "E-ZPass" For Subway Riders
New York Daily News

Opinion: Getting In Gear On Bikes: Arguments Against Sharing The Road With Cyclists Should No Longer Be Driving The Discussion
Los Angeles Business Journal

Ray LaHood "Concerned" About Safety Of Urban Bikers, Unsure If He's A Hipster
Huffington Post

Regional Connector Testing Continues: Geotechnical Study Means Lane Closures, Noise
Los Angeles Downtown News

Regional Transportation Plan: A Call For Safer Streets For Everyone, And For Interested Stakeholders To Weigh In
Safe Routes To School In California

Report Questions California Bullet-Train Plan's Management And Governing Structure: The State Legislative Analyst's Office Also Says Funding Uncertainties Threatens The Project As It Moves Into The First Phase Of Construction In The Central Valley. The Report Urges The Project Be Turned Over To Caltrans
Los Angeles Times


Riverside County May Try To Join Proposed Ontario Airport Authority
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Southland Gas Prices Fall Slightly Again
Los Angeles Daily News

Study Evaluates Delegated Transit Management
Metro Magazine
Examination Of Regional Transit Service Under Contracting: A Case Study In The Greater New Orleans Region (2p. PDF)
Mineta Transportation Institute

Times Re-Embraces City-County Bureau ("In the 1980s, I was one of the reporters in the L.A. Times' City-County bureau, which combined a whole lot of firepower under one roof to cover City Hall, the Hall of Administration, the MTA, issues like transportation and urban planning, and local politics.")
LA Observed

USDOT's High-Speed Rail Funding Decision Attracts Fans, Foes
Progressive Railroading

Watch Ellen Dunham-Jones On Retrofitting Suburbia: Updated Urban Design Solutions For Redesigning Suburbs
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Who Says America Isn't Ready For High-Speed Rail?
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

5/10/2011

BHUSD Ramps Up MTA Fight, CAHSR, Gold Line Update, Metrolink, Carless Downtown L.A., L.A. Without A Car, Online EIRs & More

$2B For Rail Projects, Speed Upgrades Announced
Associated Press

APTA National Public Transportation Career Day: May 12, 2011
APTA

Ban Cars In L.A.'s Downtown? An Idea That Just Might Work (A must-see, visually-arresting new video explores ideas for transforming downtown into a more dynamic and productive region: "A baffling 36 percent of downtown's land is parking lots or parking structures. By replacing this poorly-used space with cultural institutions, education, or housing, the area will automatically become more energized.")
GOOD

Beverly Hills Unified School District Seeks Court Order For Subway Documents
Century City Subway

BHUSD Petitions For Writ Of Mandate To Direct MTA To Release Documents
Beverly Hills Courier

BHUSD Seeks Court Order For MTA Documents: The School District Says The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Is Dragging Its Heels In Releasing Requested Subway Information
Beverly Hills Patch

California Economy Gets A Jolt From Tech Hiring
Wall Street Journal


California, Illiniois And Amtrak Are Among Recipients Of High-Speed Rail Funds Rejected By Florida
Los Angeles Times

Group: Transit Line Is A Burden ("
A high-speed bus line in the works faces opposition from a newly formed group that says the project is a government boondoggle that will harm commerce in the area.")
San Bernardino Sun

Hybrid Buses Save Money And Fuel While Improving The Transit Experience
AltTransport

In The Public Interest: The Only Way To Cut Gas Costs Is To Use Less Gas
Huffington Post

Is More Transit Worthwhile If More Highways Are Part Of The Bargain?
StreetsBlog Network

Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension May 2011 Updates
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension

Metrolink Launches 16 New Trains Including Express And Late Night Service: Express Trains Can Save Commuters Up To An Hour Every Day, Five Hours A Week
Sacramento Bee

Metrolink Riders Now Have Faster Commutes
KABC-7

More Than Nostalgia: Railroads Still Have A Following ("There was no shortage of enthusiasm for California’s bullet train this weekend at the spot where someday it might actually depart: Los Angeles Union Station.")
NBC Bay Area

Northeast Corridor, The Midwest, And California Say "Thanks, Florida!"
StreetsBlog DC

Online Access To Environmental Impact Reports & Statements: Metro's New Digital Library Of Los Angeles Transit Project Documents
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

A Prescription For Prosperity: Let Cities Be Cities
California Planning & Development Report

Study: Parking Is Not The Problem In Downtown San Pedro
Daily Breeze


Transit Board Approves 6 New O.C. Metrolink Trains
Orange County Register

Watch Amtrak's Coverage Shrink Over Time (infographic demonstrates diminishing U.S. rail service)
Grist

What History Tells Us About High-Speed Rail: In A Q&A, Stanford Historian Richard White Discusses The Parallels Between Railroads Of The 1800s And Today's High-Speed Rail In California
Palo Alto Patch

When Railroads Ruled Transportation Politics ("This past Saturday marked a little-known anniversary in the long-running contest between American highway and train establishments. On May 7, 1930, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to form the United States Motorways Commission, a twelve-person group — two Senators, two Congressmen, and eight presidential appointees — whose job was to consider a proposal for a national road network strikingly similar to the Interstate Highway System that emerged decades later.")
Infrastructurist

White House: Nation's Railways Are Safe
The Hill

"Without A Car" Slide Show (video : "Photographer Diane Meyer discusses her photo essay from the May/June 2011 issue of Orion about Angelenos, who not only survive, but often thrive in the City of Angels without automobiles. Includes additional portraits from her “Without a Car” project.")
Orion Magazine via Vimeo

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.

5/09/2011

Expo I Start Date, Expo II Design, Metro Security, Downtown Streetcar, Metrolink Express, Complete Streets & More

10 Simple Steps (And Pedals And Rides) Cities Are Taking To Move Beyond The Automobile
Mother Nature Network

600 Leaders Gather In La Quinta To Discuss Getting Back To Golden: Jobs, Transportation And Sustainability In Southern California (2p. PDF)
SCAG Press Release

Al-Qaida Could Target LA Rail Lines (video)
My Fox LA

Big LaHood Announcement On High Speed Rail ("U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is making a “major announcement” on high-speed rail [today] in New York and Detroit, according to an advisory his office sent out.")
Transportation Nation

Complete Streets Bill Introduced In House, Policies Gaining In Popularity Across The Country
Transportation For America

Congress To Hold Rail Security Hearings
The Hill

CRA Tries Again For Downtown Parks
Blog Downtown

D.A. Receives Complaint Regarding COG's Handling Of Gold Line Grant
Pasadena Star-News

Editorial: Don't Base Rail Route Solely On Engineers
Bakersfield Californian

Editorial: Express Service Saves Time, Money (Metrolink)
San Bernardino Sun

Expo Phase I Opening Delayed Again, Opening Likely In 2012
StreetsBlog LA

Expo Rail Design Meetings Kick Off Monday
Santa Monica Lookout

First US Interstate Marks 200 Years Of Vital Service
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Five Years Later: Looking Back On The Spring Street Contraflow Later
Blog Downtown

A Green Transportation Dialog Should Start During National Train Day And Transportation Week
Huffington Post

How To Ride Public Transit From DC To New York ("Like the San Francisco to LA route, this 200-plus-mile trek would rival the cost of airfare and might take a few days to complete, but it requires only half as many transfers.")
AltTransport

The Ineluctable Politics Of Transport Funding ("Take Los Angeles Metro, which is supposed to take responsibility for highways and transit in its region. Of the $40 billion the agency is expected to bring in over the next thirty years from the 1/2¢ sales tax approved in 2008, just 35% will go to roads, with the rest being spent on transit capital and operations expenditures.")
Transport Politic

Is There A Case For Alternative Transportation? ("Now that fuel prices are emptying our wallets, is it time to ask whether we are too dependent on our cars? Should commuters have more options for getting around? Are the advocates seeking more bus lanes and parking fees to pave roads actually declaring a war on cars? Does it make sense to talk about alternative transportation in the wake of high gas prices? Or are gas prices and public transit unrelated?")
National Journal Transportation Blog

A Last Gasp For The Initial Intercity Rail Grants
Transport Politic

Late-Night Trains May Increase Our Ties To L.A.
("The change nudges Metrolink closer to a 24-hour schedule: With the first weekday train at 4:06 a.m. and the last one at 11 p.m., that's only five hours a day without train service.")
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Mayors' Survey: Cities Need Transportation Infrastructure Investment
American City & County

Metrolink Trains Will Connect Redlands, San Bernardino ("A plan to bring passenger rail service to Redlands by using refurbished Metrolink cars rather than a light rail line will be the subject of two public meetings this week.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Mica Wants To Abandon Federal Commitment To Bike-Ped Funding
StreetsBlog DC

MTA Plans Security Upgrades On Rail Lines: Transit Officials In Los Angeles County Say $10 Million In Improvements Were Planned Before The Discovery That Osama Bin Laden Had Wanted Al Qaeda To Strike U.S. Rail Systems
Los Angeles Times

My Clockwork Orange: Finding Cohesion On Metro (Part subway, part bus, the Orange Line is a mutant in the world of public transportation...On the Orange Line, it can be a ride through history itself, as the lumbering bus travels over the same roads the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Electric Red Car once did.")
Zocalo

New Automated Parking Garages All The Rage In LA
Curbed LA

Opinion: Cities Need To Work Together ("Have you ever wondered why the Metro subway ends at the opening to the San Fernando Valley, Burbank and Glendale, or why the Gold Line turns south in Pasadena and heads toward downtown Los Angeles? Or why freeways through the valley region don’t connect in all directions at interchanges, or why there are only two lanes east and west at the heavily trafficked 101-134 freeway interchange?")
Burbank Leader

Opinion: Public-Private Partnerships Can Ease Gridlock
Orange County Register

Opponents Of Century City Subway Station Are "Misguided"
LA Observed

pLAnning (Volume 1, Issue 1 of a new quarterly newsletter providing news and information. This issue includes a history of planning in Los Angeles (1849-1996), the Hollywood community plan, the city's Zone Information and Map Access System, and more)
City Of Los Angeles Planning Department

Ports To Triple Power Supply To Port Ships, Reduce Pollution
Beverly Hills Courier

Responding To A Transit Terror Threat: Bomb Sniffing Dogs, Bag Searches And More?
StreetsBlog LA

Sen. Schumer Proposes "No-Ride List" For Amtrak Trains
Reuters

So Much For Supply And Demand: Transit Ridership Spikes, Funding Plummets
StreetsBlog DC

Streetcar Could Ride Further North, South: Metro Seeking Input On Where The System Should Go ("Metro is hosting a public scoping meeting on May 17, and community members will be invited to scrawl on maps, envisioning their ideal alignments, and pointing out any potential flaws that the streetcar organizes may have overlooked. The meeting is one of several steps that Metro, as the lead agency for the project’s environmental analysis, must take in order to qualify the project for federal funding. Streetcar organizers hope that federal dollars will pay for nearly half of the project.")
Los Angeles Downtown News

Surface Transportation Bill Drafting In Progress, Mica Says
Journal Of Commerce

Two Years After The Stimulus Bill: Still A Political Grudge Match
StreetsBlog DC

US DOT Announces $2 Billion For High Speed Rail
Transportation Nation

Want To Add To Congestion? Then It's Going To Cost You
New York Times

Why (Much Of) Obama's Transpo Plan Can Survive The GOP Knife
StreetsBlog DC

What are transportation community leaders around the nation tweeting about today? Check out the Metro Library Twitter Daily, our online digest in newspaper format updated every day.