Union Station Plan, Carmageddon Arrives Tonight, '84 Olympics Traffic, Beverly Hills Subway, Geography Of Commuting, Carbon Emissions & More

6 Reasons Driving Has Peaked In U.S. Cities

Infrastructurist

Before The "Carmageddon": A Photographic Look At The Construction Of 5 SoCal Freeways ("In the twenty years between 1950 and 1970, more than 500 miles of freeways were built in L.A." Here are some rarely seen photographs of Hollywood, Harbor, Santa Monica, San Diego and Foothill Freeway construction)

LA As Subject via KCET

Board Of Education And City Council Still Not In Agreement Regarding Metro Subway Fight

Beverly Hills Weekly

California Commuter Benefits Bill Passes

Cyclelicious

Can Rodeo Drive Handle A Subway Stop? ("This enemy is a beast to be reckoned with, and some merchants claim it will irreparably damage the luxe way of life on Rodeo Drive. What is this monster, you ask? One that afflicts every major city worldwide: public transit.")

Haute Living

Carmageddon Questions? Times To Host Live Web Chat At Noon

Los Angeles Times

Carmageddon Will Affect Traffic Downtown, Pasadena And Beyond

Los Angeles Times

Developer's Connection To Bev Hills Subway Fight

LA Observed

Downtown Dreams: Los Angeles Metro Kicks Off Ambitious Plans For Union Station

Architect's Newspaper

Economists Find Flaws In Federal Estimate Of Climate Damage: A Report Concludes That Each Ton Of CO2 Emitted Inflicts Almost 45 Times More "Social Cost" Than The Federal Government Estimates

Scientific American

The Geography Of How We Get To Work: Where We Live Makes A Huge Difference In Our Commuting Choices, But Not Always In The Ways You'd Think

The Atlantic

Global Trends In Road Construction And Demolition

The City Fix

GOP Bill Would Shift Bullet Train Money To Midwest Flood Relief
Los Angeles Times

If Work Goes Smoothly, 405 Freeway Could Reopen Early: The Freeway Is Scheduled To Be Back To Normal By 6 A.M. Monday, But Official With The Firm Doing The Work Say The Bridge Demolition Could Be Finished Ahead Of Schedule

Los Angeles Times

In LA, Dire Warnings As Freeway Closure Looms

Associated Press

Las Vegas-Southern California Train Project Clears Environmental Study
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Long-Term Gain With 405 Closure (Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa)

Huffington Post

A Look Back At The Non-Traffic Of The 1984 Olympics

KCET

No Car-Tastrophe In '84 (video compilation showing interviews with traffic planners charged with averting gridlock for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles)

KCET

Los Angeles Cyclists To Race JetBlue Flight During #Carmageddon

Bike Commute News

Mayor Bloom On Santa Monica's Land Use & Circulation Element (The plan strives to balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic with "no net new car trips." It has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning)

Planning Report

Metro's Union Station Redevelopment: Architects Balk At "Gifts To The Public"

Curbed LA

Montebello In Danger Of Losing Rail Funds

Whittier Daily News

MTA Waves Fares For 26 Bus Lines, Including The 720 Through Beverly Hills, For I-405 Closure: There Will Be Free Rides On The Metro Orange, Red And Purple Lines As Well As On 26 Bus Lines This Weekend

Beverly Hills Patch

Paratransit Riders Will Not Get Travel Priority During 405 Closure

KCET

Running 405 Project Takes A Steady Hand On The Wheel: The Engineering Chief Steering The 405 Project Has Ample Experience With Success Under Stress. A Stint In Iraq Helped Hone His Skills

Los Angeles Times

Take The Long Way: Officials Say Freeways Better During 405 Closure

Los Angeles Daily News

Toenails On The Train: Your Private Business And Public Transportation

NPR

Velomobile Is A Human-Powered Commuter Vehicle That's Comfier Than A Bike

Inhabitat

Villaraigosa: Port Needs Deep-Water Channel To Keep L.A. Competitive

Los Angeles Daily News

Your Carmageddon Survival Guide: Everything You Need To Know
Curbed LA

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.

Camageddon Approaches, Watts Station & Blue Line, Culver City Expo, Students & Transit, DesertXpress & More

40.5 Things To Do In L.A. Without Your Car

Huffington Post

405 Freeway's Path Tells A Story Of Near-Constant Change: Between The Time When The Sepulveda Pass Was A Trail And This Weekend's "Carmageddon," The Sepulveda Pass Has Been Under Construction

Los Angeles Times

1904 Train Station To Help Connect Watts Towers To The Blue Line
Curbed LA

Amtrak To Surpass 30 Million Passengers For The First Time

The Hill

Are Taxes On Carsharing Too High?: A Review Of The Public Benefits And Tax Burden Of An Expanding Transportation Sector (44p. PDF)

DePaul University Chaddick Institute For Metropolitan Development

As "Carmageddon" Approaches, Other Cities Offer Incentives To Avoid Westside

Los Angeles Times

Beverly Hills Versus The Westside Subway

LA Weekly

Budget For A Millennial America: A Federal Budget Plan That Reflects The Millennial Generation's Priorities: A Think 2040 Initiative (24p. PDF : 3,000 Millennials were interviewed to develop federal spending priorities. Among the findings: Replace the gas tax with a carbon tax, and increase funding for high-speed rail)

Roosevelt Institute Campus Network

Businesses Look To Cash In On Carmageddon

Associated Press

Carmageddon: L.A.'s Cultural Institutions Plan To Hunker Down

Los Angeles Times

Camageddon: LAPD Say No To Parties, Bike Rides On 405

Los Angeles Times

Case Studies Of The Access And Mobility Impact Of Freeway Removal (13p. PDF)

University Of Connecticut

City Audit: Port Of L.A. Needs To Avoid Mushrooming Project Costs

Daily Breeze

Congressional Research Service: Northeast Corridor Privatization Plan Violates Constitution
StreetsBlog DC

Culver City Expo Line Station Delayed? Vice Mayor Malsin Explains
Culver City Times

Editorial: Transportation Bill Must Fund An Array Of Modes

Sacramento Bee

The Expo/Culver City Standoff Drags On, But Authority Says It Won't Affect Opening
StreetsBlog LA

For Los Angeles, 53 Hours Without The Freeway Spells "Carmageddon": Closure Of 405 Drives Stores To Slash Prices; "It's The Perfect Time To Get A Tattoo"

Wall Street Journal

How Do You Promote Transit To New Students?

Metro Magazine

How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program For Travel Data (184p. PDF : Assesses "the state of passenger and freight travel data at the federal, state, and local levels and to make recommendations for an achievable and sustainable system for estimating personal and freight travel to support public and private transportation planning and decision making.")
U.S. Transportation Research Board Special Report

HSR Panel Imagines Life With Robot Cows, High-Speed Tanning ("Last night, nonprofit architectural group Van Alen Institute hosted "After Car Culture: Designing the New LA," a panel convened to discuss the local implications of a high-speed rail design contest they launched in late March.")
Curbed LA

Ideas For Downtown LA: Add Alfresco Dining To Hope Street a la Madrid, Spain
Brigham Yen

JetBlue Offers "Carmageddon" Flyover: Long Beach To Burbank For $4 (The flights have sold out in three hours)
Los Angeles Times

London's Useless Bus Route "Spider Maps" Due For An Overhaul (looks at weaknesses of system maps that do not include destinations and landmarks)

Global Urbanist Planning

New Coalition Looks To Reform L.A.'s Transit-Oriented Development
StreetsBlog LA

Nominate A City For The 2012 Sustainable Transport Award!
The City Fix

Peak Car Is Real
California High Speed Rail Blog

The Real Problem With Carmageddon ("Even if the 405 doesn't clog up instantly and does flow freely for a few years after the project is finished, I find it hard to believe that the time savings will compensate for all the time lost during its construction.")

California Planning & Development Report

Riverside Officials Approve Summit To Discuss Splitting California
KABC-7

Train From Las Vegas To Calif. Gets Environment OK (DesertXpress)
Sacramento Bee

What Maps Should Be At Stops And Stations?
Human Transit

White House Not Giving Up On Infrastructure Bank

Transportation Nation

With L.A. 405 Closure, It's All About Surviving Carmageddon

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.

Metro Nextrip, Perris Metrolink, Carmageddon, "Geo-Immersion," Railroad Economics, Parking Prices, Superhighway History & More

America Needs To Remain Bullish On High-Speed Rail

Railist

The Big Roads: The Untold Story Of The Engineers, Visionaries, And Trailblazers Who Created The American Superhighways
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Bus Operators And Cyclists, Keeping An Eye On Each Other
Metro Magazine

California Leads Nation In "Green Jobs," Study Says: The Brookings Institution Report, Which Is Likely To Draw More Debate Over What Constitutes A "Green" Job, Found That Almost 320,000 People Work In Such Jobs, And 90,000 Of Them Are In The L.A. Metropolitan Area

Los Angeles Times

Sizing The Clean Economy: The Clean Economy In The Los Angeles, CA Metropolitan Area

Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program

Carmageddon Reading List: 19 Books About The Joys And Terrors Of Transportation
Los Angeles Times

Coincidence? Most Expensive Cities For Parking All Suspiciously Awesome

StreetsBlog Network

The 10 Most Expensive U.S. Cities To Park A Car

Daily Finance

Consumer Behavior Determines Carbon Footprint

The City Fix

Crime Lurks Outside Airports, Rail Stations ("The likelihood of crime exceeds the national average outside 28 of 29 big-city airports in the study and outside all 26 central train stations, says CAP Index, which uses statistics, demographics and computer modeling to determine the likelihood of crime.")

Mass Transit

Downtown Vid Pick: Stan, And Ollie, In The Arts District (Could these scenes from a silent films be the earliest known moving images of the First Street Bridge and Los Angeles' Santa Fe Le Grande Station, which "first opened in 1893 and stayed in operation until Sante Fe moved passenger services to the newly completed Union Station in 1939?")

View From A Loft

ExpressPark Set To Stack The Deck In Favor Of Parking Enforcement

Blog Downtown

Geo-Immersion Makes Maps Come Alive (text and video : "The "clever transportation" project...takes a Google map of Los Angeles and adds a few colorful characteristics. Roads that are clogged with slower moving traffic are colored red and roads where traffic is moving faster are colored green...the program changes the "fastest path" because it takes traffic into consideration, a trick that Google Maps doesn't have.")
National Science Foundation

Gridlock Escape? There's An App For That

KCET

House Republicans Targeting High-Speed Rail Dollars

Voice Of OC

How Trains "Railroaded" The American Economy: First In A Three-Part Series
NPR

LB Airport Set To Open New $58 Million Parking Structure
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Legal Arrangements For Use And Control Of Real-Time Data (55p. PDF)
Transit Cooperative Research Program

Metrolink: Perris Line Could See Approval Wednesday

Riverside Press-Enterprise

Metro's Orange Brigade Hits The Rails ("The intern outreach program and the train car reconfiguration are elements of a broader effort by Metro to boost ridership by increasing its bicycle-friendliness.")
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

The Mica Bill: Good For 30/10, Bad For Everyone Else. How Will Boxer Respond?
StreetsBlog LA

Mica: Dem Attacks on Highway Bill Proposal Are "Disappointing"
The Hill

Mica Knows Workforce Development Works

Transportation Equity Network

Natural History Museum's Expo-Adjacent North Campus Opens Soon
Curbed LA

New Report: How To Improve California's Public Transit System

Newswise

All Aboard: How California Can Increase Investments In Public Transit (27p. PDF)

UCLA Law; Berkeley Law

New Signs To Make Metro's Nextrip Data Easier To Access

Blog Downtown

QR Code Information For Metro Stop At Olympic & Grand (What you would see if you scanned the QR code at the bus stop sign in the Blog Downtown story)

Obama Pushes For Infrastructure Bank Proposal After Debt Deal
The Hill

OCTA Pumps $72.5 Million Into SR-91: Construction On The Project Began Monday And Is Expected To Conclude In September, 2012

OC Metro

Officials Ready Command Center For Carmageddon

Los Angeles Daily News

Opinion: For Sale: U.S. Infrastructure? Like Greece, We May Be Forced To Privatize Large Segments Of Our Transportation System Soon Because Of The Debt Crisis

Los Angeles Times

Parking To Be Limited On Sepulveda, Ventura Blvds During "Carmageddon"

Beverly Hills Courier

Political Stakes Are High For 405 Closure: This Weekend's "Carmageddon" Could Be A Public Relations Fiasco Or A Home Run, Depending On Whether Drivers Heed The Advice Of Officials. Press Conferences, Social Media And Freeway Signs Have All Played A Part In Getting The Word Out

Los Angeles Times

Public Release Of SGV Council Of Governments Response To Caltrans Audit 30 To 45 Days Away

San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Road Work To Halt During "Carmageddon": Caltrans Officials Hope The Stoppage Will Ease Traffic Flow. Metrolink Will Also Expand Its Service

Burbank Leader

Rosemead Boulevard In Temple City To Be Revamped In 2012

Pasadena Star-News

Weekend "No Stopping" Streets For 405 Closure

LA Observed

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.

Surviving Carmageddon, Mobility 21 Conference, Beverly Hills Subway, Mica Bill, Social Media & Transit, California CRAs & More

75 Years Of The Fundamental Diagram For Traffic Flow Theory: Greenshields Symposium (246p. PDF)
U.S. Transportation Research Board

American BRT: A Rapid Bus Network Expands In Las Vegas
StreetsBlog DC

Beverly Hills Merchants Launch Class War Over Westside Subway
Curbed LA

California Congressmembers Press Company For More Money For Metrolink Victims
Southern California Public Radio

Caution: Lifestyle Details Ahead: Lounging By The Pool, Postponing Parties, Deciding To Walk Instead Of Drive. Angelenos Are Adjusting In Myriad Ways To The Impending Closure Of The 405 Freeway
Los Angeles Times

Commute Easier With Los AngelBus
Plus Metro

Critic's Notebook: Fast Lane To Gridlock: It Will Hurt To Lose The 405 For A Weekend Not Because We Love Freeways So Much But Because Los Angeles Is So Limited In Terms Of Mobility. We've Left Ourselves With No Escape Hatches Or Viable Alternatives
Los Angeles Times

Employment Weakness Calls For Stronger Transportation Bill: Flat-Lining Jobs Growth Underscores Dangers in Rep. Mica's Miserly Transportation Bill
American Progress

For And Against High-Speed Rail, Part IV: The Case For Fast-ish Trains
Infrastructurist

Helicopter Tour Of Carmageddon Offers Riders Chance To Point And Laugh
LAist

House Could Cut Rail Stimulus Funds
The Hill

House Transportation Committee Seeks To Eliminate Safe Routes to School Program
School Transportation News

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: Why We're Pro-Carmageddon ("We know you have plenty of great ways to enjoy Los Angeles without a car, but if you need help, here are some of our ideas for making the most of this exciting holiday weekend. How are you celebrating Carmageddon?")
GOOD

Largest Transportation Conference In California Spotlights Former Gov. Ed Rendell Of Pennsylvania: Long-Time Advocate For Federal Infrastructure Investment Will Address Southern California's Leaders Sept. 6 In Los Angeles (Mobility 21)
Business Wire
Transportation Next: New Era, New Vision, New Realities (Conference webpage)
Mobility 21

Mica's Bill: "Stability" Or "Road To Ruin"? ("The Republican highway proposal shouldn't be a surprise, given the severe budget constraints that GOP leaders have handed the committee. It also won't pass as written. What in Mica's proposal is salvageable? What is helpful? Does the grand unveiling of the bill actually get the ball rolling and people talking such that lawmakers can agree on a workable number? Is it possible to fund any transportation priorities with $230 billion?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

New Report: Tax On Oil And Gas Key To Improved U.S. Transportation
The City Fix
Road To Recovery: Transforming America's Transportation (129p. PDF : Former U.S. senator Bill Bradley, former Pennsylvania governor and secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, and former U.S. comptroller general and current president of the Comeback America Initiative David Walker have authored an intensive analysis to find politically realistic measures to fund and fix the transportation program)
Carnegie Endowment Leadership Initiative On Transportation Solvency

New Republican Highway Bill Nixes National Infrastructure Bank
AltTransport

Palmdale Sues To Block Grapevine Study
California High Speed Rail Blog

Ransoming Redevelopment?: With CRAs In Jeopardy In California, Projects Are Put On Hold ("As the CRA/LA waits for a decision on its future about 20 of its upcoming projects—from improvements to the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Mid-City to the Downtown Streetcar to affordable housing projects throughout the city— are now on hold, a number that could reach into the hundreds by the end of the year.")
Architect's Newspaper

Reorganizing The Bus System Within The Network Hierarchy
Transport Politic

Roads Gridlocked For Carmageddon? Have Fun Close To Home
Los Angeles Daily News

Roads To Avoid When "Carmageddon" Closes 405 Freeway
Los Angeles Times

San Bernardino Rapid Transit Bus Line Contract Awarded
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Santa Monica Farmers Market Versus Carmageddon -- It's On
Southern California Public Radio

Social Media's Influence On Public Transit
Human Transit

Spaniards Trade Cars For Lifetime Trolley Pass
Shareable

"South California" For 51st State?: Fed Up With Sacramento, A Riverside County Politician Seeks To Break 13 Counties Away To Form A State Called South California
Los Angeles Times

Subway Crush No Longer Gets Weekends Off
New York Times

Uneasy Rider: Facing Budget Cuts, Transit Agencies Building New Rail Projects Are Struggling To Make The Trains Run On Time -- Or At All ("L.A.’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is deep into a drawn-out and expensive light-rail construction project: It’s a 15.2-mile route known as the Expo Line, which will be the first rail connection between downtown and the populous Westside of Culver City and Santa Monica. Its first phase, an 8.5-mile segment, is under construction and slated to begin operations later this year. The second phase, however, has a future that’s increasingly unclear.")
Architect

Westwood FlyAway Bus To LAX Extended For 6 Months
Daily Breeze

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.

Mulholland Bridge, Beverly Hills Subway, Gold Line, 710, CAHSR & More

AFL-CIO, Chamber Agree: Not Enough Spending In House Transportation Bill ("One of the nation's largest labor unions and one of the biggest groups in the business lobby reached rare consensus on the proposed surface transportation bill put forward Thursday by Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), each saying it was large enough.")
The Hill

Alternative Mulholland Drive Bridge Plan Could Have Saved Money, Lessened Traffic Woes: A Rejected Proposal For Rebuilding The Bridge Could Have Saved Anywhere From $4 Million To $10 Million And Reduced The Likelihood Of Serious Traffic Jams
Los Angeles Times

App Designed To Make Travel By Public Transit Easier ("Part of what makes SMART-WAY different is the fact that it would use the phone's GPS to keep tabs on where the user was at all times. That way, if they stopped temporarily or decided to change destinations, it would automatically know from what point to start recalculating their route.")
Gizmag

Avoid Carmageddon? Try The Freeway ("If you have to travel, take the freeway.")
NBC Los Angeles
Opinion: 405 Freeway Shutdown: Two Words Of Advice -- Surface Streets ("Only surface streets will get motorists to their destinations on time")
Los Angeles Times

Beyond Safety In Numbers: Why Bike Friendly Cities Are Safer
Planetizen

Beyond "Watch The Road": Safety Messages Appearing On Buses
StreetsBlog LA

"Carmageddon" May Impact Culver City's Bus Line Service: City Transportation Officials Are Urging The Public To Prepare For Major Bus Service Delays During The Weekend Closure
Culver City Patch

Carmageddon, Out East, And America Fast Forward ("With Carmageddon upon us I took Metro's sage advice and got about as far away from LA as I could without a passport.")
Huffington Post

City Of Los Angeles Completes LED Traffic Light Conversion
Beverly Hills Courier

Closed PCH Lanes Near Malibu To Open During 405 Closure
Calabasas Patch

Council Designates $350K For Metro Subway Fight: The City Council Anticipates Work For Consultants In The Wake Of A Final Environmental Impact Report On The Westside Subway Extension
Beverly Hills Patch

Dems Tear Into Mica's Transportation Bill Proposal
StreetsBlog DC

Fiery Words Over GOP Proposal To Cut Transportation Funds
Washington Post

Gold Line Board Challenged For Conflict Of Interest
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Has America Passed Peak Car Use, Or Is It Just A Cyclical Decline?
StreetsBlog DC

Hearts And Minds: Comments Sections Show Confusion, Anger For I-10 And I-110 HOT Lanes
StreetsBlog LA

Highway Funds Caught In Partisan Disputes
San Francisco Chronicle

Hiking Where Locomotives Once Chugged: Twenty Thousand Miles Of Old U.S. Rail Lines Have Been Converted Into Recreational Trails For Hikers, Bicyclists And Horseback Riders. California Has More Than 100 Distinct Trails
Los Angeles Times

It's Not The Authority's Fault Nobody Funded It
California High Speed Rail Blog

LA, OC Gas Prices Fall For 61st Time In 62 Days
Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Congestion Pricing (audio)
The California Report

The Man With The Plan: City Planning Director Michael LoGrande Talks About Development Reform, An NFL Stadium And Surviving Budget Chops
Los Angeles Downtown News

Mica: "The Focus Of The Bill Is On The National Highway System"
StreetsBlog DC

More Responses To Mica Transpo Bill: Lots Of People Think It's A Rotten Idea
StreetsBlog DC

More Roads May Pave The Way To More Traffic
NPR

On Transportation Spending, Expectations Spiral Downwards
Transportation Nation

Opinion: L.A.'s Way Is The Freeway: Badmouth The Freeways All You Want, But "Carmageddon" Weekend Is A Good Time To Get In Touch With Your Subliminal Love Of Freeway Freedom
Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Plan To Tunnel Under High School Flunks "Common Sense"
Los Angeles Business Journal

Preparing For A 405 "Nightmare": County Official Offers Up Suggestion For Navigating Expected Logjam: "Stay The Heck Out Of Here"
Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Review Panel Has Concerns About High-Speed Rail Plan
Silicon Valley Mercury News

South Pasadena City Council Relaxes 710 Stance
Pasadena Star-News

Southern California Braces For 405 Madness
Ventura County Star

Subway To The Sea? Don't Stop At Rodeo Drive (site registration may be required)
Los Angeles Business Journal

Upcoming 405 Closure Could Trigger A Domino Effect Of Gridlock: Officials Encourage Drivers To Stay Home, Warning Of Possible Cascading Logjams On Alternate Routes (Possible trouble spots and large events throughout the region occurring next weekend are identified)
Los Angeles Times

Walking The "Secret Stairs" Of Los Angeles
KCET

Westside Subway Extension One Step Closer To Approval: The Project Is Chosen To Move Into The U.S. Department Of Transportation's Final Approval Phase
Beverly Hills Patch

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.