Today's Headlines - more at Metro

11/10/2011

Expo Line's Predecessor History, Crenshaw Subway, Beverly Hills Rebuttal, Union Station Master Plan, Wilshire Blvd History, Downtown Streetcar & More

Amsterdam Proves Bikes And Streetcars Are Allies
Greater Greater Washington

"Apron Parking" Nears OK
Los Angeles Daily News

Are There Any New Ideas On Cities? (Should cities be seeking ways to re-purpose old infrastructure like New York City did with its High Line?)
American Society Of Landscape Architects' The Dirt Blog

A Bus Terminal, Overshadowed And Unmourned
New York Times

Business Praises Action On Senate Transport Plan
Journal Of Commerce

California Is Ignoring Its Decaying Roads
Sacramento Bee

Cars To Return To K Street In Downtown Sacramento On Saturday
Sacramento Bee

Colton: Officials Cheer Start Of Rail Crossing Construction
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Community Assessment Tool (59p. PDF)
Pedestrian And Bicycle Information Center

Commute Wire: Sunset Bridge Demo, Veterans Day Transit
Curbed LA

Crenshaw Subway Coalition Rallies Community In The "Battle For Crenshaw"
USC Annenberg Intersections South LA

Cut Out Buy Here, Pay Here Dealerships With Community Car Share
StreetsBlog LA

Do-It-Yourself Parking Bans In Malibu: The California Coastal Commission Fights A Losing Battle Against Homeowners Who Post Illegal "No Parking" Signs. Some Look So Official That Even Authorities Are Misled
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Californians Still Willing To Pay? ("It has been three years since voters had a say on California's proposed high-speed rail system...So much has changed since then.")
San Bernardino Sun

Enhancement And Field Test Evaluation Of New Battery-Less Wireless Traffic Sensors (Link to full-text report)
University Of Minnesota Center For Transportation Studies

Field Testing And Evaluation Of A Wireless-Based Transit Signal Priority System
(Link to full-text report)
University Of Minnesota Center For Transportation Studies

Full Reply To Metro Blog Post ("The Metropolitan Transit Authority's own taxpayer-funded blog site, "The Source," admitted the substance of The Courier's analysis of its tainted "fault study" that purports to conclude that only a tunnel under Beverly Hills High School allows a safe subway station in Century City. This articles contains The Courier's REPLY to Metro's responses.")
Beverly Hills Courier

High Speed Rail: Too Much, Too Late
Huffington Post

How Timed Traffic Signals Can Be Bad For Pedestrians
The Atlantic: Cities

Interns Could Benefit From Growing Metro
USC Daily Trojan

Is Laguna Niguel Plan The Next Urban Village?
Orange County Register

LA Union Station Shortlist Announced & The Notables That Missed The Cut
Architect's Newspaper

Metro Chooses Six Teams To Submit Master Plan Visions For Union Station
Blog Downtown

Metro Picks Architect Shortlist For Union Station Plan
Los Angeles Downtown News

MTA Concedes Fault Study Will Destroy Subway Ridership
Beverly Hills Courier

New Federal Fuel Rules Expected Soon, California Poised To Benefit
("Stricter fuel standards for cars and light trucks could bring tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the Golden State, one report says.")
KQED
More Jobs Per Gallon: How Strong Fuel Economy/GHG Standards Will Fuel American Jobs (embedded full-text document)
Ceres

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Backers Pulling A Fast One
Santa Monica Daily Press

Our "Grand Concourse": Historic Images Of Wilshire Boulevard's Double-Decker Buses & Other Forgotten History
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Regional Agencies Taking Slow Walk Towards Sustainable Funding
StreetsBlog LA

Restoration Of Historic Streetcar Services In Downtown Los Angeles: Alternatives Analysis Community Update Meeting (November 3 presentation : overview of 7 alternatives now being considered)
Metro via Scribd

Santa Monica's New Parks Bringing Fancy Streetlights, Raised Crosswalk, Public Art With Them
Curbed LA

Senate Committee Passes Highway Bill, Infrastructure Groups Split On Reactions
Transportation Nation

Senate Panel Gives Los Angeles Mayor's Transit Plan Bipartisan Boost ("A two-year, $109-billion transportation bill, approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with unusual bipartisan speed, would increase funding for a federal loan program that is critical to the mayor's bid to build a dozen projects in 10 years instead of 30. Funding for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program would increase to $1 billion a year, up from the current $110 million.")
Los Angeles Times

Streetcar Project Full Steam Ahead: The Alignment Is Expected To Cost Between 100 And 125 Million Dollars
NBC Los Angeles

This Is How We Rolled (The real story behind the rise and fall of the Expo Line's predecessors which linked downtown with the coast : "Although the Westside’s first mass rail project in 50 years feels in some ways like the dawn of an era, Los Angeles has been down this road before. In fact, it has been down the same set of train tracks: The Expo Line will run on a historic railroad right-of-way that has carried Southern Californians, off and on, for more than 135 years now, first behind steam engines and then in iconic Red Cars.")
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

Transit Civil Rights And Economic Survival In Los Angeles: A Case For Federal Intervention In LA Metro (26p. PDF)
Labor/Community Strategy Center

Transportation Ballot Measures Mixed In 2011 Election
Reconnecting America

U.S. Department Of Transportation Announces Nearly $35 Million To Improve Transportation Choices And Job Access For Military Families
U.S. DOT Press Release

Villaraigosa Cheers Senate Committee Approval Of Transit Funding Bill
Daily Breeze

Villaraigosa Wants To Borrow Future Tax Money To Fix L.A. Streets: Over About Two Years, The Plan Would Spend Up To $800 Million To Repair Nearly A Fourth Of City Roads Using 27 Years Of Proceeds From Measure R, A Half-Cent Sales Tax Passed By County Voters
Los Angeles Times

Want To Sell Voters On Transit? Keep It Simple
StreetsBlog Network

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.

11/09/2011

Gold Line Foothill TOD, Downtown Streetcar Ridership, MAP-21, LA Port Draft EIR, Prop. 22 Fight, Diverging Diamonds & More

America Will Build High Speed Rail And Create Jobs, Not Despite Challenges, But Because Of Them
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

California Budget Fight Goes To State Supreme Court ("At issue is Proposition 22, which passed in 2010 and prohibits the state from borrowing or taking funds used for transportation, redevelopment, or local government projects and services.")
Wall Street Journal

Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivites: The Rebounding Rebound Effect (29p. PDF)
Victoria Transport Policy Institute

The "Diverging Diamond" Interchange Is An Abomination
The Atlantic: Cities

Downtown Development Will It Be: A Boon Or A Bane
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Draft EIR: Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) Project (includes links to full-text documents)
The Port Of Los Angeles

The Dynamic Of "Technical" Advocates Opposing Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog

Editorial: Here's Why High-Speed Rail Is A Good Idea
Sacramento Business Journal

Election Results For Nine Transportation Measures
Transportation Issues Daily

Evaluating Public Transit As An Energy Conservative And Emission Reduction Strategy (21p. PDF)
Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Federal Dollars May Help California's High-Speed Rail Stay On Track
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

How Do You Count Riders For A Future Streetcar?
Blog Downtown

LA/2B: The Road Ahead
(The City of Los Angeles has launched a "MindMixer" website to crowdsource community input that captures "practical, creative and insightful ideas that will keep Los Angeles moving in the 21st century.")
City Of Los Angeles via MindMixer

L.A. County Backs Federal Restriction Of Low-Flying Helicopters
Los Angeles Times

MAP-21: Forward Progress From Senators Boxer And Inhofe
Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog

Maybe There Is Something Democrats And Republicans Can Agree On: Overhauling Highway Programs
Washington Post

Mayor Backs Tax Cut To Lure Car Dealers ("Since July 2010 the city has spent $60 million on its vehicle fleet...and not one of those purchases was in the city of L.A. because of the business tax they had to add to the cost of each car.")
Los Angeles Daily News

Metro Expands Night Service On Trains To Hollywood: Starting Sunday, Popular Train Lines To Step Up Runs In An Effort To Increase Ridership To Entertainment Hubs
Hollywood Patch

Mica Drops Amtrak Privatization Plan In Call For Northeast Corridor HSR
StreetsBlog DC

Neighborhood Entitlement And Transit Projects
Wilshire/Vermont Blog

New Parking Restrictions Around Hollywood's Runyon Canyon Approved
KCET

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Backers Pulling A Fast One ("In 2008, voters narrowly approved a $10 billion down payment on the construction of a high-speed rail network between the Bay Area and Los Angeles that promoters said would cost a total of $33.6 billion. A year later, the High Speed Rail Authority, overseeing the project, said the train would actually cost $42.6 billion. No problem — hey, what's another $9 billion between friends? Now, they're reporting it will cost $98.5 billion, three times the original estimate. What's worse is they're saying, because we agreed to buy the train at $33.6 billion, we're obligated to pay the entire $98.5 billion. To put this in perspective, California's entire 2010-2011 General Fund budget was about $91.5 billion or $7 billion cheaper than the train.")
Santa Monica Daily Press

Opinion: The Dark Side Of The Green City
(Sustainability and affordability don't always go hand-in-hand)
New York Times

Policy Shift Towards Walkable Communities Anathema To "Buy Here Pay Here"
StreetsBlog LA

Ports Of L.A., Long Beach To Ban Truck Engines 2006 And Older In 2012
The Trucker

Romney Vows In Iowa To Cut Amtrak Funding As President
The Hill

Rush-Hour Read: The Link Between Traffic Congestion And Health
Infrastructurist

State Transportation Statistics 2010 (139p. PDF)
U.S. Bureau Of Transportation Statistics

Summary Of The Senate MAP-21 Transportation Bill Proposal ("One of the most visible changes MAP-21 makes is to restructure seven core highway programs and 13+ formula programs into just five core highway programs.")
Transportation For America

Transit-Oriented Development Along The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension
(video : outlines various proposed TOD projects and interviews with elected officials from cities along the proposed route)
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority via YouTube

Why $1 Billion Doesn't Buy Much Transit Infrastructure Anymore
The Atlantic: Cities

Will 8,400 People Per Day Ride The Downtown Streetcar?
LAist

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.

11/08/2011

Expo Ride, Late Night Metro Service, MAP-21, CAHSR Fight, Bike-Ped Funding, Transit Operator Safety & More

Amtrak Raises Age For Unaccompanied Minors
Railway Age

Amtrak's True Costs
The Economist

CA Senator: Vote On High-Speed Railway Again
One News Now

Calif. HSR Authority Unveils Small Biz Plan, Approves Funding
Metro Magazine

Catching An Early Bird Expo Line Ride
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

City Not Looking To Ban Bikes On Sidewalks, But Staff And Council Want Some Clarification
StreetsBlog LA

Commuter Transit Tax Benefit To Expire At End Of Year
Transportation Nation

Crashes vs. Congestion: What's The Cost To Society? (58p. PDF)
AAA

Editorial: Realistic Plan For High-Speed Rail Requires Patience ("I-5, which took from 1947 to 1979 to complete, segment-by-segment. It began in the Central Valley...It was called the 'road to nowhere.' It was called 'too expensive.' Today, it is the backbone of surface transportation in California.")
Sacramento Bee

Former Transportation Secretary Weighs In On Current Funding Fights (Norman Minetta)
The Hill

"Free The Streets" Promotes Bicycle Culture In South LA
USC Annenberg Intersections South LA

GOP Senators Have Different Views Of High-Speed Rail Plan
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Green Fading To Brown? ("The Community Redevelopment Agency -- struggling to stay ahead of a deteriorating loan -- has made a deal with developer Trammell Crow to sell a 20-acre parcel in what is supposed to be the city's "clean technology" corridor.")
KCET

The Hidden Toll Of Traffic Jams: Scientists Increasingly Link Vehicle Exhaust With Brain-Cell Damage, Higher Rates Of Autism
Wall Street Journal

Improving Travel Time Reliability (4p. PDF)
Strategic Highway Research Program

Is Obama's Rail Initiative A "Train To Nowhere?": High-Speed Train Plan Draws Little Enthusiasm As California Costs Soar
MSNBC

L.A. Transit Officials Increase Night Service On Three On Three Rail Lines
Los Angeles Times

Let's Not Forget About Safety ("Are safety concerns overlooked in transportation policy discussions? Would a long-term highway bill make a real difference in reducing traffic collisions? What policies would have the biggest impact on reducing car crashes? Is there the political will to enact those changes? Can a focus on safety help the broader effort to enact a long-term highway bill?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Los Angeles' Disadvantaged Population Run Over By Lack Of Transit Options, Again
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

MAP-21: Possible Impacts Of Revised Core Transportation Programs
Transportation Issues Daily

Megabus Forecasts 70% Increase In Holiday Bus Travel
Metro Magazine

Metro Boosts Late Evening Train Service
StreetsBlog LA

Metro Expands Blue, Purple, And Red Subway Lines: L.A. Metro Will Expand Its Services To Offer More Frequent Trains During Evening Hours
USC Annenberg TV News

Metro Launches "More Trains, More Often" With Shorter Waits, Shorter Trains ("Trains on Metro's three highest-ridership rail lines will run every 10 minutes from 6pm to midnight under the transit agency's "More Trains More Often" pilot project.")
Blog Downtown

Metro Will Run More Night Trains, But Still On Cinderella Time
Curbed LA

NYC DOT To Roll Out Smart Parking Tech In 2012
StreetsBlog NY

Officials Hope Pace Buses On I-55 Shoulders Will Double Ridership: Transportation Pilot Project Aimed At Cutting Congestion
Chicago Tribune

Public Private Partnerships: An Update
Transportation Issues Daily

Route, Price Tag Frame Rail Debate
Politico

Senate's Draft Transpo Bill Ends Earmarks But Weakens Bike-Ped Programs
StreetsBlog DC

Southern California Voters To Local Lawmakers: "We Want You To Invest In Public Transportation!"
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Tolls Thin Traffic In Bay Bridge Carpool Lanes ("Toll changes on the Bay Bridge have cleared out carpool lanes and improved traffic speed when the bridge is most congested, a study by UC Berkeley transportation researchers has concluded.")
San Francisco Chronicle

Train Porn With Zev: County Supervisor Rides The Expo Line
Curbed LA

Trip Tracking Via Smartphone: A Cool Way To Engage High School Students
UC Berkeley ITS Transportation Letter

Wednesday: Forum On Broadway Development And Streetcar
Blog Downtown

When Mass Transit Riders Attack ("Bad as things are for passengers, it may be an even worse time to be a transit worker. In several large cities, passenger abuse of workers is on the rise.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Why I Gave Up The Bus...For A Bike
Planetizen

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.

11/07/2011

Expo Line Lawsuit, Metro Late Night, LA Downtown Streetcar & Future Of Downtown, Calif Transpo Budget Shortfall, New Senate Transpo Bill, CAHSR & More

13 Things You Will Want To Know About The Senate's Transportation Bill, MAP-21(Late Friday evening Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican Senator Jim Inhofe released a summary and text of their proposal for a two-year surface transportation bill)
Transportation Issues Daily
Summary Of Moving Ahead For Progress In The 21st Century
(MAP-21 : 4p. PDF)
Full-Text Of Bill (600p. PDF)

Alarming State Report Predicts $294 Billion Shortfall For Transportation Over Next Decade ("The California Transportation Commission's first review of state transportation needs since 1999 paints a scenario through 2020 that is beyond bleak and suggests that today's jammed and pothole-riddled roadways may one day seem like the good old days.")
Silicon Valley Mercury News
2011 Statewide Transportation System Needs Assessment (191p. PDF)
California Transportation Commission

Are Streetcars Coming Back To Los Angeles?
My Fox Los Angeles

Arts District Cleantech Corridor Site Finally Sells
Curbed LA

Brucker: MTA Study Favors Route Under BHHS: The Mayor And Council Members Reiterate Their Pledge To Keep Up Opposition To Tunneling Under The High School
Beverly Hills Patch

The Bumpy Road Of Local Transportation
Glendale News-Press

Charts: The Alarming Collapse Of US Infrastructure Spending (infographics tell the story)
Business Insider

CRA Gets Buyer For Cleantech Site, But Strips Cleantech Requirement
Los Angeles Downtown News

Despite Rising Price Tag Of High Speed Rail, Fares Are Projected To Decline
San Francisco Examiner

Double Decker Truck Lane On 60 Included In Transportation Plan: SCAG Plan Calls For Raising Gas Taxes 30 Cents Per Gallon
Whittier Daily News

Editorial: High-Speed Rail Plan On Right Track
San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial: Still On Board The Bullet Train: Yes, The Price Tag Has Tripled And Its Completion Date Is 13 Years Later. But It's Still A Gamble Worth Taking
Los Angeles Times

Encryption For Transit Cards Hacked On The Cheap
New Scientist

FRA Safety Regs Add Costs, Not Safety, To American Rail
StreetsBlog Network

"Future Of Downtown" Event Looks At Streetcar And Beyond ("On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the Orpheum Theatre will host "The Future of Your Downtown," a panel discussion with nine local leaders. The event is being organized by 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, and will focus heavily on his Bringing Back Broadway initiative, a plan to revitalize the corridor, and the $125 million effort to bring a streetcar to Downtown. It is free and open to the public.")
Los Angeles Downtown News

High-Speed Rail Dependent On $55 Billion In Federal Funds
California Watch

How Did Los Angeles Make The Top 10? The Best U.S. Cities To Live In Without A Car
Daily Mail (U.K.)

It's Time For Southern California Governments To Start Walking The Walk (And Biking The Bike)
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

L.A. Council Joins Defense Of Expo Light Rail Line In Lawsuit
Daily Breeze

L.A. Improving Its Part Of I-5: The Traffic Jams On That Stretch Of Freeway, Which Has Been Without Major Improvements Since It Was Built In The Mid-1950s
Orange County Register

Los Angeles Comes To Defend Santa Monica In Expo Line Lawsuit
Santa Monica Mirror

Metro Chief Asks Minority Firms To Bid On Contracts
Southern California Public Radio

Metro Night Service To Get Major Expansion
KABC Los Angeles

Metro To Celebrate Sound Wall Near 210 Freeway In Duarte
Los Angeles Daily News

Metro To Launch "Major Expansion" Of Night Service On Rail Lines
LAist

Nevada, California Both Plan "Trains To Nowhere"
Las Vegas Review-Journal

O.C. Toll Road Agency Is Studying 241 Extension -- Again
Los Angeles Times

Online & Underground: Internet Access In Major Global Subway Networks (infographic)
New Cities Foundation

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Still Fits Bill Despite Higher Cost: California Voters Had A Long-Term Vision When They Approved The Project In 2008
Los Angeles Business Journal

Opinion: Take This Bullet Train, Please: California's Proposed High-Speed Rail Project Is A Costly Boondoggle
Los Angeles Times

Our $490 Billion Gasoline Bill (infographic maps and several chapter detail the hidden costs of automobile ownership and fuel)
New America Foundation / Energy Trap

Panelists: Opponents Of High-Speed Rail Making Familiar Arguments
Vegas INC

Real Estate Ponders Industry's Future Trajectory At ULI Conference
Planning Report

Republicans Use Highway Bill To Counter Obama On Infrastructure
The Hill

The Role Neighborhood Markets Can Play In Making Public Transportation Convenient: Lessons From London
StreetsBlog LA

San Francisco: Frequent Network Map Refined
Human Transit

Streetcar Price Put At $106 Million To $137 Million
Los Angeles Downtown News

Study Of Existing Legal Protections For Safety-Related Information And Analysis Of Considerations For And Against Protecting Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Program Information
(68p. PDF)
Federal Railroad Administration

Summit Eyes Future Of Valley Transportation
Los Angeles Daily News

Sunset Bridge Work To Detour Traffic 12 Nights ("Commuters can expect road closures and traffic detours for the next month. Although a majority of demolition work is taking place during evening hours (usually between midnight and 5 a.m.), Metro officials are asking the public for their cooperation as construction work constantly changes due to weather and structural conditions of the Sunset Bridge.")
Canyon News

Transportation Jobs Rise 2 Percent In October
Journal Of Commerce

Two Infrastructure Jobs Bills Die In Senate
StreetsBlog DC

What If California Cut Its Global Warming Pollution 80% And No One Noticed?
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Where The Expo Ends: Will Culver City Stop Be No-Man's Land?
Curbed LA

Your Commute Is Slowly Killing You (A new Swedish study quantifies the health impacts of commuting)
The Atlantic: Cities

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