Today's Headlines - more at Metro

10/15/2012

Measure J Editorials, Gold Line Bridges, Westside Subway, LA Downtown Development, Earthquakes, GHGs, Torrance Centennial & More

Amtrak Echoes With Travel, Campaign History
CNN

BART Teams With UC Berkeley To Adopt Earthquake Early Warning System
Mass Transit

BHUSD Board Officially Votes To Oppose Measure J
Beverly Hills Patch

Calif.'s SunLine Begins $10.7M Transit Hub Project
Metro Magazine

Caltrans Recognized For Transportation Policy By National Complete Streets Coalition
Mass Transit

CCA's Carol Schatz On LA's Downtown Development Boom
Planning Report

Construction Of New Interchange In Northwestern Fontana Will Be The "Project Of The Century," Mayor Says
Fontana Herald News

Editorial: Taxing The Future For Transit Today: Proposed L.A. Transit Tax Extension -- To 2069 -- Serves As A Cautionary Tale For Orange County ("Asking now to extend the tax until 2069 is unsupportable given that officials cannot anticipate the technologies and population patterns nearly six decades into the future. Furthermore, Metro's fiscal and safety records are hardly stellar.")
Orange County Register

Endorsement: Yes On Measure J ("Borrowing and construction costs are unusually low at the moment, so it's probably cheaper to build now than later. Accelerating construction would boost jobs at a time when Los Angeles could badly use the economic stimulus. And although Measure J would tie up the tax money generated by Measure R for even longer than the original measure, that doesn't mean it will tie the hands of transit planners in the future — they can still build projects not on the Measure R list, using the proceeds of two previous sales tax initiatives, Measures A and C.")
Los Angeles Times

Federal Aid Essentials: FHWA Has Launched A New Information-Sharing Initiative To Help Local Public Agencies Manage Their Highway Projects
Federal Highway Administration

First-Time National Standard To Help Cities Keep Tabs On Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Next American City

Forefront Excerpt: The Last American Superhighway
Next American City

Gold Line Extension About To Go Into Bridge-Building Overdrive
Curbed LA

"Graffiti Pit" Site Could Become A Park ("With Grand Park open, city and county officials look at purchasing notorious downtown eyesore.")
Los Angeles Downtown News

LA Densification Must Offer Suburban-Like Amenities: Green Spaces And Places
Planning Report

Locating Affordable Housing Near Transit: A Strategic Economic Decision (8p. PDF)
Reconnecting America Policy Brief

Los Angeles Traffic Is Still The Worst In The Nation
LA Weekly

Managing The Pain Of Likely Cuts ("Transportation funding will likely suffer cuts, but some are better than others. Are there obsolete programs more worthy of the axe? Or, more positively, do some programs deserve more funding because they offer a better return on investment? What can transportation advocates do to mitigate the impact of what are sure to be painful cuts?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Metro Holds Update Meeting On Westside Subway Extension
Westwood-Century City Patch

[New York] MTA To Set Up Video Cameras To Collect Rider Comments
The Transit Wire
MTA Will Install Video Cameras To Let Straphangers Comment About Fare-Hike Proposals ("Footage and transcripts from 'hearings' will be made available to MTA board members.")
New York Daily News

National Conference To Highlight Development Along The Gold Line ("The Rail~Volution conference in Los Angeles this weekend will host a mobile workshop exploring the planned development along the Gold Line Foothill Extension.")
Arcadia Patch

Our View: Yes On Measure J For Traffic Relief ("Future voters should be footing some of the bill for transportation projects they will benefit from by paying a mere 50 cents on every $100 spent in the county through 2069. That leverage would allow current taxpayers the ability to see some of the projects come to fruition and actually enjoy the benefits now.")
San Gabriel Valley Tribune / Pasadena Star-News / Whittier Daily News

Privatizing Amtrak Won't Lead To Better Service
California High Speed Rail Blog

Research On Fatigue In Transit Operations (68p. PDF)
Transportation Research Board

Santa Monica Throws Community Values Under The Bus
Huffington Post

Torrance At 100: The South Bay City's Origins As A Model Industrial Town ("The Pacific Electric Railway's decision to locate its shops in Torrance helped make possible the town's founding." Aerial photo circa 1924)
LA as Subject via KCET

West Hollywood May Curb Its Free Street Parking ("A plan being drafted by the city's Transportation Commission would extend the hours of more than 2,000 parking meters...All city meters would charge on Sundays.")
Los Angeles Times


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