Today's Headlines - more at Metro

12/12/2012

Expo Corridor Homes, 710 Tunnel, OC Toll Roads, Big Blue Bus, Bike Share, Metro Board & More

December 12: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The Southern California Rapid Transit District announces the considerations for developing the first four rapid transit corridors from downtown Los Angeles -- to the San Fernando Valley, along Wilshire Boulevard, parallel to the San Bernardino Freeway and south to Long Beach -- 46 years ago today)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Big Blue Bus Still Behind The Curve On Digital Tools ("BBB made it’s data available to Google, but Google is it’s own locked up data ecosystem that can not be fully tapped into by other developers. Metro makes it’s data available in a format independent third party developers can access, and many other applications take advantage of that information...Lacking from Big Blue Bus, yet embraced by Metro, is engagement through social media platforms like Twitter. This omission becomes more glaring as time goes on, especially with how pro-active Metro has been.")
StreetsBlog LA

Bike Nation USA Bringing Bike Sharing To Downtown L.A.
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

California Lost More People To Other States Than It Gained In 2011
Sacramento Bee

Cities Vote To Oust Metro Board Member Ara Najarian For 710 Stance
Pasadena Star-News

Editorial: See Whether Toll Lanes Work Before Planning More
San Bernardino Sun

Even American Drivers Like Mass Transit More Than They Think ("A research duo reports that nearly 30 percent of regular car commuters in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, gave up their full-time parking permits immediately after a brief free-transit trial, with most downgrading to an occasional permit and a few making a full switch to transit. About 25 percent had stuck with the change six months later.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Eyes On The Street: Sepulveda Blvd. Bike Lane Turning Into "Express Lane" For Scofflaws
StreetsBlog LA

L.A. Planners Look To Ensure Expo Line Doesn't Price Residents Out Of Their Homes
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy
Building Livable Communities: Enhancing Economic Competitiveness In Los Angeles (24p. PDF : "This report will demonstrate why planning efforts need to focus on transit corridors -- not Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) -- to promote long-term development of livable communities that integrate residential, commercial, and everyday amenities through an integrated transit network.")
Los Angeles Business Council Institute

Las Vegas: $1 Bus Trip From Riverside Begins
Riverside Press-Enterprise

MAP-21 Gives Transit Execs Some Certainty In 2013
Progressive Railroading

MTA To Decide Thursday Between CBS And Titan For Ad Contract
Los Angeles Times

Najarian: Vote For MTA Seat Was "Orchestrated"
Glendale News-Press

No Seoul-Style Platform Doors For New York Subways, Even In New Stations ("There's really only one known way to prevent straphangers from falling -- or being pushed -- onto the tracks...It's called a platform screen door, and some transit experts say they can't understand why the M.T.A. has no plans to install any, even in the new stations being built.")
Capital New York

Number Of Protected Bike Lanes In America Nearly Doubled In 2012
StreetsBlog Network

OCTA CEO Decision Delayed ("The agency's board members rescheduled a vote on the selection of the agency's next CEO until next year. Monday was the last day for outgoing chariman, Paul Glaab, former mayor of Laguna Niguel.")
San Juan Capistrano Patch

Opinion: Expect Changes To State's Environmental Law, CEQA, In 2013
Los Angeles Daily News

Opinion: Watch Out MTA Scofflaws, Free Rides Are Coming To An End ("There will always be some holes, though. At the transfer station at 7th Street and Metro Center, passengers are supposed to pay when they switch lines. But the TAP card validators are so discreetly placed that not many people use them.")
Los Angeles Times

Orange County Toll Roads Under Review By California ("With ridership and revenue on Orange County's toll roads falling short of projections, the state of California has launched a formal inquiry into their economic viability.")
Los Angeles Times

Pam O'Connor Appointed Mayor In 4-3 Vote (In addition to serving on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, "O'Connor represents the city on the Exposition Light Rail Construction Authority Board, which oversees the extension of light rail into Santa Monica. She was recently president of the Southern California Association of Governments.  On the city's website, she describes herself as a "strong advocate for public transit," an "enthusiastic urban explorer" and regular user of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus")
Santa Monica Patch

ParkMe Launches Real Time Solution For Los Angeles County Drivers Who No Longer Need Luck To Find A Parking Spot
Business Wire

Pasadena Hammers 710 Tunnel, Stops Short Of Opposing It ("Council at Monday meeting can't garner five votes to stand against freeway extension.")
Pasadena Sun

Pasadena Threatens To Oppose 710 Freeway Tunnel
KTLA

Pomona Residents Gather To Hear Plans For Possible 71 Freeway Widening
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Ray LaHood Answers Atlantic Cities Reader Questions (video)
The Atlantic: Cities

Santa Monica To Consider Slowing Down Development ("City planning department says it can't handle the large volume of applications it's receiving to build over-sized developments, mostly in downtown.")
Santa Monica Patch

Seven Jiu-Jitsu Moves For Advocates To Use MAP-21 To Their Own Advantage
StreetsBlog LA

A Sober, Data-Based Approach To Bicycle Advocacy
The Atlantic: Cities

State Of Montrose: 710 Tunnel, Downtown Glendale Expansion (video)
Montrose-La Crescenta Patch

What's Behind The Rise In Cyclist And Pedestrian Deaths?
StreetsBlog Network
New NHTSA Analysis Shows 2011 Traffic Fatalities Declined By Nearly 2%
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

When Government Does Things Better Than Private Enterprise
Los Angeles Times


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