Measure R+, "The Rampture," Highway Bill, Expo Line, CRA & More

June 22: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Tokens reappear as fare media)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

An Amazing Metro Adventure In Los Angeles Part 1 (A couple document their extensive Father's Day excursion to several parts of Los Angeles)
Follow My Bliss
Amazing Metro Adventure, Part 2

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Coming To Union Station In Downtown LA
Brigham Yen

Boxer And Mica Release Vague Reassurance Of Progress
StreetsBlog DC

California High Speed Rail Aiming To Take Its Message Viral
Transportation Nation

Carmageddon Jr. Coming
KFI

Connecting The Dots: Bus Service Between Riverside And The Coachella Valley (A history of bus service linking Palm Springs to western Riverside County)
More Than Red Cars

Deal To Keep VISTA Lines Running Could Come By July 1 Deadline
Ventura County Star

Don't Miss High-Speed Train To Future Economy (Open forum commentary)
San Francisco Chronicle

DOT Web Portal For Veterans Seeking Transportation Jobs
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Job

An Economic And Life Cycle Analysis Of Regional Land Use And Transportation Plans (74p. PDF)
Mineta Transportation Institute

Estimating The Economic Impact Of Transportation Investments (webinar : June 29)
State Smart Transportation Initiative

Here It Is: Culver City's First Day On The Expo Line
Curbed LA

The Keys To Beating, Or At Least Fighting, Climate Change: Bikes, Transit, Parks, Trees
StreetsBlog LA

L.A. City Council Approves A Replacement For The CRA
Los Angeles Daily News

Landlords Don't Dig Subway Plan (subscription required : "Downtown L.A. property owners court controversy by filing CEQA suits to challenge Metro subway project.")
Los Angeles Business Journal

Lawsuits Threaten Light Rail In Los Angeles ("Four lawsuits are threatening to halt work on the expansion of rail and subway lines. Opponents cite safety, traffic, and quality of life concerns, and some of the suits may indeed stymie work. The protests echo an earlier era of "freeway revolts," which saw residents of higher income areas successfully blocking freeway construction through their neighborhoods.")
NPR All Things Considered

Little Tokyo Sues Metro For Subway Noise, Vibration
Beverly Hills Courier

Metro Moving Ahead With Measure R Extension To Speed Up All Kinds Of Juicy Transit
Curbed LA

Metro Officials To Consider Extending Measure R Transit Tax
Los Angeles Times

MTA Panel Advances Tax Extension, Despite Antonovich Opposition
Los Angeles Daily News

OnTheBus Brings The Usefulness Of GPS To The Visually Impaired ("A new Android app called OnTheBus is a guide for people who need to get around big cities with public transportation, but unlike other GPS programs, the app uses gesture and voice recognition to be especially helpful for people with "visual, hearing, or cognitive impairments.")
GOOD

Systematic Procedures To Determine Incentive/Disincentive Dollar Amounts For Highway Transportation Construction Projects (66p. PDF)
Mineta Transportation Institute

Top 10 Reasons Sen. Boxer Must Keep Her Word On Bike/Ped Programs
StreetsBlog DC

Traffic Alert: The "Rampture" Is Upon Us
Beverly Hills Courier

Traffic Noise Might Give You A Heart Attack
The Atlantic: Cities

Tred Carefully, Sidewalks Just Got A Little Smarter
Next American City

U.S. Lawmakers Voice Optimism On Transportation Bill Talks
Reuters

A Welcome Development For Bullet-Train Skeptics
Los Angeles Daily News


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.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Source, your window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.

Culver City & Farmdale, Union Station, LAX WiFi, Rail vs. Bus, Gold Line Bridge, Caltrans & More

386 To 34: House Instructs Conference To Get It Done By Friday
StreetsBlog DC

All Aboard! Passengers Take A Ride Downtown From Culver City Station (photo essay)
Culver City Patch

Bike Hubs? Walkable Orange Line? What's Your Favorite Planned Transportation Project? CRA Vote Could Help Determine Its Future
StreetsBlog LA

California Bullet Train's Promise Of Jobs Is Overstated, Says UCLA
LA Weekly

Culver City Expo Line Station Opening Pleases City Officials
Los Angeles Wave

Culver City, Farmdale Expo Line Stations Open Wednesday
NBC Los Angeles

Culver City Welcomes Expo Line Light Rail To The Westside
Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Parking Meters Can Be Bane Of Tourism -- Cities Must Balance Costs Against Earnings
Los Angeles Daily News

Endorsements Soar For Transferring Control Of Ontario Airport
Los Angeles Times

Explaining The Psychological Appeal Of Rail Over Buses
StreetsBlog DC
Bus Or Rail: An Approach To Explain The Psychological Rail Factor
Reconnecting America

Expo Line Officially Complete With Culver City Station Now Open
Santa Monica Mirror

Expo Line's Culver City Service Begins Wednesday
KTLA

First Impressions Of The Expo Line
StreetsBlog LA

Free Wi-Fi At LAX: L.A. City Council Endorses Provider
Los Angeles Times

Free Wi-Fi Coming To LAX Despite Council Opposition To Way Airport Handled The Deal
Los Angeles Daily News

From "Carmageddon" To "The Rampture": 405 Ramp Closures Set To Start Friday
CBS Los Angeles

Gov. Jerry Brown To Scrap Environmental Exception For Bullet Train
Los Angeles Times

Governor Backs Away From Bullet Train Fight ("Brown had hoped to fast-track construction of the controversial project by sidestepping key provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act. But the idea had put him at odds with most of the state’s green groups.")
California Watch

House To Vote On Firming Up The Conference Deadline
StreetsBlog DC

In Los Angeles, Grimshaw And Gruen On Track To Win $4 Million Union Station Contract
Architectural Record

LA Will Finally Get A Major Overhaul Of Its 1946 Zoning Code
Curbed LA

Lawmakers Try To Save Stalled Transportation Bill
The Trucker

Mayors Ask State Legislators For High-Speed Rail Funds ("San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined forces to write a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and members of the legislature asking them to allocate $2.7 billion in matching 1A funds for the high-speed rail system.")
Gilroy Patch

Methodology For Determining The Economic Development Impacts Of Transit Projects (365p. PDF)
Transit Cooperative Research Program 

Metro Moves One Step Closer To Choosing Union Station Master Planners
Blog Downtown

Metro's Expo Line Begins Service To Culver City, Farmdale
CBS Los Angeles

The Oldest Things In Southern California Archives, Part 2 (The Metro Transportation Library's Archive shares the story behind a late 18th-century trust deed for the purchase of land by the Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway Company)
LA As Subject via KCET

Orange Line Busway Extension To Chatsworth Completed Under Budget
Los Angeles Daily News

Small Improvements: Metro Buses Announce Stops Served By Rail Lines
StreetsBlog LA

Smart Pavement Will Tell You The Weather, Offer Coupons ("All that sidewalk space is so wasted, merely providing a place for your feet. A new innovation out of Spain will let the pavement become an enormous screen, full of information.")
Fast Company Exist

Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Federal Coordination Efforts Could Be Further Strengthened (1p. PDF)
Government Accountability Office

Two Minute State DOT Update California (video : Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty discusses state transportation initiatives)
AASHTO via YouTube

Two Wilshire-405 Ramps To Close, And Commuter Misery Is Feared
Los Angeles Times

Watch The Gold Line Basket Bridge Get Filled Up With Concrete
Curbed LA

Which U.S. Airport Is Offering Free Public Transportation?
USA Today


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.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Source, your window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.

Expo Culver City, Hollywood Plan, Measure R+, I-210 Gold Line Bridge, Tiramisu, 710 & More

10 Nightmare Neighborhood Scenarios For Opponents Of The Just-Passed Hollywood Community Plan
Curbed LA

AASHTO Adds Designs To Bikeway Guide, But Not Protected Bike Lanes
StreetsBlog DC

Business Leaders Make The Economic Case For High Speed Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog

Cheap Natural Gas: Could It Be A Transportation Fuel?
Giga Om

Cities Losing Out In Transportation Bill Debate ("Mass transit systems are in no shape to handle increased ridership. Due to the recession they have suffered cuts in government funding, which have in turn led to reductions in service and overcrowding on popular routes. Given that infrastructure investment would boost lagging employment and economic demand, now would be an especially good time to invest more, not less, in transit.")
Next American City

Concrete "Big Pour" Puts I-210 Gold Line Bridge On Track
Pasadena Star-News

Crowdsourcing App Gets Federal Grant ("Tiramisu uses feedback from transit riders to predict vehicle arrival times, and can be an alternative information source when GPS data is not available...Tiramisu also can be used to report problems, compliments, and suggestions.")
The Transit Wire
Tiramisu: The Real Time Bus Tracker

Dump The Pump Day Is Tomorrow, June 21, 2012
APTA

Expo Line's Culver City Station Ready To Debut
Los Angeles Times

Extension(s) Imminent: A Reflection On Neverending Transpo Gridlock
StreetsBlog DC

Extra! Extra! Get Your Free Pass To The Expo Line!
StreetsBlog LA

Five Mega-Projects That Will Transform La Brea
StreetsBlog LA

Freeloading Bus Riders Cost [N.Y.] MTA A Fare-ly Outrageous $50 Million ("Agency ups loss from $14 million [per year] estimate because of new tracking methods and lax enforcement.")
New York Daily News

Hollywood Community Plan Passed By L.A. City Council: Welcome To Skyscraper Hell
LA Weekly

L.A. Council OKs Hollywood Density Plan ("Revised zoning guidelines for 'elegant density' around transit hubs will make it easier to build bigger, taller buildings around subway stations and along bus routes.")
Los Angeles Times

Lawmaker: Highway Conference Dead, It's An Extension
Transportation Nation

Lawmakers Try To Save Stalled Transportation Bill
Associated Press

MTA To Vote On Indefinite Extension Of Half-Cent Sales Tax For Transportation
Los Angeles Daily News

Opinion: Expo Line's Halting Start ("If mass transit is to succeed in Los Angeles, the MTA is going to have to get its act together.")
Los Angeles Times

Public Transit Riders Will Reap Big Savings As They Look To Dump The Pump On June 21 (Los Angeles residents save $910 per month and $10,916 per year)
APTA Press Release

Radical Railways: Top 10 Transportation Systems Of The Future
Gizmag

Railroaders' Guide To Healthy Sleep (A resource from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration)
Railroaders' Guide To Healthy Sleep

"Ramp Jam" To Snarl Westside Traffic
Santa Monica Daily Press

Regional Planning Expert Calls For CREATE Program For Southern California ("Goods-movement infrastructure needs outside of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach include exclusive truck lanes for the north-south and east-west freight corridors serving the nation’s largest port complex, truck bottleneck relief projects, some 68 grade separations, main track rail improvements and near-dock intermodal rail yards.")
Journal Of Commerce

Say Goodbye To The Riverside-Figueroa Bridge
LA Creek Freak

Sen. Liu Introduces Bill For Sale Of Caltrans Homes In 710 Freeway Path
Pasadena Star-News

Suja Lowenthal On Water, Ports, Mobility In Long Beach
The Planning Report

Survey: Capital Bike Share Saved 5 Million Driving Miles (Interesting statistics may bode well for Los Angeles' imminent program: 64% said they would not have made the trip without bike share; 15% said they joined bike share because of a “Living Social” offer; More than half of respondents used bike share as a feeder to reach transit stops)
Transportation Nation
Capital Bikeshare 2011 Member Survey Report

Time Running Out On Transportation Bill
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

Use Of The U.S. Census Bureau's Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) By State Departments Of Transportation And Metropolitan Planning Organizations (85p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

When It Comes To Cutting Carbon, Cities May Be More Powerful Than National Governments
The Atlantic: Cities

Why iOS 6 Is Good For Transit
Open Plans


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.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Source, your window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.

Culver City & Farmdale, Wilshire Bus Lanes, Hollywood Plan, OC Parking, APA Parking, Ventura Co. Buses & More

June 19: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (L.A.'s first subway tunnel closes after 30 years of service)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

APA  Poll Calls For Major Shift In Planning Profession
Planetizen

Bus Company Bankruptcy Could End Ventura County Service
KABC Los Angeles

Culver City And Farmdale Metro Stations Open To The Public On Wednesday, June 20
Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Second District

Donald Shoup Responds To California APA Regarding California's Parking Reform Bill
StreetsBlog LA

Expanded Parking For Public Transportation Users Opens In Orange County To Help Reduce Congestion
Southern California Public Radio

Free WiFi At LAX: City Commission OK's Contract To Be Considered By Council
Contra Costa Times

Hollywood Population Density At Issue In Development Fight ("The plan would enable developers to build high-rise skyscrapers, but residents say the neighborhood's declining population doesn't need more apartments.")
Los Angeles Times

Lawmakers Try To Save Transportation Bill, Their Best Bet For Passing A Jobs Bill
Washington Post

Legislature To Decide HSR Funding In Next Two Weeks?
California High Speed Rail Blog

Metro Board Report: Red/Purple Line Gate Locking Is Really Coming Soon
StreetsBlog LA

Metro Continues Testing In Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills Courier

New Public Transit Options In L.A. Area Coming Soon With Expo, Orange Lines Additions
KCET

Resurrected Parking Bill Draws Fire From APA
California Planning & Development Report

Sacramento Buses Flash Their Location Via The Web
Sacramento Bee

State Bill Would Cut Back On Parking Required Near Transit
Curbed LA

Status Update: Wilshire Bus Only Lanes
StreetsBlog LA

Three Tasks To Complete Within Next Three Days To Enact A New Transportation Bill
Transportation Issues Daily

Unpacking The Numbers: Measuring Success One Rider At A Time
StreetsBlog LA

The Upside Of iPhones Without Google Transit Directions
StreetsBlog DC

Yaroslavsky, Antonovich Offer Differing Views At "State Of The County" Event
Los Angeles Daily News

Your Guide To [Today's] Sure-To-Be-Nutso Final Hollywood Community Plan Hearing
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.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Source, your window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.

Gold Line, Figueroa Street, Bullet Train, Bikes, 710 BRT, Transit Savings & More

June 18: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (L.A. takes a major step forward in planning a comprehensive freeway and parkway system)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Apple Maps vs. Google Maps
Human Transit

Blast From The Transit Solution Past: New York's Moving Sidewalks
The Atlantic: Cities 

Boyle Heights Community Crafts Living Streets Plan For Neglected Roads
StreetsBlog LA

Cities Bet They Can Curb Traffic With Games Of Chance
National Geographic

Cleantech Corridor And Fig Complete Street Live Another Day
Curbed LA

Commuters Frustrated Over South LA-West LA Metro Bus Route 305 Elimination
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

Cyclists To Test Ride South LA Bike Map
USC News

Editorial: Environmentalists Also Bullet-Train Foes
Orange County Register

Failing U.S. Transportation Infrastructure (Infographic)
TIME

Highway Spending Bill Running Out Of Gas, As House, Senate Negotiations Stall
The Hill

It's Official! 405 Is Nation's Worst: Route Into Valley Is Most Congested In The U.S.
Los Angeles Daily News

Keep The L.A. Metro Rail Open After-Hours ("This page is an attempt to encourage MTA officials to keep parts or ALL of the MTA Metro Rail open to a reasonable late night hour (3:00am), which will allow potential riders to make the most of the services and use as an alternative to driving.")
via Facebook

L.A. River Excursion: Sixth Street Bridge
KCET

[D.C.] Metro Launches Rush Plus, New Rush Hour Rail Schedule
WAMU

New Logo Revealed For SF Transportation Agency (San Francisco crowdsources the new design through a public contest)
San Francisco Chronicle

Potential Rapid Bus Line Could Run From Downtown L.A. To Altadena Border ("One alternative to the 710 tunnel project listed in Metro's list of other options is a rapid bus line between downtown L.A. and JPL, which would run along Woodbury Road.")
Altadena Patch

Separated Bike Lanes On South Fig? LADOT Presentation Hints At Future Project
StreetsBlog LA

South Pasadena Council Approves Additional Gold Line Spending
Pasadena Star-News

Streamlining Is Major Sticking Point
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Transit Savings Report ("The top 20 cities with the highest transit ridership are ranked in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass and factoring in local gas prices for June 11, 2012 and the local monthly unreserved parking rate.")
Public Transportation Takes Us There

Vacuum Trains: A High-Speed Pipe Dream? ("These futuristic transporters, designed to hurtle through tunnels that have had all of the air sucked out of them, could theoretically hit speeds of up to 4,000 km/h (2,500 mph), cutting the commute from Europe to North America to just one hour. In this high-speed future, passengers would arrive a full four hours before they set off.")
BBC

What's Your "Mobility Biography?" ("Nobody gets up in the morning and thoroughly considers every available transportation option before deciding how to travel that day. Yet, too often, that's how transportation researchers assume people operate: with an impossible degree of objectivity, rationality, and behavioral isolation. In reality, how we move in and around the city is influenced less by short-term choices and more by long-term events like getting a job, starting a family, or moving homes.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Zipcar Adds Car Sharing Service To Downtown LA
Brigham Yen


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.

We invite you to visit Metro's The Source, your window to what's happening with agency news, funding and policy issues, and how to get the most out of transit and Los Angeles.