Carmageddon II, Lankershim Tunnel, BH Subway, Port of L.A., Metrolink & More

$22 Million Approved For Pedestrian Tunnel Under Lankershim Boulevard In NoHo To Take Commuters Between Metro Orange Line And Red Line Stations
Los Angeles Daily News

Anaheim To Launch Bike-Sharing Program This Weekend
Los Angeles Times

BHUSD Approves $418,000 Payment For Legal Fees In Subway Fight ("The school board unanimously supported the expenditure at its regular meeting Tuesday without comment.")
Beverly Hills Patch

Can Chicagoans Design The Perfect Transit App? ("A new Kickstarter-funded project invites thousands of citizens to step into the role of designer.")
Fast Company Design

"Carmageddon II" 405 Freeway Closure On September 29, 30 Won't Be As Carefree As Last Year, Warns Metro
LA Weekly

Carmageddon II: 405 Freeway To Shut Down Sept. 29-30
Los Angeles Daily News

Carmageddon II: Can L.A. Survive Another 10-Mile 405 Freeway Closure?
LAist

Carmageddon Part 2: Don't Be Complacent, L.A. Mayor Warns
Los Angeles Times

Chicago Urban Scouts Reimagine Transportation For The "Mother Of All Transit Apps"
GOOD

City Slugfest: L.A.'s "Subway To The Sea" Runs Aground In Beverly Hills ("Citing safety concerns but eliciting charges of hysteria, wealthy Beverly Hills reportedly has spent $2 million to block plans for a subway that would pass underneath its high school.")
Christian Science Monitor

Congress Has Unfinished Business On The Transportation Front
The Hill

Forum Forecasts A Bright Future For The Miracle Mile ("Westside Subway Extension and other factors are driving economic prosperity.")
Park La Brea News Beverly Press

Hearings Scheduled To Discuss Torrance Transit Route Changes
Daily Breeze

Opportunity Cost Of Inaction: High-Speed Rail And High Performance Passenger Rail In The United States (30p. PDF : "This paper addresses the initial investment and on-going cost of operation and maintenance of high performance passenger rail (HPPR) in four of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sanctioned HPPR regional networks – Northeast, Chicago Hub, California, and Northwest – over a 40 year period. The system can generate a net benefit of at least $660 million annually.  If the nation should forgo this opportunity, it stands to sustain a cost of at least $26.4 billion in foregone economic benefits over the next four decades.")
APTA

Ports Of Los Angeles And Long Beach Building At Furious Pace
Los Angeles Times

The Secret Lives Of Zipcar Drivers
The Atlantic: Cities

Shakeup At Metrolink Board: Najarian Out. Ridley-Thomas In?
StreetsBlog LA

State Orders Metro To Replace Section Of Expo Line Track
EGP News

Tea Party Deficit Hawks Don't Mind Charging The Taxpayer For Personal Cars
StreetsBlog DC

Transponders Hold Key To New Harbor (110) Freeway ExpressLanes (includes video)
Daily Breeze

US DOT Head Ray LaHood: Transpo Bill Is "Highway Centric"
Transportation Nation

U.S. Mayors Want More Investment In Infrastructure
USA Today

Why Congress Can't Kill The Partnership For Sustainable Communities
StreetsBlog DC


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.

Measure R+, Orange Line Art, L.A. Bridge History, Bullet Train Law, Anaheim Bike Share & More

Anaheim To Launch First City Bicycle Sharing Program In California
KCET

Bay Area Drivers Could Pay To Drive Each Mile Under Tax Proposal
Mercury News

A Brief History Of Bridges In Los Angeles County (numerous historic photos from various local archives illustrate the fascinating story of Southern California bridge history)
LA as Subject via KCET

California Bullet Train Law Signed At Historic Union Station (includes video)
Huffington Post

California Governor Signs Bill For High-Speed Train That Faces Questions About Funding
Washington Post

California Moves Forward On $68 Bln High-Speed Rail Project
Reuters

California Officials Order L.A. Track, Train Protection System Repairs
Progressive Railroading

Commuting To Disneyland ("As going carless turns cool, our new train stations are becoming magnificent public gathering spots...the definition of the station is being broadened to make it a larger ‘transit environment.")
Salon

The Conversation: California Needs To Examine Proposition 13 Based On New Narrative
Sacramento Bee

Do Bus Rapid Transit Right, And It Won't Get Killed ("As new BRT systems are planned, however, it is increasingly important that they meet the emerging industry-standard definition of what constitutes true BRT.")
Next American City

Editorial: Traffic -- It's SoCal's Most Extreme Element
Long Beach Press Telegram

Falling Down: Los Angeles' Infrastructure At A Critical Point ("The report’s grimmest news is not the sheer quantity of bridges under duress but the critical bridge locations at risk. The study’s geo-location graphic bleeds red at the most used sections of the Los Angeles freeway system. For instance two of the most traveled bridges near the downtown corridor are in dire condition: one at the 10 freeway and Normandie Avenue, and the other at the 10 freeway and South Central Avenue. Both bridges carry well over 300,000 people daily and are critical transportation links within the knot of downtown Los Angeles.")
Architect's Newspaper

Fate Of Sales Tax Extension For Transit Funding Unclear ("A 30-year extension of Measure R, a half-cent sales tax that funds transit projects in L.A., could be put toward voters in November. However, the Board of Supervisors have postponed their vote on the matter.")
Monrovia Patch

First Phase Of High-Speed Rail Funding Legislation Signed By Governor
Los Angeles Wave

Here Are 12 Of Los Angeles' Scariest Bridges
Curbed LA

High Speed Rail And A Changing Union Station ("At Union Station today in downtown Los Angeles, Governor Brown signed the bill authorizing construction for the nation's first high speed rail to link LA and San Francisco. The bill barely passed the state senate, and the project faces years of delay from lawsuits, not to mention a lack of money to build more than the first 100 miles. Metro has plans to make Union Station a hub for high speed rail and other transit systems, but its plans go well beyond Union Station itself. Two architectural firms have been hired to draw plans for 38 acres around the building. Art Leahy: Metro, Ken Bernstein: Los Angeles Department of City Planning.")
KCRW Which Way L.A.?

Historic Vote Kicks Off The Real Journey For High-Speed Rail
SPUR: San Francisco Planning And Urban Research Association

It's Not Just A Bus Line. StreetsBlog Explores The Orange Line Extension's 25 Art Pieces
StreetsBlog LA

Jerry Brown Signs California High-Speed Rail Bill
Sacramento Bee

LA County Board Postpones Vote On Sales Tax ("Supervisors postponed a vote required to put a 30-year extension of the half-cent Measure R sales tax for transportation projects on the November ballot. But they must act soon to avoid a lawsuit.")
Arcadia Patch

Measure R Extension Vote Postponed
Beverly Hills Courier

Officials All Aboard For California's High-Speed Rail
Los Angeles Daily News

Paving The Way For Driverless Cars (In this opinion piece originally printed in the Wall Street Journal, the author proposes that planning for driverless cars are a better solution for California than high speed rail)
Brookings

Survey Finds More Than Half Of All Commuters Experience Road Rage
CBS Los Angeles

USA Statewide Uniformity Of Bicycle Laws (map)
Cyclicious

Walking In South L.A.: It's Hard Out Here For A Pedestrian, Part I
StreetsBlog LA

Wish You Were Here: Postcards From The Roads Of L.A.'s Past (photo essay)
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.

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.

"Ramp Jam," Expo/Blue Line Junction, El Monte Transit Village, HSR, Parking, Infrastructure Banks & More

July 17: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Groundbreaking for the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension promises to reconnect downtown with Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights and East L.A.)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

210 Freeway Sound Wall Completed As Some Arcadia Residents Still Wait For Relief ("Local mayors joined...Metro officials in a church parking lot to give thanks for the completion of a $17.5 million sound wall project along the 210 Freeway.")
Pasadena Star-News

2,000,000 Views And Still Going Strong: Sharing Our Transportation Legacy With Rarely Seen Photographs (Color photos of 1940s & '50s L.A. streetcars, previously unknown views of Mount Lowe Railway, intriguing renderings of never built overhead Metro Rail and stations, proposed downtown Los Angeles People Mover and other rarely seen images are featured to celebrate 2 million views for Metro Library's Flickr site) 
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Amenity Or Necessity? Street Standards As Parking Policy
(66p. PDF)
Mineta Transportation Institute

Amtrak Plans 37-Minute Train From New York To Philadelphia By 2040
Reuters

Analysis Of The Causes Of Amtrak Train Delays (39p. PDF)
U.S. DOT Office Of The Inspector General

Autonomy: Don't Blame Cars For The Shortcomings Of Mass Transit
City Journal

Balancing Downtown Santa Monica's Parking Equation
Santa Monica Lookout

Beverly Hills, Let The Subway Go
Huffington Post

Cars Kill, Make Us Fat Says British Report
Treehugger

The Case For Public Transportation, In Infographic Form
The Atlantic: Cities

Commuters Avoid 405 Freeway, Metro Plans For Westside-Valley Tunnel ("The Metro long-range transportation plan includes rapid transit between the Westside and the Valley, including a possible northern leg of the Wilshire Boulevard subway via a tunnel under Sepulveda Pass.")
Brentwood Patch

Commuters Pack Bus, Rail Lines To Dodge Sepulveda Pass Congestion
CBS Los Angeles

DTLA's Expo/Blue Line Junction Still Having A Frog Problem
Curbed LA

Enviro Groups Rally Against Fast-Tracking California High-Speed Rail
Heartlander

Federal Judge Dismisses TV, LLC Lawsuit Against El Monte Over Transit Village Project
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

A "Greener" City Hall Park Opens This Week: Redesigned Lawn Includes Less Turf, More Native Plants
Los Angeles Downtown News

High Speed Rail Funds To Speed Improvements To Local Transit ("About $1 billion of the money won’t go to high-speed rail, but will instead fix up rail and subway systems in Southern California. That money was key to winning votes in the legislature for the bonds.")
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

High-Speed Rail In California ("What can we learn from California's struggle to build a bullet train? Will partisan divisions sink the project? Is it true that building the transit system won't impact the economy? Does it matter? Are there less tangible benefits from super-fast train between two hubs? Would it be a benefit for the whole state or just Los Angeles and San Francisco residents?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

How California Could Pay For HSR Itself
California High Speed Rail Blog

The Longest BART Ride Ever ("From end to end to end to end, he passed through every one of the system's 44 stations in a single day -- a feat that took 5 hours and 37 minutes.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Loud Talkers On The Subway? Whip Out The "SpeechJammer" ("The NoiseJammer works by recording the irritating voices of rude individuals and playing it back to them a microsecond later, overriding their annoying conversations with a flood of their own words.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Metra Aims To Try High-Tech Ticketing Next Summer ("Customers with an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry can download a free app allowing them to buy one-way, 10-ride and monthly tickets using their debit or credit cards. The "ticket" then shows up on the phone screen and is checked by the conductor.")
Chicago Tribune

Metro Extends Service: Blue Line To Run Until 2AM On Weekends
Long Beach Post

[New York] MTA Willing To Evaluate Integrated Fares For Subways, Bike Sharing
Gotham Gazette

New Law Allows Feds To Regulate Urban Transit Systems, Withhold Funding After Safety Lapses
Washington Post

Obama Touts Highway Bill As Sign Of "Modest Cooperation" From Congress
The Hill

Rider Review: The Orange Line Bike Path Extension
StreetsBlog LA

Remember "Carmageddon?" "Ramp Jam" Could Be Worse, Some Say
NBC Los Angeles

State Orders MTA To Replace Flawed Section Of Expo Line Track
Los Angeles Times

State Orders Piece Of LA Light Rail Track Replaced
Sacramento Bee

Study Examines Transit Accessibility To Jobs For Metro Areas
Governing

What Do The Best Infrastructure Projects Look Like?
The Atlantic: Cities

What Might Gas Stations Look Like When Hardly Anyone Uses Gas?
The Atlantic: Cities

What Would An Infrastructure Bank Really Do?
The New Republic
Infrastructure Banks And Surface Transportation (10p. PDF)
Congressional Budget Office

World Congress On High Speed Rail Comes To US For 1st Time
Clean Technica


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.

Late Night Metro, Sunset Blvd., SFV & Expo, Eating Expo, CicLAvia, BRT, BH Subway & More

Best Practices In Bus Dispatch: Final Report (144p. PDF)
University Of South Florida National Center For Transit Research

Caltrans I-710 EIR Belittles While Corps Of Engineers Questions Effects Of Multiple Obstructions For Proposed Freeway "Improvements" In L.A. River Channel
Long Beach Report

CicLAvia's Boyle Heights Extension: Hollenbeck Hub Cut, Soto Street Station New End Point, Flyer Issues
StreetsBlog LA

Cities Are Not Footing sbX Bill ("In about a year and a half, San Bernardino and Loma Linda will be the beneficiaries of a new bus rapid transit (BRT) line offering quicker commute times, more frequent trips and an enhanced streetscape.")
San Bernardino Sun

Cliff's Notes On The Transit Changes In MAP-21
StreetsBlog DC
Chapter 53 Of Title 49, United States Code (209p. PDF)

Commentary: BH Vice Mayor Defends Stance Against Tunneling Under High School ("In a letter to Patch, John Mirisch disputes what he calls misrepresentations and self-righteousness in the discourse over the Westside Subway Extension.")
Beverly Hills Patch

Cool Bus Stops From Around The World (photo essay)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Development Of A Regional Public Transportation GIS Architecture And Data Model (49p. PDF)
University Of South Florida National Center For Transit Research

Eating The Expo Line ("That’s the directional, determined nature of car travel: the landscape you pass is just a facet of the time spent moving from point A to point B. Conversely, traveling by public transit involves revoking the single-destination itinerary of driving. The brief halting at each stop en route to “yours,” is what makes public transit seem like a nuisance to many. But it can also be treated as an excuse to explore.")
KCRW Which Way L.A.
Eating Tour Of The Expo Line
KCRW Good Food

Enough Money For Transit Jobs? ("This is a national emergency. The transportation projects will improve traffic conditions and provide badly needed jobs. Get off your rear end, MTA, and put people to work.")
LA Observed

Expo Line: Phase Two Begins
Canyon News

For Sunset, A New Dawn ("Go east on storied Sunset Boulevard for a look at the changing nature of modern L.A. and a reawakening of pedestrian life...The Times' series on the Southland's iconic boulevards continues with Sunset Boulevard from the beach in Pacific Palisades to Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Monterey Park.")
Los Angeles Times

Freeway Construction To Affect Drivers In Long Beach, San Fernando Valley
KABC Los Angeles

A Good News-Bad News Transportation Law
CityWatch

How Insider Politics Saved California's Train To Nowhere: The High-Speed Rail Line May Never Be Built, But It Will Save A Few Democratic Seats
Wall Street Journal

Many In Valley Using New Expo Line For Westside Commute ("Light rail ridership on the line has already grown to 14,000 per day.")
Sherman Oaks Patch

Metro Extends Brentwood Bus Hours ("The hours have been extended for Metro's 2 and 302 lines running through Brentwood on Sunset Boulevard.")
Brentwood Patch

Metro Trains, Orange Line To Run Until 2 On Weekend Nights
Curbed LA

Metro Trains To Run Until 2 A.M. On Weekends
Belmont Shore-Naples Patch

NoHo Commons Garage To Charge For Parking ("Numerous signs around the garage warn patrons the parking is strictly for NoHo Commons guests. But those headed to the California Art Institute, Red Line stop, and nearby restaurants and bars, often fill up the stalls.")
Los Angeles Daily News

Opinion: 8 Billion Reasons To Write About California's Bullet Train
Los Angeles Times

Opinion: The Most Ruthless Game
Glendale News-Press

Opinion: Villaraigosa's Tarnished Transit Triumph ("The mayor often manages to disappoint even while achieving something worthy, as with his America Fast Forward effort.")
Los Angeles Times

San Fernando Valley Commuters Flock To New Expo Line ("In an unusual commute that takes them east to ultimately end up west, Valley commuters catch the Red Line from North Hollywood or Universal City stations, transfer at 7th Street stop in downtown, and head across town on the Expo Line.")
Los Angeles Daily News

Santa Clarita Transit Scraps AV Route, Adds Trips To NoHo
Santa Clarita Valley News

Subway Line Meets An Obstruction: Beverly Hills High School ("The dispute has stirred tensions between Beverly Hills school officials and Los Angeles transit advocates, bringing to the surface — unfairly, Beverly Hills residents said — old charges that the community, synonymous with wealth and privilege, does not want to open its borders to mass transit and the not-so-prosperous people who ride it.")
New York Times

Ten Things To Know About The New Transportation Law
Transportation For America

Walkers, Riders, And Drivers Sharing "Transportation Space"
KCET

Why I-15 Rail Plans Never Left The Station
North County Times

Why Metro Is Finally Able To Offer Train Service Until 2 A.M. ("A lot this recent improvement to Metro operations is thanks to CEO Art Leahy...We've been asking for late-night service, and Art believed that since we have invested billions, that we should act like a big city.")
KCET

With High-Speed Rail's Approval, The Sales Job Begins
NBC Los Angeles

You Can No Longer Be Ticketed At Broken Parking Meters In California -- But L.A. Is Expected To Opt Out Of State Policy
LA Weekly


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.