Today's Headlines - more at Metro

11/30/2012

Crenshaw Line, Bullet Train, Transpo & Asthma, Caltrans Review, BRT, Travel In 2022 & More

November 30: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Grand opening ceremonies for Los Angeles' first subway...in 1925, and officials get a first look at a model light rail car for the coming Metro Blue Line)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

2022: Cheap Flights, More Rail And Hands-Free Cars
CNN

Battle Over Crenshaw Line Gets National Nod From New York Times
StreetsBlog LA

Bullet Train Chief, Critic Have Dueling Views At San Jose Forum
Silicon Valley Mercury News

California's Urban, Transportation Policies Contribute To Children's Asthma
Environmental Health News

Caltrans Agrees To Greater Public Scrutiny Of Expert Panels
Sacramento Bee

Could LA's Transit Measure Still Pass?
Architect's Newspaper

Deficient Silver Lake / Atwater Bridge Could Get Major Redesign
Curbed LA
City Proposing Upgrade The Glendale Hyperion Bridge
Los Feliz Ledger

Fate Of Crenshaw Line's Leimert Park Station Announced Soon
Curbed LA

Hurricane Sandy Was "Largest Mass Transit Disaster In Our Nation's History," Says Senator ("Four out of 10 of the nation’s transit riders had their commutes disrupted by the storm, many still today.")
Transportation Nation

Mobile Ticketing Coming To MBTA Boats & More Commuter Trains, Riders Can Purchase Monthly Passes
BostInno

New House Transpo Chairman May Have Open Mind On Revenue And Rail
Next American City

Praise For New York's Bus Rapid Transit
Human Transit

Quality Of Life And Visitor Experience: Public Transportation And Pedestrian-Friendliness (The annual "America's Favorite Cities" survey category ranks Los Angeles #33 out of 35 cities)
Travel And Leisure

Seven Ways To Make Bike-Share More Accessible
StreetsBlog Network

Site-Based Video System Design And Development (96p. PDF : "Documents the development of a Site Observer, a prototype system capable of capturing vehicle movements through intersections by using a site-based video imaging system.")
Strategic Highway Research Program

What Would Meaningful Amtrak Reform Look Like?
StreetsBlog DC

Where The Middle Class Spends 75% Of Its Income On Housing And Transport (Chart showing housing and transportation costs for 25 U.S. metropolitan areas -- Riverside is #2 and Los Angeles ranks #4)
The Atlantic: Cities

Will Kempton, OCTA's Retiring Chief, Sees Reign End With Hefty Bus Fare Increases
OC Weekly


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

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

11/29/2012

Carmageddon Award, Blue/Expo Line Junction, Megabus, MAP-21, OCTA, Leimert Park/Crenshaw, ExpressLanes & More

12,297 Tickets Already For Improper Use Of The 110 Toll Lanes
Curbed LA

America's Transportation Awards Give State DOTs Their Due ("The Judges' Grand Prize was awarded to the California DOT (Caltrans) for the Mulholland Drive Bridge demolition, part of the I-405/Sepulveda Pass project. The demolition was also a winner in the Ahead of Schedule Small Project competition. Southern Californians and transportation fans will remember this project as "Carmageddon," a planned weekend shutdown of a heavily traveled portion of I-405 near Los Angeles.Caltrans used a thorough communication campaign to help drivers anticipate--and survive--the scheduled closure. News conferences, frequent media interviews, PSAs, an online countdown, and a nearly constant stream of social media updates all led to significantly reduced traffic, which made rerouting the remaining traffic much easier. Caltrans was able to reopen the freeway a full 17 hours ahead of the 53-hour schedule. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Janet Kavinoky said, "By embracing communications as a key strategy in transportation project management, Caltrans set the standard for public outreach.")
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Amtrak Defends Plan To Get Back On Track
USA Today

Blue, Expo Line Delays Reflect Ongoing Problems At Rail Junction
Los Angeles Times

EPA Honors Seven Outstanding Community Sustainability Projects
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

The Heart Of The Civic Matter ("For his thesis, Krueger took a new approach to identifying a city’s center. Where many similar types of studies focus on employment centers or commuting patterns, he focused on the location of urban amenities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. These urban amenities fell into five categories: entertainment, full-service restaurants, hotels and motels, trendy hangouts, and high culture... Indeed, a strong core center runs from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles. The path, which he dubbed The Wilshire/Santa Monica Corridor, is named for the two main arteries along which the city’s center is concentrated.")
USC News
Delimiting The Postmodern Urban Center: An Analysis Of Urban Amenity Clusters In Los Angeles

How States Are Adapting To MAP-21's Changes To Bike/Ped Funding
StreetsBlog DC

It's Official: Bill Shuster Named Transportation Committee Chair
StreetsBlog DC

Megabus.com Relaunches Bus Service To/From Los Angeles
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

Misconceptions Fuel Non-Profit Opposition To Crucial Muni Funding Reform
StreetsBlog SF

New Bike Lanes On Santa Monica Boulevard In East Hollywood
BIKAS

Not So Fast On CD 12's Parking Perk ("Regarding those signs at the Chatsworth Metrolink station marking off a couple of primo parking spots for the local council district staff, spotted last weekend. They are outdated.")
LA Observed

OCTA Names New Chief, Despite Questions
Orange County Register

Opening Date Set For First Part Of Glendale Narrows Riverwalk
Glendale News Press

The Opportunities And Dangers Of Incomplete Bus Rapid Transit
Human Transit

Public Transit Etiquette For Citizens Of Los Angeles
Thought Catalog

Rail Plan Stirs Distrust Among Black Angelenos ("The Leimert Park neighborhood, the heart of black culture here, may be left without a stop on the rail line, a victim of limited money. And the train will run at street level through part of the area, which business owners fear will cut them off from their customers during years of construction.")
New York Times

Self-Grading: Mayor's Office Gives Itself Mostly High Marks On Transportation
StreetsBlog LA

Shuster Won't Rule Out Raising Gasoline Tax For Roads
Business Week

Six Transportation Policy Questions As 2013 Approaches
Governing

Thousands Hit With Toll Lane Citations
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District

A Transit Map For All of California! (Must-see map of how the state's rail systems link together)
via CaliforniaRailMap.com

Transit Tax Measure Falling Short Of Required Vote ("Measure J, now has 65.88% approval...There are approximately 70,000 to 75,000 ballots that remain to be counted. About 96% percent of those ballots would have to approve Measure J for it to pass, a rate radically higher than that seen to date.")
Los Angeles Times

U.S. Motorists On Pace To Spend A Record Sum On Gasoline In 2012
Los Angeles Times

VTA Light Rail Extension To Los Gatos: $175 Million For 200 New Riders
Silicon Valley Mercury News

What The Red Line Station Could Have Looked Like ("Earlier this week, the Metro Library and Archive uploaded a 1983 rendering to its [Tumblr site] that depicts the station's entrance as a set of doors on the side of an office building...")
North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch

Why New York's Transit System Fared So Well During Sandy
The Atlantic: Cities

Transportation During And After Hurricane Sandy (36p. PDF : "Hurricane Sandy demonstrated the strengths and limits of the transportation infrastructure in New York City and the surrounding region. As a result of the timely and thorough preparations by New York City and the MTA, along with the actions of city residents and emergency workers to evacuate and adapt, the storm wrought far fewer casualties than might have occurred otherwise.")
NYU Rudin Center For Transportation

Without Bypassing Checkpoints, BRT Risks Becoming "Symbolic Transit"
StreetsBlog Network


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

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

11/28/2012

L.A. TOD Cabinet, HSR, Megabus, Vegas Party Train, OC Bus Fares, OC Bridge, Sharrows & More

Calif. Senior Transportation Program Goes National ("Riverside, Calif.-based Independent Living Partnership’s (ILP) TripTrak subscription service, designed to facilitate complete administration and management of special needs senior transportation model programs, is now available nationally.")
Metro Magazine

Could Twitter Help Urban Planners Improve Transport Networks?
Guardian (U.K.)

Developing And Implementing The City Of Los Angeles' Transit Corridors Strategy: Coordinated Action Toward A Transit-Oriented Metropolis (110p. PDF : "In early 2012, our team of transit orientation experts was asked by Metro to work with the City of Los Angeles’ TOD Cabinet to lay the groundwork for developing the City’s strategy. We did so by meeting extensively with the Cabinet to develop a menu of potential transit orientation tactics that the City and its partners could implement, using the suggested tactics to help infer and define the City’s transit orientation goals, undertaking an exhaustive review of Los Angeles’ existing policies and procedures related to transit orientation, and conducting case studies of other transit-oriented locations. The findings presented in this report serve as a starting point for the City of Los Angeles to produce an evolving strategy that is coordinated with the transit orientation efforts to be undertaken by City partners.")
Office Of The Mayor Of Los Angeles

House Will Examine Amtrak's Progress On Implementing Strategic Plan
Transportation Issues Daily

Is The Adults-Only Party Train From O.C. To Vegas On A Fast Track?
Las Vegas NV Blog

Leaner And Greener: Sustainability At Work In Transportation (56p. PDF : "To further exemplify what being leaner and greener means for transportation agencies, this report outlines a variety of practices and programs being implemented in transportation agencies across the nation that are simultaneously cutting costs, helping the environment, and strengthening communities.")
AASHTO / Federal Highway Administration

Major Newspaper Group Opposes Rail Project
My Fox LA

Megabus Service Is Rolling Back Into L.A.
Los Angeles Times

Metrolink Posts Record-Setting Thanksgiving Ridership
Metrolink

O.C. Bus Fares Going Up 25% In First Hike In 3 Years
Los Angeles Times

O.C. Officials Kill Longtime Plan For Bridge Between Two Cities ("Transportation officials vote to remove the proposed 19th Street Bridge, which would link Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach, from the county's master plan.")
Los Angeles Times

Opinions Vary On Solving The Transportation Funding Crunch
Land Line

Oxnard Official Proposes New Ventura County Planning Organization
Ventura County Star

Restoring Last Parts Of NYC Subway Is The Hardest
Transportation Nation

Sharrows 101
LADOT Bike Blog

Sharrows Are Not A Bike Plan ("For example, here is a map Alhambra’s proposed bike "plan."")
Systemic Failure

Ticket To Ride (Looks at the success of Metro's Creative Services Team)
Design Indaba

Time Lapse Video Depicts A Day In The Life Of [D.C.] Metro
Washington Post

Tired Of Service Cuts, California Cities Raise Taxes
Governing

Top Twitter Feeds 2012 ("We've augmented our comprehensive list of Twitter's top sources for news and observations about urban planning, design and development by recognizing this year's Top Ten Feeds.")
Planetizen

Transportation: Progress Report, November 13, 2012 (16p. PDF)
Office Of The Mayor Of Los Angeles

USA TODay: Transit-Oriented Developments Multiplied And Held Their Values Comparatively Well In The Housing Crisis -- Will The Trend Continue Post-Recession? ("The metro regions with the greatest number of projects in the pipeline are, in order, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Diego, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, each with over 30 projects.")
In Transition

Villaraigosa To Department Heads: It's Time To Work Together On T.O.D. Planning ("In an Executive Directive last week, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called on the City’s General Managers to create the Los Angeles Transit Corridors Cabinet (TCC), a central entity to ensure all City departments and agencies coordinate, collaborate, and communicate their efforts to bring about a more transit-oriented Los Angeles.")
StreetsBlog LA

Why Are States Passing Up Billions In Federal Transit Funds?
The Atlantic: Cities
Flexible Funding Continues To Play A Role In Supporting State And Local Transportation Priorities (25p. PDF)
U.S. Government Accountability Office


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

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

11/27/2012

OCTA CEO, OC Bus Fares, Bullet Train, Vegas XTrain, Parking, High Desert Corridor, Glendale Safety Corridor & More

November 27: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Metro's Blue Line launches three-car trains to handle passenger volume exceeding capacity after just a decade of service)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

4 Reasons Retailers Don't Need Free Parking To Thrive
The Atlantic: Cities

6 Great Transit Maps That Aren't Transit Maps
The Atlantic: Cities

Air Pollution May Be Factor In Autism, Researchers Report
Los Angeles Daily News

Bus Fares In Orange County To Increase ("On Monday, the Orange County Transportation Authority voted to increase bus fares to keep up with operating costs.")
NBC Southern California

D.C. Implementing Parking Rules To Limit Visitor Spots, Discourage Driving
Washington Post

[Orange County] Bus Riders Will Pay More Starting In February ("A regular fare, which now costs $1.50, will go up 33 percent to $2; a 30-day pass will be $69, up from $55.")
Orange County Register

Calif.-Vegas Party Train Could Hit Tracks In 2013
Sacramento Bee

Cities In Bullet Train's Path Have Mixed Reactions ("Palmdale welcomes the new line, but some communities are taking a wait-and-see approach. Others are antagonistic. Next year the rail authority will begin the legal process of defining the route between Bakersfield and downtown L.A.")
Los Angeles Times

Do You Have Any Metro/LACMTA Tokens? They Still Work!
StreetsBlog LA

Expedited Procurement Procedures For Emergency Construction Services (118p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

The Giant Underground Machinery That Runs San Francisco's Famous Cable Cars (photo-essay)
The Atlantic

High Desert Corridor Transpo Project Exploring Bike, High-Speed Rail Options
Curbed LA

Johnson Named Next CEO Of OCTA ("Darrell Johnson, the current deputy CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority, was selected by the board of directors today to become the next chief executive officer effective March 1.")
Rancho Santa Margarita Patch

L.A. County Transit Tax Measure Still Trailing, But Not By Far ("Measure J stands at 65.66 percent of the vote.")
KCET

Main Enemy Of Gas Tax Increase May Experience Defections
Transportation Issues Daily

Metro Breaks Ground On Glendale Safety Corridor
San Marino Tribune

Metro Invites Public To Help Shape Future Of Union Station At "Master Plan" Meeting (December 4)
Blog Downtown

Mica Drops Chairmanship Bid, Endorses Shuster
StreetsBlog DC

Mitigating The Environmental Paradox Of Smart Growth: Softening Urban Density
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Moving People Or Moving Vehicles: How Should We Grade America's Streets?
StreetsBlog DC

OCTA's Deputy CEO Tapped To Step Up
Orange County Breeze

Perks In The Valley: Train-Side Parking
LA Observed

Private Money, Public Projects: Is Chicago's Infrastructure Trust A Good Model?
Policy Shop

Santa Monica Family Bike Fest Coming Up In Early December
StreetsBlog LA

Stranded Seniors Need Public Transportation ("Failing to develop transit options and walkable communities for seniors is terrible waste of human capital. Millions of productive members of society risk being left behind simply because they don’t drive.")
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Teddy Roosevelt's Signature Law Let Los Angeles Grow (Looks at the upcoming centennial of the Los Angeles Acqueduct and its impact on the region)
KCET

Toward Comprehensive And Multi-Modal Performance Evaluation
Planetizen


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

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

11/26/2012

High Desert Corridor, Downtown Streetcar, "Eastside Access," CAHSR, Climate Change & Transpo, 405 Widening, Harbor Blvd., LA-Vegas Party Train & More

405 Freeway Widening To Cause Delays Through Sepulveda Pass
Los Angeles Times

As Highway And Air Travel Slump, Intercity Train Trips Increase
StreetsBlog DC

BART Expansion Plans: Express Trains, More Frequent Service ("Officials this month began reviewing early results of a study into a new wave of service called BART Metro, which would allow about 50 percent more passengers to ride the rails by 2025, several years after extensions to Antioch and San Jose's Berryessa area are set to open.")
Silicon Valley Mercury News

A Black Friday Conundrum: Why Is SoCal's Harbor Split Between Two Cities?
LA As Subject via KCET

California To Las Vegas "Party Train" Signs Deal With Railroad, Could Hit Tracks In 2013
Washington Post

California's Looming Transportation Funding Crisis
California High Speed Rail Blog

Climate Change Challenges Transportation In The U.S.
Huffington Post

Commentary: Secretary Villaraigosa? The Right Job And The Right Moment Seem To Be Meeting For Antonio Villaraigosa ("Some things just make sense. Like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as U.S. Secretary of Transportation.")
NBC San Diego

Developing Regional Mobility Management Centers (67p. PDF : "Explores how transit agencies might seamlessly integrate the information and capabilities of multiple software applications for scheduling and dispatching paratransit services.")
TRB Transit Idea Program

Driving On Sepulveda Boulevard Will Get Even Worse Next Week (If That's Even Possible)
Los Angeles Daily News

"Eastside Access" Projects Under Consideration In Unincorporated East LA ("Unincorporated East Los Angeles residents who attended the East LA Safe Connections Festival on Saturday had the opportunity to learn about transit, pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects under consideration for streets located near Metro Gold Line Stations.")
EGP News

Every City With A Public Transit Network Should Copy Seattle's New Map
Business Insider

Expo Transit Neighborhood Planning Meetings
StreetsBlog LA

The High Desert Corridor Is Back, And This Time It Includes Bikeways?
StreetsBlog LA

High Speed Rail Opponents Scramble For New Legal Strategy
California High Speed Rail Blog

Merced-To-Fresno High-Speed Rail Opponents Rethink Legal Strategy
Fresno Bee

New Directors Chosen For OCTA Board
Dana Point Times

No, Cars Are Not Greener Than Buses (Even Almost-Empty Ones)
Planetizen

OCTA To Vote On Proposal To Raise Bus Fares
Orange County Register

On Harbor Boulevard, A Pretense Of Business As Usual ("Though Orange County's Harbor Boulevard remains little changed, a history of unrest points to its potential to more positively engage with street life beyond the auto." One in an occasional series by Christopher Hawthorne on Southern California's iconic streets)
Los Angeles Times

Parking Concerns Cause Council To Slow Down Car-Sharing Plan
Beach Reporter

Proposed DTLA Streetcar May Be New But Its Concept Is A Century Old
Blog Downtown

SFMTA Board's Final Vote Expected To Grant Free Muni For Low-Income Youth
StreetsBlog SF

Survey Finds Many MTA Employees Have Safety Concerns ("Most agency workers give the agency high marks for safety, but a large majority of mechanics, track workers and others describe their workplace as somewhat safe, not very safe or not safe at all.")
Los Angeles Times

Tolling On Federal Highways ("What are the best arguments for allowing tolling on interstate highways, given the current budget and political climate? What are the best arguments for continuing to bar tolling on existing lanes? Are there better ways to finance highway maintenance? Is there a middle ground to be struck on the issue? What could proponents of interstate tolling offer to opponents to make the notion acceptable?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Touring Metro's "Lab" With Dave Sutton, Director Of TAP Operations
StreetsBlog LA

Transportation Authority Chief To Retire ("Will Kempton, who has led the OCTA since August 2009, has accepted a position with Transportation California.")
Orange County Register

Transportation Bill Focuses Needed Attention On Infrastructure
Inland Valley News

Two Streetcar Events This Week
Los Angeles Downtown News

What Is The Federal Role?
Better Cities & Towns


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

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