Today's Headlines - more at Metro

1/04/2013

First Electric Streetcar, Charging Stations, Driverless Cars, Transit Apps, Fiscal Cliff & More

January 4: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Two 19th century milestones accompanied by historic images: the first electric streetcar in Los Angeles and the birth of Los Angeles Railway)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

BART Labors To Keep Escalators Running
San Francisco Chronicle

Controversial HOT Lanes Spread Nationally
First Coast News

Fiscal Cliff Deal Leaves Big Questions On Transportation
StreetsBlog DC

Metro Installing Electric Vehicle Charging Stations At Train Stops
KCET

More MTA Signal Malfunctions Congest Traffic
South Pasadena Patch

Port Of Long Beach To Break Ground On Gerald Desmond Bridge
Contra Costa Times

Record Breaking Metro System Of The Day: Beijing ("If you laid the metro system of Beijing end to end, it would be substantially longer than the distance between New York City and Washington D.C. And that's literally only half of it -- the 32-year-old system plans to put a new line into operation in each of the next three years. By 2020, the system is projected to extend over 600 miles. That's three times the length of the New York City subway.")
The Atlantic: Cities

Shuster: Strengthen Our Transportation Network
Roll Call

Streets Filled With Driverless Cars: A Perpetual Fantasy?
StreetsBlog
Driverless Cars And The Limitations Of The "Complete Imagined Future"
Human Transit
Why Driverless Cars Will Trump Transit Rivals (4p. PDF)
Globe And Mail (Canada) via StreetsBlog

Transit App Moovit Takes A Page From Waze's Crowdsourcing Playbook ("Moovit is trying to be the Waze of public transit by offering a crowd-sourced transportation app for bus and train commuters. The system hopes to provide more accurate estimated time of arrivals and better updates on upcoming travel conditions.")
GigaOm

Union Station To Get Electric Vehicle Chargers This Month
Blog Downtown

Union Station To Get Electric Vehicle Stations
Los Angeles Downtown News

West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert Community Plan (239p. PDF)
City Of Los Angeles Department Of City Planning


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.

1/03/2013

Transit Tax Benefit, "The Streetsies," Amtrak, Bergamot, Sustainability, Caltrans, LAX, Downtown Football & More

January 3: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (A Ventura Freeway Highway Improvement Study is announced)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

The 5 Most Important Sustainability Stories Of 2013
The Atlantic: Cities

10 Miles Of New Sidewalks In SaMo's Bergamot Area Plan
Curbed LA

25 Years Later, VTA Light Rail Among The Nation's Worst ("The near-empty trolleys that often shuttle by at barely faster than jogging speeds serve as a constant reminder that the car is still king in Silicon Valley -- and that the Valley Transportation Authority's trains are among the least successful in the nation by any metric. Today, fewer than 1 percent of the county's residents ride the trains daily, while it costs the rest of the region -- taxpayers at large -- about $10 to subsidize every rider's round trip.")
Oroville Mercury-Register

The 2012 Capitol Hill Streetsies Awards Part 1 and Part 2 ("You know, you just can’t wrap your head around what a bizarre year 2012 was for federal transportation policy until you put it all together in something like the Streetsies. So it’s a good thing we have the Streetsies to lay it all out for us!")
StreetsBlog DC

Amtrak Seeks Safety Changes To Allow U.S. Bullet Trains
Bloomberg

Are We There Yet?: The Exodus
Reconnecting America
Are We There Yet? Creating Complete Communities For 21st Century America (96p. PDF)
Reconnecting America

BART To Airport Connector Is On Track
San Francisco Chronicle

California Toll Bonds Hampered By Freeways: Muni Credit
Bloomberg

Caltrans Streamlines Process To Accept Electronic Bids From Job Contractors
Caltrans Press Release

Changes From MAP-21 Keep DOT Busy In 2012...And 2013
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

City Receives $4.1 Million For Transportation
Thousand Oaks Acorn

"Cliff" Bill Restores Commuter Tax Break
The Hill

Communicating The Value Of Preservation: A Playbook (197p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Congress Makes Public Transit Commute Benefit Equal To The Parking Benefit
APTA Press Release

Discontented Supervisors Taking Issue With OCTA Board Majority ("Ongoing tensions within the Orange County Transportation Authority have begun to bubble over in recent weeks as several county supervisors, who also serve on the OCTA board, are going public with their discontent regarding how the $1-billion agency is being run.")
Voice Of OC

A Distance-Based Method To Estimate Annual Pedestrian And Bicyclist Exposure In An Urban Environment (86p. PDF : "This report describes a methodology for measuring pedestrian and bicyclist exposure based on counts of pedestrian and bicyclist volumes as well as the distances that pedestrians and bicyclists travel on facilities shared with motor vehicles. The distances that pedestrians and bicyclists travel on these facilities represent a measure of their exposure to the risk of having a crash with a motor vehicle.")
Federal Highway Administration

Double-Deck The 405? MTA To Hear From Public On Sepulveda Pass
CBS Los Angeles

Earthquakes, Maybe. But Is Los Angeles Prepared For A Tsunami? ("The port’s workaround plan would include traffic diversions, road closures, and coned off wharf areas.")
Forbes

Football Teams Seem Nervous About Moving To Downtown LA
Curbed LA
NFL Teams Interested In Moving To Los Angeles Face February 15 Deadline
Los Angeles Daily News

Free Wi-Fi Service To Shut Down On Coaster Trains
San Diego Union-Tribune

How Avis Will Ruin Zipcar
Washington Post

LAX Passenger Traffic Up Slightly Over Last Year
Daily Breeze

Mass-Transit Tax Break In Obama-Signed "Fiscal Cliff" Bill
Newsday

Municipal Railway Celebrates 100 Years (Numerous historical images illustrate story of San Francisco's municipal railway ("Muni") turning 100 on December 28th)
San Francisco Chronicle

New Year Brings New Approach To Transit Projects ("FTA is making a New Year's resolution to make it easier to submit projects for New Starts and Small Starts funding, and last week's Final Rule for Major Capital Investment Projects is a terrific first step. This revised approach streamlines the transit project approval process so communities can enjoy the benefits of transit more quickly.")
APTA Press Release

[N.Y.] MTA Considers Installing Sliding Doors To Prevent Deaths, Injuries
New York Daily News
NY MTA Tepidly Explores Platform Barriers After Subway Track Deaths...Again
Transportation Nation

Popular [D.C.] Metro NextBus App Dies Amid Tech Companies' Spat
Washington Examiner

Safe And Sustainable Roads: The Case For A Sustainable Development Goal (40p. PDF)
Make Roads Safe: The Campaign For Global Road Safety

Survey Says: 6th Street Bridge Is One Of LA's Most Popular Film Shoot Locations
Blog Downtown

Transit Tax Benefit Equalized With Parking Benefit In Fiscal Cliff Deal
StreetsBlog DC

Urban Trends We Hope Die In 2013 (Selling naming rights to transit stations, using public transportation to advance a hate-filled agenda, bus riders fighting train commuters, and more)
The Atlantic: Cities

Valley Agencies Confident In Bid For Amtrak Lines
Modesto Bee

What Really Matters For Increasing Transit Ridership ("In the latest issue of the Journal of Public Transportation, a research duo led by Jeffrey Brown of Florida State provide some of the most persuasive evidence yet that transit ridership is not inextricably linked to a city's business core. The researchers analyzed all 82 metro areas in the United States with at least half a million people (as of the 2000 Census) and found, widely speaking, "no relationship between the strength of the CBD and transit ridership.")
The Atlantic: Cities
Central Business Districts And Transit Ridership: A Reexamination Of The Relationship In The United States (22p. PDF)
University Of South Florida Center For Urban Transportation Research

Why Don't American Subway Stations Have Public Bathrooms?
The Atlantic: Cities

Will Avis Destroy Zipcar? ("The aging car-rental giant announced Wednesday morning that it plans to acquire Zipcar for $500 million.")
The Atlantic: Cities


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.

1/02/2013

2012 In Review, 710 Fwy, Expo Line, Lankershim, LADOT, LAX People Mover, SGV Bikes, Sepulveda Pass & More

January 2: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The California State Highway Commission is founded in 1912. Good thing: Automobile registration in the state grew from about 100,000 to 2 million by 1930! The full story, which we prepared for last year's 100th anniversary, can be found here)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

5 Predictions For Downtown (And A Plea For A Parking Plan)
Curbed LA

The 11 Craziest Never-Gonna-Happen Renderings Of 2012
Curbed LA

Are Silicon Valley's Employee Shuttles Bad For San Francisco?
The Atlantic: Cities

Baldwin Park Receives Funds To Improve Pedestrian Safety
Baldwin Park Patch

Bicycle People Make The Connection ("When the new El Monte Transit Station debuted a few months ago, he liked what he saw. In fact, Bike SGV may begin teaming up with Metro to staff the bike station, which will help bike riders fix a flat, buy a water bottle or power bar and park their bike before hopping on a bus.")
Pasadena Star-News
Bike San Gabriel Valley ("Started as a simple Facebook page devoted to cycling in the San Gabriel Valley by Monterey Park resident, Environmental Commissioner and Chamber of Commerce President Vincent Chang, BikeSGV brought together a group of local advocates who shared a desire to realize a cohesive network of bicycle infrastructure in the communities of the San Gabriel Valley.")

Caltrans Homes In Limbo: South Pasadena City Manager Says He Has No Interest In Joint Powers Authority
Pasadena Sun

Caltrans To Raise Rents On Tenants Living In The Path Of 710 Freeway
Pasadena Star-News

Deal Of The Day: Free Rides In Los Angeles And London, But Not New York
The Atlantic: Cities

Downtown Locations For LA Bike Sharing Program Include Union Station
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

Draft South And Southeast LA Plans Limit Density And Car Use
Curbed LA
South Los Angeles Community Plan: Draft (132p. PDF)
Los Angeles Department Of City Planning
Southeast Los Angeles Community Plan: Draft (157p. PDF)
Los Angeles Department Of City Planning

The Driving Force Behind LADOT ("De la Vega’s work is tremendously challenging. His organization enforces state and local parking laws; provides traffic control services to support public safety agencies and special events; designs, operates, and maintains the most advanced traffic signal system in the US; operates the second largest bus service in Los Angeles County; supports private development and public works projects, including major new transit lines, through traffic management plans and review and approval of signal and striping plans; maintains the city’s traffic signal system, road markings, and regulatory signage; implements the city’s bicycle plan; operates the city’s over 39,000 on-street parking meters and 118 off-street parking facilities; and regulates taxis, ambulances, and pipelines in the city.")
Asian Journal

Dynamic Ridesharing: Turning Empty Seats Into Affordable Transportation
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies To Improve Travel Time Reliability (336p. PDF : "Identifies and evaluates strategies and tactics intended to satisfy users’ travel-time reliability requirements of roadways.")
Strategic Highway Research Program

How Far From The Airport Should The LAX People Mover Start?
Curbed LA

Hundreds Die Walking The Tracks Each Year (In a multi-part series, Todd C. Frankel reports on the epidemic of railroad accidents caused by people walking on, along, or across railroad tracks, and why actions aren't being taken to curtail the hundreds of such deaths that occur each year. "[P]edestrian railroad accidents are now the leading cause of death on the rails," notes Frankel. "More than 7,200 pedestrians have been fatally struck by trains in the United States since 1997. An additional 6,400 have been injured. Each year on average about 500 are killed...Even more startling: Based on the miles driven each year, pedestrians are killed by freight and passenger trains at many times the rate they are killed by motor vehicles.")
St. Louis Dispatch

L.A. Architecture School Is Poised To Spread Its Wings ("A new outdoor gathering space designed by a SCI-Arc faculty member will host graduations and is seen as a way for the school to reach out to its arts district neighborhood...The Southern California Institute of Architecture has a most unusual college campus: a quarter-mile-long former railroad freight depot near the Los Angeles River in downtown.")
Los Angeles Times

LA Metro's Expo Line Draws Partiers Downtown For Growing Social Scene
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

L.A. Once Had Cable Cars, Too
LA as Subject via KCET
A Look Back At 1880s Cable Car Service In Los Angeles (includes numerous historic photos)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

LA Transportation: Top 10 Hopes For 2013
CityWatch

L.A.'s Huge Year In Pedestrians, Parks And Public Transit
Curbed LA

Lankershim Boulevard Rides To Prominence In The Valley ("The momentum that has built up along much of Lankershim, especially in the North Hollywood Arts District, illustrates what can arise from a mass-transit network...Today, the boulevard is emphatically on the rise, energized by a pair of Red Line subway stops...The stretch of Lankershim between the Red Line stations now ranks as the most vital north-south corridor in the Valley." Part of a continuing series on iconic Southland boulevards by architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne)
Los Angeles Times

Las Vegas: Megabus Is Back On The L.A. To Vegas Route
Los Angeles Times

LAX Might Make Land Available For Underground Metro Station
Daily Breeze

Long Beach Unveils Plan To Make "Most Bike Friendly City" The Safest Too
StreetsBlog LA

A Look Back At The Year In Transit Technology
The Transit Wire

Measuring Transport System Efficiency ("Qualitative analysis defines what is considered good or bad. Quantitative analysis measures their magnitude -- how good or bad -- which is important when decisions involve trade-offs between different goals. For example, qualitative analysis may indicate that economic development, safety and pollution reduction are desirable goals, but quantitative analysis is needed to determine whether a specific economic development strategy is justified if it reduces safety or increases pollution.")
Planetizen

MTA Presenting Options For Easing Traffic Crush In Sepulveda Pass
Los Angeles Daily News

New Parking App Launched
Santa Monica Daily Press

Next Stop For New York Subway: An App To Track Trains ("America's largest subway system launched a smartphone application that will reveal train-arrival times on seven of the city's 24 lines -- a leap forward for a service that has lagged behind its peers both at home and abroad in adopting new technologies.")
Wall Street Journal

OCTA In 2013: Higher Bus Fares, New CEO, K-9 Patrol
Dana Point Times

Openings And Construction Starts Planned For 2013 ("This year, more than $64.3 billion worth of transit expansion projects will begin construction, continue construction, or enter into service in the United States. It’s a huge investment, much of it the product of extensive state and local spending. What is evident is that certain cities are investing far more than others. Among American cities, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington stand out as regions that are currently investing particularly dramatically. Toronto has the biggest investments under way in Canada. These metropolitan areas have invested billions of local dollars in interconnected transit projects that will aid in the creation of more livable, multimodal environments. Dynamic, growing cities require continuous investment in their transit systems.")
The Transport Politic

Regional Rapid Bus System sbX Moving Forward In San Bernardino
Redlands Daily Facts

The Rose Parade's Aristocratic Origins (Includes numerous historic photos dating back to 1890s)
LA as Subject via KCET

Santa Monica's Bergamot Area Plan Coming Into Focus As 2013 Approaches
Santa Monica Mirror

Site Proposed For Metro Light Rail Station At LAX
LAist

State Denies Glendale Millions To Pay For Redevelopment Obligations ("The decision will leave the city open to a lawsuit. Glendale official says the community will suffer if library and transportation projects are put on hold.")
Glendale News-Press

The Top 12 Transportation Stories Of 2012
Fast Company Exist

Tour Glendale's New LA River-/Freeway-Adjacent Linear Park (photo essay)
Curbed LA

The True Pulse Of L.A.? It Emanates From This Oddly Shaped Heart
Los Angeles Times

Tunnel Beneath Sepulveda Pass Or Widen 405 Freeway? It Could Happen Quicker With Private Money ("Lacking the billions of dollars needed to build the Sepulveda Pass Corridor, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering partnering with the private sector to ease the flow of traffic in one of the most congested stretches of highway in the country. A public-private partnership could result in the project being built several decades earlier than expected -- but drivers who use it may end up having to pay a toll.")
Los Angeles Daily News

We Need A "New Measure J"...Are LA's County Supes Up For It?
CityWatch

WeHo, Culver, Beverly Hills: Which City Will Get Bike Share Next?
Curbed LA
WeHo Considers Bike Sharing As L.A. Rolls Out Program
West Hollywood Patch

When Artists Design Infrastructure: Basket-Like Bridge Energizes San Gabriel Valley
Architect's Newspaper


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.