Today's Headlines - more at Metro

4/02/2013

Measure J, High-Speed Rail, DTLA Development, Commerce Rail Yard, Metrolink & More

A Blind Rider's Long Commute, Or How Transit Cuts Hit Those Who Need It Most
Transportation Nation

BNSF And Architects Cosponsor "Great Park" Design Competition For Commerce Rail Yard
StreetsBlog LA

California High-Speed Passenger Rail: Project Estimates Could Be Improved To Better Inform Future Decisions (90p. PDF)
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Highlights page (PDF)

California's New GeoPortal Touts "Socially-Derived Maps"
Government Technology

Demographic Survey Aims To Bring New Restaurants, Retailers To DTLA (" A group of Downtown property owners are surveying area residents, employees and visitors to try and determine what new business people want the most.")
Blog Downtown

Despite Its Current Benefits, The L.A. Metro Needs Improvement
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

Dodger Shuttle Bus Returns
Los Angeles Downtown News

Here Are The 'Hoods You Can Blame For The Death Of Transit-Speeding Measure J
Curbed LA

Julian Burke Dies At 85; Former MTA Chief ("A corporate turnaround expert, Julian Burke restored the MTA and brought credibility to the agency during a time of financial uncertainty and U.S. scrutiny.")
Los Angeles Times

Phoenix's Walkability Gamble Might Actually Pay Off ("The Reinvent PHX initiative will try to guide transit-oriented development in five districts along the new light rail corridor.")
The Atlantic: Cities
Losing Ground: The Struggle Of Moderate-Income Households To Afford The Rising Costs Of Housing And Transportation (36p. PDF)
Center For Housing Policy

Ruling On Metrolink More Complicated Than It Seemed ("What looked like a green light for the construction of a new Metrolink line last week is looking more like a yellow light this week.")
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Skin In The Game, Infrastructure Style ("What does Obama's latest infrastructure proposal indicate for the future of transportation and the role of government? How would raising the cap on private activity bonds impact the transportation construction market, and how quickly would the effects appear? Is expanding TIFIA a viable option? What about the infrastructure bank, which has consistently been rejected on Capitol Hill? Can there be new life breathed into that tired proposal?")
National Journal Transportation Experts Blog

Study: Loosening Parking Mandates Leads To More Affordable Housing
StreetsBlog Network
Parking Requirements As A Barrier To Housing Development: Regulation And Reform In Los Angeles (44p. PDF : "Using a partial deregulation of residential parking in downtown Los Angeles, I examine the impact of minimum parking requirements on housing development. I find that when parking  requirements are removed, developers provide more housing and less parking, and also that developers provide different types of housing: housing in older buildings, in previously disinvested areas, and housing marketed toward non-drivers.")
UCLA Institute Of Transportation Studies

Technology For Passengers To Print Luggage Tags Considered For Los Angeles, Ontario Airports
Daily Breeze

To Fight Gridlock, A City Synchronizes Every Red Light ("In the latest ambitious and costly assault on gridlock, Los Angeles has synchronized every one of its 4,500 traffic signals across 469 square miles -- the first major metropolis in the world to do so, officials said -- raising the almost fantastical prospect, in theory, of driving Western Avenue from the Hollywood Hills to the San Pedro waterfront without stopping once.")
New York Times

Transit Information Offered In 200 Languages ("Riders whose primary language is not English now can get trip planning assistance and transit information through a network of interpreters who speak more than 200 languages.")
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

West Orange County Connectors Project Construction Update Monday, April 1 To Friday, April 5
Orange County Breeze


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