Today's Headlines - more at Metro

5/03/2013

Gold Line Foothill, PCH History, Union Station Birthday, Amtrak, Funeral Streetcars, Smart Growth & More

May 3: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Pacific Electric subway tunnel in 1924; three days of opening ceremonies begin in 1939 for Los Angeles' new Union Passenger Terminal -- commonly referred to as Union Station)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

1911 Streetcar Congestion (Photo essay discussing traffic more than a century ago)
Los Angeles Times

Amtrak Rolls Out Updated Exhibit Train ("Making its first stop at Railroad Days 2013 in Fullerton, Calif., the Exhibit Train features new displays including workable signals, virtual sleeping accommodation tours and trivia with returning favorite displays including the locomotive stand and horns. In addition, it features photos, uniforms, vintage advertising and memorabilia from Amtrak’s beginning in 1971 to today’s modern-sleeping cars and high-speed rail service.")
Amtrak News Release

Arcadia's Colorado Boulevard To Be Closed For Three More Weeks Due To Gold Line Bridge Work
Pasadena Star-News

Arch And Castle Rocks: Lost Landmarks Of PCH (Numerous historic images from local archives illustrate the story of "two distinctively shaped rocks...missing from the Pacific Palisades shoreline for decades, victims of the scenic highway's development.")
LA as Subject via KCET

CHSRA Board Address Bid Controversy
California High Speed Rail Blog

Farewell Ray LaHood, And Thanks For All The Trains
Motherboard

FRA Is Nearing Completion Of Rules Required By The Rail Safety Improvement Act, But Needs To Improve Oversight (35p. PDF)
Office Of Inspector General Audit Report

A Funeral Car Named "Descanso," Or, When Death Rode The Rails In America ("In certain parts of the country, including the Los Angeles area, dedicated funeral cars were added to the streetcar systems. The only one that survives relatively intact is the Descanso (Spanish for “rest”), currently on display at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California.")
The Atlantic: Cities

High-Speed Rail Contractor Gets Additional $96M
Silicon Valley Mercury News

Innovation In The Streets: It's Transportation Month
GOOD

Is It Time For "Smarter Smart Growth?"
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Is Los Angeles The Tiny Railway Capital Of The World?
Curbed LA
Small Railways
Metro Day Pass

L.A. Wants To Turn Its Concrete "River" Into A Real River
The Atlantic: Cities

MBTA Takes Steps To Boost Safety, Security Throughout System
Boston Globe

Meet Anthony Foxx, Young Transit-Loving Mayor, Employed By Bus Company, Tapped As U.S. Transpo Secretary
WNYC

Metro Releases Four Possible Plans For Union Station Redesign; Asks For Public Input
Blog Downtown

Rail Authority Defends Bullet Train Bidding Criteria ("The California High-Speed Rail authority defends its bidding criteria against critics who say changes could jeopardize project quality.")
Los Angeles Times

Westchester Group Asks For Mediation On LAX Runway Change
Daily Breeze

Why The Eagle Rock Chamber Of Commerce Voted Against Bike Lanes
Eagle Rock Patch


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.

5/02/2013

Expo Line, Measures R & J, Union Station, Leimert Park, LB Electric Buses, California Population, "City Walk" Television, LA County Bike Map & More

May 2: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (Carpool lanes come to the 605 Freeway)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

African Bus Routes Redrawn Using Cell-Phone Data ("The largest-ever release of mobile-phone data yields a model for fixing bus routes.")
MIT Technology Review

Agoura Canwood Street Repair Underway ("The $1.1-million street rehabilitation project is fully funded through Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Measure R bond that was approved in 2009.")
Agoura Acorn

Bicycle Friendly States Ranking Announced
League Of American Bicyclists

California's Population Nears 38 Million
Los Angeles Daily News

Chinese Bus Maker That Will Produce 10 All-Electric Buses For Long Beach To Build Them In Lancaster
Los Angeles Daily News

City Has A Tentative Deal To Buy Civic Center Plot For A Park (1st & Broadway just west of City Hall)
Los Angeles Downtown News

City Walk (Beginning May 2nd, "City Walk is a unique six-part series that reveals the way walking is transforming cities across America, and in the process, re-connecting us to our bodies, our civic values and public space. Season one of City Walk features 30-minute episodes exploring various aspects of pedestrian life in cities including: Los Angeles, Portland, Boston, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and New York. As the show explores the "walkability" of these communities, viewers will learn about American history by exploring culturally rich neighborhoods, stunning architecture, monuments and beautiful parks that have helped define the character of each city.")
KCET

County Maps Bike Paths And Closures ("The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has created an interactive map of bicycle paths countywide.")
Hermosa Beach Patch
Interactive Bikeways Map For Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Department Of Public Works

D.C.'s First Streetcars Roll In For Testing (photos)
Transportation Nation

The Epidemic Of Pedestrian Deaths In America, And Why It Barely Registers
StreetsBlog Network

A Fare Decrease? SF Area Bus Company Cancels Price Hike, Considers Lower Fares
Transportation Nation

From Measure R Success To Measure J Failure, Villaraigosa Reflects On Transportation ("At a USC event Wednesday, Mayor Antonio Villraigosa celebrated his accomplishments in improving L.A.'s transportation options. He also explained the groundwork he's laid for even more transit-oriented development. Yet, he declined to offer specific advice to the person who will replace him July 1 in the mayor's seat.")
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

A Golden Opportunity For Congress To Avoid The Transportation "Fiscal Cliff"
StreetsBlog DC

Historic Union Station Facing Renovation Plans
Los Angeles Daily News

LACMA Draws Up Ambitious Plans For A $650-Million New Look
Los Angeles Times
9 Things To Know About The Huge Proposed LACMA Redesign
Curbed LA

Laguna's Trolley System A Look At The Future? (subscription)
Orange County Register

One Year Later, Who Is Riding The Expo Line?
USC Annenberg Neon Tommy

Practices And Performance Measures For Local Public Agency Federally Funded Highway Projects (133p. PDF)
National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Project To Widen Westbound 91 Gets Underway
Orange County Register

Protestors Gather Over Road Conditions On Venice Blvd.
StreetsBlog LA
Caltrans Plans To Repair Venice Boulevard
Venice-Mar Vista Patch

Revealed: 4 Concepts For Major Union Station Makeover
Curbed LA

Slow Water: Bureaucracy Obstructs The Los Angeles River's Revitalization
Architect's Newspaper

Transit Agency's Revolving Door Costs Big, Causes Turmoil ("The turnover among upper management at the North County Transit District has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and has, at times, put riders at risk. inewsource calculated that 21 of the agency's top 25 positions have turned over since 2009 when Executive Director Matthew Tucker arrived. Some of the positions revolved as many as five times in three years.")
KPBS

Two New Bike Bills In The California Legislature (Highway 710 & California Greenway Initiative)
Cyclicio.us

Verdict On Leimert Park Station Expected In May
Los Angeles Sentinel

What's The Best iPhone Bus Tracking App?
Greater Greater Washington

Will The Personal Airship Be The Vehicle Of The Future ("Probably not, although that hasn't stopped one Indian artist from designing a fantastic one.")
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.

5/01/2013

Metro Budget, New DOT Secretary, Bus Lanes, LA Potholes, LAX, Pedestrian Safety & More

May 1: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The city gets its first female streetcar conductor 95 years ago today; Los Angeles Motor Coach Company, which operated double-decker buses on Wilshire Boulevard, among other lines, is dissolved)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

The 10 Best New Complete Streets Policies In The U.S. ("Cities across the country are making plans to cater to bikers and pedestrians (along with cars) as they design and manage their transportation infrastructure. These 10 cities are the ones doing it best." Three California cities land in the top 10)
Fast Company Exist

16 Rules For "Smarter" Smart Growth
The Atlantic: Cities

Advocates Honor LaHood's Time At Transportation Department (audio)
NPR

Anthony Foxx Hoping For A Smoother Political Ride At DOT
Washington Post

Baby Born In Mexico City Subway Station Gets Free Transportation For Life
Fox Latino

Council OKs Moving LAX Runway As Part Of $4.76-Billion Upgrade ("Supporters praise approval of the modernization project, but opponents promise another legal battle over moving the runway closer to homes.")
Los Angeles Times

A Dear Abby For Transportation Secretaries: Advice From Foxx's Predecessors ("Yesterday, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center invited six former transportation secretaries to talk about the possibilities of presidential influence over transportation and to give advice to Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, whose nomination for the job was announced that same day.")
StreetsBlog DC

#DearMayor: LA Voters Look For Relief From City's Pot Holes
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

Does President Obama Have The Power To Influence Transportation Policy?
StreetsBlog DC

Eyes On The Street: Every Lane Is A Bus Lane
StreetsBlog LA

Foxx To Give Mayors "One Of Their Own" At U.S. Department Of Transportation
Memphis Business Journal

Gold Line Construction: More Lane Closures Ahead On Colorado, Santa Anita Ahead
Arcadia Patch

LACMTA Proposes Nearly $5 Billion Budget For FY2014
Progressive Railroading

L.A. Council Approves LAX Runway Plan As Part Of Modernization
Los Angeles Times

May Day Rally To Shut Down DTLA Streets
Blog Downtown

Metro To Hold Public Hearing Wednesday, May 15, On Proposed FY14 Budget
Metro News Release
Proposed Budget, Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014) (64p. PDF)

The Mt. Lowe Railway's Thrilling, Terrifying Circular Bridge (An image from the Metro Transportation Library's Archive is the focus of this story about the sheer 1,000 foot drop from the rail tracks on Mt. Lowe)
LA as Subject via Los Angeles Magazine

Obama Selects A Mayor For DOT Secretary -- But Not Villaraigosa
California Planning And Development Report

Opinion: Leimert Park Village Deserves A Rail Station ("Metro can include a stop there on the Crenshaw-to-LAX light-rail line. It has the money. But does it have the will to do the right thing?" by Mark Ridley-Thomas)
Los Angeles Times

Pedestrian Safety: A Road Safety Manual For Decision-Makers And Practitioners (132p. PDF)
World Health Organization

Predicting U.S. Transportation Policy Under Future Secretary Foxx ("A roundup of what key observers are saying about Foxx's record, and what his appoinment means for transportation policy during Obama's second term.")
Planetizen

Rail Planners Aim To Re-"Train" L.A.'s Car Culture (audio & transcript. Expo Line)
NPR

Responding To Spate Of Train Deaths, SEPTA To Hold Training
Philadelphia Inquirer

SmartGAP User's Guide (68p. PDF : "SmartGAP is a scenario planning software tool that synthesizes households and firms in a region and determines their travel demand characteristics based
on their built environment and transportation policies.")
Strategic Highway Research Program

Transit Station And Stop Adoption Programs (68p. PDF : "Adopt-a-stop programs, in which volunteers agree to pick up litter at transit stations and assist in other maintenance tasks, can be a valuable resource for public transportation agencies. These programs aim to create a sense of ownership within the community, enhance the appearance of stations, and improve safety and security for passengers. Most programs of this sort are fairly new, and there is little research about how to structure them or how they can be made most effective. This synthesis helps to fill these gaps by describing the varied features of adopt-a-stop programs now in place, how they work, and the results that they have had.")
Transit Cooperative Research Program

Westwood Bike Lane Proposal Effectively Addresses Traffic Concerns
UCLA Daily Bruin


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.

4/30/2013

Gold Line Azusa, Sepulveda Pass Tunnel?, ONT, Subway Cell Service, Figueroa Overhaul, Bike Lanes, Traffic Engineering, Electric Bikes & More

The Administration Refreshes Its Push For A Major Infusion Of Funds Into The National Rail Program
The Transport Politic

An App To Help You Navigate The Many, Many Car-Share And Transit Options Out There
The Atlantic: Cities

APTA Applauds Selection Of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx As Next U.S. Secretary Of Transportation
APTA Press Release

Are We There Yet? The Bias Of Traffic Engineering
Reconnecting America

The Big Leap From Car-Lite To Car-Free
StreetsBlog Network

CA Legislation: Public Agency Immunity For Bike Lanes Tabled
Cyclicio.us

California Bullet Train Groundbreaking Faces New Obstacles ("Challenges are coming from a private railroad, a legislative committee and a powerful federal agency asserting authority over the project.")
Los Angeles Times

City Hoping To Extend LA River Bike Path To Sepulveda Basin
Curbed LA

The Coming Bold Transformation Of The American City
The Atlantic: Cities

The Copenhagenize Index: 2013 Bicycle Friendly Cities (The 20 most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, ranked with explanations)
Copenhagenize

Electric Bikes, A Rising Force On Urban Transit Landscape -- 38 Million Units Per Year By 2020
Clean Technica

Elon Musk Invests Money To Speed Up Highway Construction (video)
KABC Los Angeles

Expanding Car-Share Beyond America's Biggest Cities
StreetsBlog DC

Eyes On The Street: New Bike Lanes And Continental Crosswalks From Wilshire To Cesar Chavez On Figueroa
StreetsBlog LA

Gold Line Extension To Close Azusa Avenue For Three Months
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

How Does Anthony Foxx's Transportation Experience Compare To Past USDOT Secretaries?
Transportation Issues Daily

LA Mayoral Candidates Talk About Possible Tunnel Under Sepulveda Pass
CBS Los Angeles

Long Beach: City (Finally) Releases Public-Private RFQ For New Civic Center
StreetsBlog LA

New App Links Music To OC Transpo Route (Ontario, Canada)
CBC News (Canada)

Obama Praises LaHood As "Maybe The Best Secretary Of Transportation" In U.S. History
The Hill

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Plan Is On The Right Track (Hasan Ikrata, Director of SCAG)
San Bernardino Sun

The Overwhelming Proliferation Of Car-Sharing Companies ("The transportation industry is squarely in the crosshairs of the tech start-up industry, and the fruits of their disruption were on full display at this year's South by Southwest...Panels with names like "Transportation Apps and the Sharing Economy" and "Damn the Man! Disrupting Regulated Industries" featured the founders of Lyft and Zimride (ride-sharing), Wheelz and Getaround (car-sharing), and Flywheel (taxi-hailing).")
The Atlantic

President Obama Nominates Mayor Anthony Foxx As 17th Secretary Of Transportation
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Private-Sector Mentality Thriving At OCTA
Public CEO

Silicon Valley's High-Tech Buses: Just Transit? Or Chariots Of The Übergeeks
KQED

WNYC

Daily Breeze

The Atlantic: Cities

The Hill

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Transit Cooperative Research Program

The Atlantic: Cities

Governing


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.

4/29/2013

Foxx Tapped For DOT, HOV Lanes, SaMo Airport, SF Subway, 405 Costs, Transpo Cameras, Leimert Park Station & More

April 29: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (One of the earliest monorail proposals for Los Angeles suggests the city utilize suspended railcars from freeway medians along with "underground tubes"; bus operators and other transit employees respond heroically to six days of civil disturbances)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

93% Of U.S. Transport Remains Reliant On Oil
Face The Facts USA

Antonio Villaraigosa And Chuck Reed: Fix The California Environmental Quality Act Now
Los Angeles Daily News

Assemblyman's Bill Would Open Carpool Lanes On 134, 210 Freeways To Single-Occupancy Drivers
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Bailey Streetscape Project
Los Angeles Wave

Bids To Build SF Central Subway Are $100 Million Over City's Estimates
KALW

Bigwigs, Locals City Council To Discuss Shuttering SaMo Airport
Curbed LA

Bike Sharing Programs Hit The Streets In Over 500 Cities Worldwide
Treehugger
Global Bike-Sharing Fleet Tops 500,000 Bicycles
Environment News Service

Biking Boom Prompts A Wave Of Non-Pedaling Adults To Sign Up For Lessons
Washington Post

Congress Indulges In Crazy Talk About De-Funding Transit And Taxing Bikes
StreetsBlog DC

Editorial: 405 Users Avoided Carmageddon, And This Is The Price We Pay?
Los Angeles Daily News

Federal Funding: Don't Read This, It's Too Depressing ("The Highway Trust Fund will go “broke” in early 2015.")
Transportation Issues Daily

How CicLAvia Engaged Angelenos In The Space And Place Of L.A.
KCET

LA City Councilman Wants Access For LAPD To Traffic Cameras Following Boston Marathon Bombings ("Councilman Mitchell Englander introduced a motion Wednesday, asking police and transportation officials to look into how compatible the current systems are and how they may be integrated.")
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

LA Designer Transforms Sequined Art Into Billboard Bling ("People who have visited SFO’s BART station or the Raleigh Convention Center are familiar with the “shimmer wall” art installation — a technique created by Ned Kahn that uses a huge grid of small, dangling squares of reflective metal to create a display that ripples with the gentlest breeze.")
Wired

LA Metro Board Ditches $3 Monthly Fee For Freeway Toll Lane Transponders
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

LA Metro Considers Leimert Park Train Station As Part Of Light Rail Project
KPCC Southern California Public Radio

LA Metro To Hold Industry Forum For Sepulveda Pass Corridor ("On May 1, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will hold an industry forum to present initial concepts for several multimodal P3 projects that are being considered for the Sepulveda Pass Corridor in Los Angeles County. The forum will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Ticket Room at Los Angeles Union Station. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Art Leahy, Metro's CEO, are expected to address the forum attendees.")
Lexology

Mapping The Subtle Science Of Parking Demand
The Atlantic: Cities

The Next Mayor Of Los Angeles' To-Do List Drawn From A Sampling Of TPR Readers And Civic Leaders
Planning Report

NJ Transit, Looking Ahead, Starts Ticketing By Smartphones
New Jersey Newsroom

Nobody Walks In L.A.: The Rise Of Cars And The Monorails That Never Were ("How did Los Angeles become so automobile-centric? How did Angeleno culture evolve (or is it devolve?) to the point where not having a car is seen as such a strange thing?")
Smithsonian Paleofuture Blog

Obama To Nominate Anthony Foxx As Transportation Secretary
Reuters
Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Expected To Be Nominated For Cabinet
Los Angeles Times
Obama To Nominate Charlotte Mayor To Transportation Post
New York Times
Meet Your Next Transportation Secretary, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx
Slate

Opinion: Port Railyard Project Needs Better Protections (by Janice Hahn and Alan Lowenthal)
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Rising Star Anthony Foxx Gets Nod To Replace Ray LaHood
Politico

Southern California's Traffic Is Jammed By An Excess Of Freedom
Los Angeles Daily News

Subway Car Configurations: A Matter Of Taste?
Human Transit

TIGER's Love Affair With Freight -- And Bikes
StreetsBlog DC
Lessons Learned From The TIGER Discretionary Grant Program (32p. PDF)
Eno Center For Transportation

Transportation Construction Responsible For Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars In U.S. Economy, Report Says
AASHTO Journal
The 2012 U.S. Transportation Construction Industry Profile (99p. PDF)
Transportation Development Foundation / American Road & Transportation Builders Association

What If We Never Run Out Of Oil
The Atlantic

What Kind Of Transportation Secretary Will Anthony Foxx Be?
StreetsBlog DC

Why Los Angeles Could Become The Next Technology Epicenter ("Extend the Expo Line to Santa Monica, bridging the disparate tech communities around the county — such as Venice, Culver City, Hollywood and other areas — to ease collaboration and uniformity.")
The Next Web

Work On Full Buildout Of Cornfield Park Could Start In January
Curbed LA
Los Angeles State Historic Park To Close For A Year
Los Angeles Downtown News


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.