Today's Headlines - more at Metro

8/20/2010

Metro Art For Kids, 30/15 Or 20, Private Buses, Transit Coalition & More


The Art Of Riding The Rails: Great Train Movies + Art And The LA Metro System
("The thriving public art program is testimony to the creativity of Angelenos, both past and present.")
Kids Off The Couch Los Angeles

Bicycle City (Interview with Bicycle City co-founder Joe Mellett who envisions car-free towns as a showcase for wind and solar energy as well as architects who specialize in green and LEED-certified problems.)
Architizer

Car-Free Community Cropping Up In Rural Columbia [S.C.] Suburb
Charleston City Paper

Central Coast Railroad Festival: October 7-11 ("Second Annual Festival to focus on modeling, history and rail excursions...throughout San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara Counties.")
Rail Passenger Association Of California & Nevada
Central Coast Railroad Festival Website

Chicago's Parking Fiasco Fails To Stem Calls For Privatization Of Infrastructure
Transport Politic

City Working To Make Car-Sharing More Popular ("City planners describe car sharing as a sort of library service for cars. Drivers who pay an annual fee to join a car-share organization can reserve cars, by the hour or by the day, and pick them up at hundreds of spots around the city. The hourly rates include gas and insurance and, in some cases, mileage charges. We estimate our average member can save some $600 a month over the cost of owning a car in the city.")
San Francisco Chronicle

How About 30/15? Maybe 30/20? ("Why does a simple bonding plan require federal involvement? And why is it such a big deal? After a phone call or two, the picture is coming into shape.")
Legal Planet

LA Council Votes To Solicit Bids For Parking Garage Leases
Southern California Public Radio

Metro's Art Leahy Holds Court With The Transit Coalition
SoapBox LA

The Party Of Roads?
("Transportation has become a gubernatorial issue even in states where modal antagonism is not in play.")
Transportation Nation

Paved And Confused: What Krugman, Maddow, And The Press Corps Don't Understand About Gravel Roads
Slate

Photos: Designing L.A. With Toys & Other Abstract Objects At Last Night's Car-Free Party
LAist

A Private Bus Service Picks Up Slack From [New York] MTA Cuts, But With Questions
WNYC

Private Buses
Think Progress

Question, Answer: Parking On Street Sweeping Days?
LAist

What LA Knew 95 Years Ago That We Should Know Today
CityWatch

8/19/2010

Red Line & Purple Line Walk/Transit Scores, Seatless Subways, L.A. One-Way Streets, Rail Technology Center, Vegas Monorail & More

Architectural Exhibit Reimagines Public Transportation In LA
Southern California Public Radio

As America Grows Fatter, It Burns More Gas
Wired

At FRA's TTC In Pueblo, Colorado, Testing Trains, Track, And All Things Rail (An insider's look at the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center)
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Beyond City Limits: The Age Of Nations Is Over, The New Urban Age Has Begun (The rise of megacities and innovation hubs is leading to a balance shift that will make cities, not nations, the most powerful drivers in the world economy: "[J]ust 100 cities account for 30 percent of the world's economy, and almost all its innovation...These cities are the engines of globalization, and their enduring vibrancy lies in money, knowledge, and stability.")
Foreign Policy
Photo Essay

Can Bike Sharing Work In Cities With Monofunctional Job Centers?
Transport Politic

Can Conservatives Ride "No Train" To Victory?
Huffington Post

Checking In On The Seatless Subway
Gothamist

Cyclists Ask For Progress, Not Promises
Blog Downtown

Finding New Ways To Fill The Tank (research into gasoline substitutes)
New York Times via Gainesville Sun

How To Raise Fares
Planetizen

Is I-5 Expansion An Environmental Disaster? (audio)
KPBS
Urban Area Transit Strategy
SANDAG

It's Time To Try The One-Way Street Plan
Huffington Post

L.A. Must Lease 9 Parking Garages To Private Operators Or Sack Up To 1,000 Employees
LAist

London's Do-It-Yourself Approach To Safer Streets (video)
StreetFilms

Mid-Year Meeting 2010 (Irvine, CA : Transportation Research Board Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee : September 21-22)
TRB ITS Committee

Monorail Proposes Plan To Cut $630 Million In Debt
Las Vegas Sun

Our View: Fast Train To Nowhere
Pasadena Star-News

Pay Records Online: Transit Chief Makes $376,000
Orange County Register
Transparency Transportation: OCTA Salaries And Benefits
OCTA

Plans Afoot For New Pier Bridge
Santa Monica Daily Press

Right-Wing Candidates Attack HSR
California High-Speed Rail Blog

The Seat Belts On The Bus Go Click, Click, Click ("The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed a requirement that seat belts be installed on all new motorcoaches. The requirement would not apply to school buses and may not apply to used buses. Greyhound estimates that 20% of their fleet will have seat belts by the end of this summer.")
Wired

Street Safety Projects Threatened As States Give Transpo $ Back To Feds
StreetsBlog DC

Walk Score And Transit Score For Red And Purple Lines
MetroRider LA

With Clipper Card Change, Some Communities Bemoan Lack Of Outreach
StreetsBlog SF

8/18/2010

SurveyLA, I-405 Community Meeting, Top 50 Transpo Blogs, Undrivers Licenses, New TSA Chief, Broad Museum OK'd & More

Brain Donors (U.S. DOT Equity Bonus Program)
New Republic
U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration
UCLA Be A Green Commuter!
LAist
Blog Downtown
GOOD
Smart Planet
Blog Downtown
Washington Post
Daily Breeze
Transportation For America
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Press Release
StreetsBlog DC

SurveyLA: What Is It And Why Does It Matter?
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Taking High-Speed Trains Into The Future
Miller-McCune

The Top 50 Blogs For Transportation Management Professionals (Metro Library's Los Angeles Transportation Headlines is recognized)
Masters In Public Administration
Transport Politic
Infrastructurist

WWID Or What Would Ike Do? (This column is told in the first person of the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, regarding how to repair America's roads, highways and their funding)
PBS Blueprint America

8/17/2010

Walk Score's Transit Score, Bus Seat Belts, Research Roundup, Vintage Subway Posters, LEED Dangers, High-Speed Catenary Tram & More

AFL-CIO Pushes For Mass Transit Jobs In Los Angeles
Apollo Blog

Assessing The Cost Of High Speed Rail
California High Speed Rail Blog

City To Retrofit Buses With GPS Tracking
NYU News

Deadliest For Walkers: Male Drivers, Left Turns
New York Times

Defining A Transit Wireless Blueprint
Mass Transit

Demand For High-Speed Rail Funding Swells
Reuters

A Desert City That Didn't Fan Out: Nathan Mendelsohn, A Professor Turned Developer, Believed California City Would Become The State's Next Metropolis. Instead It's A Sleepy Outpost That Exists Largely In The Imagination
Los Angeles Times

A Field Guide To Transit Quarrels
Human Transit

Goodbye Land Transit? Say Hello To The New Flying Suntram (Denver's high-speed regional transportation system supported primarily by a catenary cable: a flying tram that carries cars and passengers high above the roads and bridges, at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour)
Infrastructurist
Suntram Video Via YouTube

Helmets Ready! Mayor Hosts First Bike Summit
StreetsBlog LA

LEED Building Standards Fail To Protect Human Health
Yale Environment 360

Living In A Walker's Paradise?
The City Fix

Los Angeles Unified Transportation Recognized For Achievements In CNG
School Transportation News

NHTSA Working To Improve Motorcoach Safety With Lap-Shoulder Belt Requirement
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

OCTA Moves Forward With Long-Term Traffic Relief Plan In Central County: Agency Will Seek Funding To Begin Improvements to Freeways, Streets, Transit In The Area Over The Next 25 Years
OC Metro

Outgunned And Outnumbered, California High-Speed Rail Opponents Have Numerous Options To Fight Back
Mass Transit

Rail Safety: Making The Railroad Mantra "Safety First" More Than Words In A Manual
Progressive Railroading

Railroads' Guarded Secret: Not Even HAZMAT Teams Are Told What's On Train
Press Connects

Research Roundup: Transit Benefits & Costs, Highway Funding, Bus & Rail Transit, Security & Procurements
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

San Gabriel Selling Old Street Signs Steeped In History
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Smarter Cities: Crowdsourcing Ideas For Urban Innovation
Big Think
Smarter Cities

TRB Webinar: Toward Zero Deaths ("TRB is conducting a webinar or “web seminar” on August 25-26, 2010, of a stakeholder workshop that will gather input for developing and implementing a national strategic highway safety plan. Registration is free; however, participants must register in advance of the workshop.")
U.S. Transportation Research Board
Registration

Vintage Tokyo Subway Manner Posters (Must-see posters reminding subway riders of proper behavior)
Pink Tentacle

Walk Score Expands Into Transit Score; Housing Plus Transportation Costs
Transportation For America
TransitScore

Well, Where SHOULD We Develop In LA?
CityWatch

White House Under Fire For Unspent Infrastructure Cash
Wall Street Journal

8/16/2010

NYT On 405 Gridlock, Red Cars Coming To Anaheim, Maglev & Vegas, Commuting Health Poll, Highway Trust Fund, Cost Of Free Parking & More

Bar Cars Keep Chugging
Wall Street Journal

Billions Earmarked For Bay Area Transportation Projects ("Desperate for work, construction companies are entering bids at 30 to 40 percent under projected cost. While that has saved state and local agencies about $4 billion since 2006, it is only part of the story. Stimulus funds that must be allocated by the end of September have propelled work. Since 2006, voters have approved two bonds totaling $30 billion for road and transit upgrades that must be under way by 2012. And bridge tolls have been raised four times in the past 10 years.")
San Jose Mercury News

Carnegie Mellon Tries Crowdsourcing To Develop Optimal Electric Car Formula
Campus Technology

Collaborative Democracy: Beth Noveck On Reengineering Civic Life
("The way we are bringing about change is by opening the doors and data of government - by making unprecedented openness the default.")
WorldChanging

Councilman Plays Matchmaker For The Southwest Museum
("Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents Mount Washington, said he's been working to find a match and has approached Occidental College in Eagle Rock about their interest in running Los Angeles' first museum.")
Eastsider LA

Councilmember Wants City To Study Cyclist-Friendly Staircases
LAist

Crowdsourcing Architecture Criticism
Metropolis

CSULB Students Will Get A Free Ride On Long Beach Buses
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Debt Woes Sap Europe's Big Dream Investments
Associated Press

Driverless Cars Just Around The Corner
Kansas City Star

Evaluating Public Transit Benefits And Costs: Best Practices Guidebook (120p. PDF)
Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Free Parking Comes At A Price
New York Times

The Highway Trust Fund: Big Wheel, Keep On Turning
Transportation Nation

Improvement Project Continues On 110 Freeway
Pasadena Star-News

LA Hopes To Blow Up Postwar Zoning Codes: Planning Commission Undertaking First Top-To-Bottom Revision In Six Decades, Streamlining And Speeding Up Land-Use
Architect's Newspaper

Mapping Transit Frequency Online
Trillium Transit

Mayor Using "Google Moderator" To Reach Out Before Summit
StreetsBlog LA

Myths Destroying Los Angeles
CityWatch

New Stress Added To The Heart Of Los Angeles Gridlock
("The intersection of Interstate 405 and Sunset Boulevard, cutting through a prosperous stretch of rolling Los Angeles hills and estates, is notorious for its knots of traffic and frustrating delays. Traffic is so bad that it is hard to figure out how it could get any worse.")
New York Times

Opinion: Maglev Technology Makes Sense For Las Vegas-L.A. Train
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Overselling The Benefits Of High-Speed Rail
Transport Politic

Quality Public Transportation = Quality Of Life, APTA Report Says
Progressive Railroading

Questions Bedevil Proposed California High-Speed Rail System
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Red Car Trolley To Ply Disney California Adventure Streets In 2012 ("Reminiscent of the Pacific Electric Railway that ran throughout Southern California in the 1920s when Walt Disney first arrived in Los Angeles, the Red Car Trolley will feature a butterfly grill evocative of the original and seating for 20 passengers amid a green-and-cream interior.")
Los Angeles Times

Social Bicycles Bike Sharing System Powered By Iphone App To Hit NYC This Fall
Engadget

Slow Progress On Some Big Stimulus Projects
Wall Street Journal

Streets Are For People!: Park(ing) Day LA
CityWatch

Thousands Rally For Jobs And Public Transit In L.A.
Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard Blog

Top 10 Reasons People Avoid Public Transit
Plus Metro

Voinvich [sic] Clarifies Gas Tax Hike Should Help Transportation Funding
The Hill

Wellbeing Lower Among Workers With Long Commutes
(poll)
Gallup

Where Are O.C.'s Busiest Intersections?
Orange County Register

Who Will Pay For California's High-Speed Rail System?
San Jose Mercury News

8/13/2010

Green Line Turns 15, Gold Line Walkability, ELA & 710, Pershing Square Garage, Driverless Cars & More

10 Web Apps To Help You With Your Transit Needs
AltTransport

American Cities Get Smart About Energy (22 U.S. cities have been named "2010 Smarter Cities" for their investment in green power, energy efficiency measures and conservation. Seven of them are in California)
Natural Resources Defense Council Smarter Cities

Amtrak Chugs Toward Record-Breaking Year
WVNS

Broadway Streetcar Opening Pushed Back: A 2014 Planned Start Will Be Reassessed As Group Focuses On Convincing Stakeholders To Help Pay For Project
Los Angeles Downtown News

Budget Impasse May Hurt Transportation Projects
San Francisco Chronicle

Calif. Bill Would Air Rail Bidders' Holocaust Role
Associated Press

Code For America
Urban Omnibus

Cycling In The City: New Momentum, But Challenges Remain
Blog Downtown

Cyclists v Drivers? They're Often The Same People: Research Suggests A Boom In Cycling Among Affluent "Mid-Life Crisis" Men And Car Owners
Guardian (UK)

Driverless Cars Hit The Road
(video : Cars that drive and park themselves are being test-driven through at least six countries)
Reuters

East LA Residents Organize Against 710 Expansion & Evictions
Uprising Radio

The Flying Car Lifts Off
Brand X Daily

The Gold Line's Walk Score
Straight Outta Suburbia

Government By The People: The Importance Of Public Engagement
The City Fix

Happy 15th Birthday, Green Line!
MetroRider LA

High Speed Rail As Economic Recovery
California High Speed Rail Blog

Higher Peak-Time Tolls Mean Less Delays
KALW

Metro's Erasable Line: Calculating Employee Ridership Equals PR Debacle
LAist

NTSB Urges Tighter Controls On Distracted Boating
USA Today

NY's New Deputy Mayor Likes BRT And Congestion Charging, But Does He Like Bike Lanes?
Transportation Nation

Pershing Square Garage Vote Delayed: Critics Say Privatization Plan Could Hike Rates At Downtown Parking Facility
Los Angeles Downtown News

Riverside Officials Press For March Area Bullet Train Stop
Riverside Press-Enterprise

San Francisco's Breaks Ground On Green Transbay Transit Center (includes several renderings of stunning new terminal which features rainwater and greywater catchement systems, wind turbines, geothermal power supply and a massive rooftop park)
Inhabitat

Subway Postponed As MTA Looks Further Into Environmental Affects, Alternative Routes
(p. 4-5 of 20p. PDF)
Beverly Hills Weekly

8/12/2010

Demand-Based "Smart Parking," OCTA Twitter Star, HSR Breaks Ground, Pasadena Rail Meeting & More

$2.8M Earmarked For LCF Sound Walls: Measure R Funds Will Be Used To Design Multiple Segments Along 210 Freeway
La Canada Valley Sun

Bus And Rail Transit Preferential Treatments In Mixed Traffic
(212p. PDF)
U.S. Transit Cooperative Research Program

California Drive-Thru Ban And The "Health In All Policies" Approach
The City Fix

California Sees Income Decline For First Time Since World War II
Huffington Post

Demand Based "Smart Parking": Watch How It Works
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

Driving Transportation Policy Through Technological Innovation
(7p. PDF)
(Register for free limited account)
Interactions

The First High Speed Rail Station Breaks Ground
(“CA got the most HSR funding because you all have your act together” -USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood)
California High Speed Rail Blog
Historic Groundbreaking Of First New High-Speed Rail Station In United Sates
Mass Transit

Foreign Firms See Profits In U.S. High-Speed Rail
Philadelphia Inquirer

Freight-Rail Capacity Expansion Bill Enters Senate
Progressive Railroading

Government 2.0: In Twitter World, OCTA Personality Followed By Nearly 27,000
(OCTA Public Communications Manager Ted Nguyen)
Public CEO

How Much Do You Spend On Transport? New Web App Aims To Show You
Grist
Abogo: Transportation Costs Made Transparent
Abogo

L.A. City Council Considers Plan To Partially Privatize Parking Garages; No One Likes Idea
LA Weekly

LA County Sidewalk Riding: Part 2
LADOT Bike Blog

Long Beach Gets Port-Themed Art While It Waits For Its Skyscraper
Curbed LA

Meeting On Proposed Rail Route Is Set For Thursday Night
Pasadena Star-News

Metro Says Many Of Its Higher-Ups Take Transit To Work
Curbed LA

My Message To The National Infrastructure Forum: Obama Administration Meets Transportation Challenges
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

Rail Freight Bounces In July
Journal Of Commerce

Seattle May Create Transportation Taxing District
Seattle Times

Settlement Terms Released In Train Derailment
Glendale News-Press

Transparent [D.C.] Metro Data Sets Developer Conference (16p. PDF)
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority