Transportation Headlines, Wednesday, Oct. 28

by Fred Camino , October 28, 2009

Here are today’s transportation headlines, courtesy of the Metro library. There’s a few stories you should definitely check out.

Human Transit, a fantastic blog run by a real live transit planner, has a story on transit navigation and the different needs of spatial navigators (map lovers) and narrative navigators (turn-by-turn directions lovers). Did you know Metro is one of the few transit agencies that uses a frequent network map (the ’12-minute’ map) to meet the needs of spatial navigators?

The New York Times takes a look at Portland’s streetcar success which was the first streetcar project funded with the Federal government’s Small Starts program. Los Angeles is currently working to bring a streetcar system to Downtown.

The City of LA is currently working on a $450,000 bike plan to set guidelines for creating a cycling-friendly city. Enci, of the bike blog illuminateLA, has a list of reasons why everyone in L.A., not just cyclists, should care about the plan and get involved.

Here’s the full list of headlines:

AASHTO Report Highlights Smart Solutions: 50 Transportation Projects That Have Made America Better
AASHTO News
Link to full report (28p. PDF)

Bay Area Transit Consolidation Back On Table
San Francisco Chronicle

Boxer Honored For Transportation Leadership
AASHTO: The Voice Of Transportation

Bumpy Roads For Proposed LA Truck Expressway
Green And Save

Confessions Of A Spatial Navigator (Can Science Explain Why Some Transit System Maps Are So Much Better Than Others?)
Human Transit

Fight To Allow Weapons Aboard Amtrak Trains Could Derail Transportation Bill
The Hill

Funding A Desire Named Streetcar
New York Times

Gasoline Price Decline In California Slows
Los Angeles Times

Gold Line Eastside Extension Set To Open 11/15, But Is Metro Ready To Party?
LA Streetsblog

Lake Elsinore Has Southern California’s Longest Commute, Census Report Finds
Los Angeles Times

New Memorial Underway At El Pueblo
Los Angeles Downtown News