Transportation headlines, Tuesday, Dec. 1

by Fred Camino , December 1, 2009

First thing that caught my eye today is this post from Streetsblog LA that features a video that’s been making the rounds in transit circles. It shows the growth of rail transit in the last 30 years for six cities – Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. L.A. gets off to a slow start (the Blue Line wasn’t opened until 1990) but then grows rapidly, and we’re now tied for first with Portland in terms of the number of rail lines built.

As national high speed rail turns from utter fantasy to kinda reality now that $8 billion in stimulus money is on the table, the lobbyists in Washington are swooping in and this has some rail experts worried, according to POLITICO.com. The worry is that powerful special interests will dilute the vision and money will be spread around too thinly. Given the past and what’s a stake, I think this is a valid concern. We need a comprehensive high speed rail system in this country, but the last thing we need to do is waste money on it, and every dollar should be well spent. One can dream.

Despite massive service cuts, the Orange Country Transit Authority (OCTA) has introduced something rather cool for its customers: text message bus arrival times. Customers simply text the bus route number and bus stop to “OCTAGO” and receive a message with the arrival times of the next three buses. In addition to being convenient for customers, it can also potentially save OCTA money by reducing overhead at their customer service center.

The rest of the headlines, compiled by the Metro Library, after the jump.

Alameda Corridor Could Tap Ports For Cash As Early As 2011
Cunningham Report

Better Bikeways: Getting Rolling With Improved Signage
GOOD

Build It Right Or Don’t Build It
CityWatch

Calif.’s OCTA Launches Text Messaging
Metro Magazine

Driven With Distraction (DOT Secretary LaHood on texting while driving)
Washington Post

Engineers Who Hacked Into L.A. Traffic Signal Computer, Jamming Streets, Sentenced
Los Angeles Times

Entering The Superproject Void
New York Times

The Fight To Make North Figueroa Bike Friendly
Flying Pigeon

Gold Line Lake Station In Pasadena Adds Watchtower, Remains Deafening
Curbed LA

If You Don’t Have Safe Streets, All The Light Rail Lines In The World Aren’t Going To Save Your City
National Resources Defense Council

LA City Bike Plan: Only 28 Miles Of New Bike Lane
C.I.C.L.E.

LaHood To Congress: It’s Time To Talk About A Gas Tax Increase
LA StreetsBlog