The big news on Thursday was the $2.25 billion federal grant to California to help build a planned $43-billion high-speed rail line between Anaheim and San Francisco. I thought this quote from State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (who represents the Long Beach area) in the L.A. Times hit the nail on the head:
“How are they going to go from $6 [billion] to $7 billion in funding to $42 billion?” Lowenthal asked. “How are they going to attract private investors? How do they expect to get $17 billion to $19 billion, as they have said, from the feds?”
Car-sharing has proven to be a hit in the city of Los Angeles, which has devoted 12 — that’s not a typo — parking spaces near UCLA and USC for the rental cars, according to Streetsblog Los Angeles. City officials said they would like to expand the program but are short of manpower to find other places to park the cars. One idea has surfaced: putting some at Metro station parking. Twelve spots in the entire 469-square-mile city? Really? The Source will need some time to digest this. Excellent post, Mr. Newton.
The City Fix says there are definitely benefits to linking cities by high-speed rail, but says that President Obama should have also considered providing more money to other modes of transportation — such as pedestrian enhancements and bus rapid transit that are needed to get people moving in cities. I think it’s worth pointing out that the same week that The Source reported that the feds declined to provide $77 million for preliminary engineering work on the subway and downtown connector, they provided California with $2.25 billion for a bullet train. I think that’s something worthy of discussion in someone’s public policy class today, Professor.
The rest of today’s transportation headlines, compiled by bullet train-like Metro library, are after the jump.
$4.5 Million To Fund Sound Wall Design
La Canada Valley Sun
Big Blue Bus Announces Next Phase Of Its Bus Stop Redevelopment Project Around City
Santa Monica Argonaut
A Bike-Ped State Of The Union: 9.6% Of Trips, 1.2% Of Federal Funding
DC StreetsBlog
Busway Extension Gets Boost From MTA: Local Funds Will Be Used To Keep The Orange Line Advancing
Los Angeles Daily News
The Cable-Car Test
Antiplanner
Californians Bucked Trend, Consuming Less Gas, Says Report
LAist
Car Sharing Program A Success, But Plans To Expand Are Tentative
LAist
Expo Timetable Stays On Track, But Faces Hurdle
Santa Monica Daily Press
Has Sprawl Recovered Enough For The National Economy? (new study shows that car-dependent communities have statistically higher rates of mortgage foreclosure than those with multiple transportation options)
New Republic
Full-Text Report: Reducing Foreclosures And Environmental Impacts Through Location-Efficient Neighborhood Design (4p. PDF)
High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: National Summary Of Selected Projects (map : recipients and funding)
U.S. Department of Transportation
Intelligent Transportation Systems: U.S. Not Leading The Pack
Government Technology
Issues Related To The 2010 Reauthorization: Testimony Before The Subcommittee On Aviation, Committee On Transportation And Infrastructure, House Of Representatives (25p. PDF)
National Transportation Safety Board
LADOT: Car Sharing A Hit At UCLA, USC. No Plans To Broaden The Program Or Encourage Competition To ZipCar
LA StreetsBlog
L.A. To Study Ways To Protect Bicyclists, Considers “Bill Of Rights”
Los Angeles Times
MTA Explores 710 Tunnel Financing: Decision Puts Opponents Of Proposed 710 Freeway Project At Unease
Glendale News Press
MTA, LADOT Contemplate Cutting Routes: Students Without Cars Could Soon Find Themselves With Even Fewer Options For Getting Around Los Angeles
USC Daily Trojan
Nevada Not Included On List For High-Speed Rail Projects (announcement could be beneficial for the DesertXpress plan to connect Las Vegas with Victorville)
Las Vegas Sun
New Report: Biking And Walking Could Save Lives (states with lowest levels of biking and walking have higher traffic fatalities and chronic disease)
The City Fix
Alliance For Biking & Walking Press Release
Fact Sheet (2p. PDF)
Full-Text Report (196p. PDF)
New Report Links Homeowners’ Auto Dependence With Foreclosure Risk
DC StreetsBlog
Obama To Biden: Talk To Me About High Speed Rail
LAist
RFID Enables Biking System
RFID News
State Lawmakers Take Aim At Free Parking (there is too much of it, they say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or bicycling – a Senate proposal would prompt cities and businesses to reduce its availability)
Los Angeles Times
State Of The Union: Billions Of Dollars For High-Speed Rail, But What About Other Modes Of Transport?
The City Fix
State Of The Union: Let’s Fix-It-First And Fix-It-For-All
EDF Way2Go Blog
Stimulus Money Will Spur Construction On California High-Speed Rail Project, Officials Say
Los Angeles Times
Thinking Through The Right Transportation In The Right Place At The Right Time
Planetizen
Categories: Transportation News