Transportation headlines, Thursday, Feb. 4

The Los Angeles Times’ editorial page opines that the Expo Line Construction Authority’s board of directors should certify the environmental report for the Culver City-to-Santa Monica segment of the line. The board meets this afternoon in downtown L.A. Excerpt:

The agency is building sound walls to reduce noise, grade separations to lessen traffic delays, and parking facilities. That’s not enough for residents, who are demanding unnecessary additional grade separations that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and make the project financially unfeasible. The board must politely turn them down.

Traffic congestion is among the most common complaints in West L.A., where residents can either stew on the freeway at rush hour or take the bus, which is usually far slower. With funding finally available to change that, there’s only one thing in the way of relief for Westsiders: themselves.

Backers of a mag-lev train that would run between Las Vegas and Anaheim say that they’ve agreed to a $7-billion loan from a Chinese bank, reports the Las Vegas Sun. But the project didn’t receive high-speed rail funds doled out by the federal government recently and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the mag-lev project didn’t even apply for money. Mag-lev backers deny that.

Quiz time! Pick three of the four following cities that boast a bike sharing program: Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis and Boston. If L.A. was one of your three, then you failed the test. Marketplace takes a look at the programs and says they’re increasingly popular in cities here and abroad. Here’s a recent post from LAist on L.A.’s efforts to develop a bike sharing pilot program.

The rest of today’s headlines from the Metro library — they’re free to share with anyone — are parked after the jump.

Alameda Corridor Debt Is Downgraded
Los Angeles Times

All Aboard Expo To The Westside
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 3rd District

Angeles Crest Highway To Remain Closed Through Late March
Los Angeles Times

Are You Following News And Announcements On Twitter?
Metro Transportation Library Twitter

Backers Of Maglev Train Say Chinese Bank Prepared To Fund Project
Las Vegas Sun

Cities Take A Spin With Bike Sharing
American Public Media Marketplace

A Conservative Makes The Case For Mass Transit (But Not High Speed Rail)
Infrastructurist

Editorial: Westside Residents Need, And Yet Oppose, Traffic Relief: An Extension Of The Expo Light-Rail Line Should Be Approved
Los Angeles Times

El Monte Transit Village Project Loses Another Federal Grant
Pasadena Star-News

Expect Plenty Of Debate Before [Today’s] Vote On The Expo Line FEIR
LA StreetsBlog

Expo Construction Authority To Vote On Westside Light Rail EIR For Phase Two
Argonaut

Groups Prepare To Fight Over Train To Santa Monica
LAist

Haste Makes Waste: Cutting Speed Boosts Drivers’ Life Expectancy – Study
MSN

Los Angeles Might Expand Red-Light Camera Program
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Might Expand Use Of Zipcars: The Pilot Car-Sharing Program, Primarily In Use At UCLA And USC, Is Deemed Enough Of A Success That The City Wants To Take It Further
Los Angeles Times

New Public Transit Options Open Up For Campus
UCLA Today

The Obama Urban Vision: Can It Come To Pass?
Citiwire

Categories: Transportation News