Transportation headlines, Monday, Feb. 8

by Steve Hymon , February 8, 2010

The L.A. Times’ Steve Lopez drives a deputy mayor’s Hummer to work — the deputy mayor takes the subway and beats Lopez in a race to City Hall. The race isn’t the highlight of the column. Rather it’s Lopez once again calling for more programs that would discourage people from driving as much, including raising the gas tax and charging people more to drive at rush hour. Lopez remains skeptical that the region can build its way out of its traffic mess by constructing more rail lines.

Remember the $8 billion the Obama administration recently handed to 13 high-speed rail projects around the country, including the Anaheim-to-San Francisco proposed line in California? ABC News notes that the $8 billion isn’t enough to finish any of the lines and that it’s unclear who pays the rest of the $60 billion to $100 billion that the 13 projects will actually cost.

New Geography takes a look at a trend discovered by the New York Times last summer: less than half of federal transportation stimulus funding is going to the largest 100 metro areas in the United States. Instead, state lawmakers have funneled that money largely to rural areas for projects that in some cases seem to have dubious economic merit. Hmmm.

The rest of today’s transportation headlines, compiled by the Metro library, are waiting for your perusal after the jump.

710 Freeway Talk Ramps Up: Najarian Says Opponents Need To Speak Up, Or Connector Might Finally Happen
Glendale Press News

Amtrak Plans $11 Billion Of Train Equipment Purchases
Business Week

Beyond The Motor City: High Speed Rail America
PBS Blueprint America

Bike Boulevards: The SLO Solution
LA StreetsBlog

Bikes On Board: The Latest Research On Bicycle/Transit Integration
The City Fix

Cal High-Speed Rail Agency Looking To Korea For Planning Advice
San Francisco Examiner

City Official Gives Up His Hummer In A Race To City Hall: Jaime De La Vega Turns Over The Keys In A Challenge Between Freeways And Commuter Rail
Los Angeles Times

Commentary: High-Speed Rail: Make Use Of The Wait Time
Las Vegas Sun

Editorial: Traffic Fines As Cash Cow – It May Be A Good Way To Raise Revenue, But Planners Should Think Carefully Before Imposing Outrageous Fines For Relatively Minor Violations
Los Angeles Times

Expo Board Approves FEIR For Phase II: Off To Construction Or Off To Court?
LA StreetsBlog

Finding A Parking Space Could Soon Get Easier: Networking Sensors Attached To Taxis Could Ease The Hunt For Street Parking
MIT Technology Review