Transportation headlines, Tuesday, Feb. 9

by Steve Hymon , February 9, 2010

A somewhat belated headlines roundup this morning. Thank you for your patience….

Researchers for years have been trying to link suburban sprawl to obesity–the idea being that the more car dependent a community, the less chance that people will walk and exercise there. Curbed LA posts about a new study that shows that it’s not just sprawl that may discourage exercise. Traffic, and lots of it, is also seen as a big deterrent to moving around under your own power.

Few transportation funding experts like gas taxes. They never seem to budge, they’re different in many states and revenues will keep dropping as vehicles become more efficient and need less fuel. The Washington Post looks at the concept that would tax motorists based on the number of miles they drive. Many lawmakers and others believe the gas tax is unsustainable, but implementing a new one has its challenges — among them, privacy and billing concerns. One key question: Should the dude driving the Hummer pay the same mileage rate as the dude driving the Prius?

The White House in its fiscal year 2011 budget proposed creating a national infrastructure bank. The bank would lend money to big projects that need a shot of cash, including transportation projects. It sounds good, but the Infrastructurist wonders how some type of infrastructure would be able to repay loans and whether politicians are ready to abdicate their role in deciding who-gets-what in terms of funding. Good questions, I think.

The rest of today’s headlines, from the Metro library, reside after the jump.

3rd & Final Map Of L.A.’s Bicycle Backbone Map Released: South L.A./Harbor Gateway
LAist

Building A Farm Where A Freeway Used To Be (a defunct onramp’s transition from “freeway to food forest”)
SF StreetsBlog

Bruins For Traffic Relief Launch Party
Be A Green Commuter

City Hall To Pay For Integrating Expo
Santa Monica Daily Press

Creating “A Better Tomorrow” In America With Sustainable Transportation
The City Fix

Effort Underway To Suspend California’s Global-Warming Law: Conservatives Propose An Initiative That Would Delay Curbs On Greenhouse Gas Emissions Until The State’s Unemployment Rate Drops To 5.5%, A Level Not Seen Since 2007
Los Angeles Times

The End Of the Road For Cul-De-Sacs?
DC StreetsBlog

EXPOsing The Westside To Mass Transit – Finally!
CityWatch

Federal Smart Growth (coordinating the work of HUD, DOT, and EPA)
Lincoln Institute Of Land Policy

HSR Lessons From China
California High Speed Rail Blog

Muni Joins Twitter For Real This Time, But Won’t Offer Service Alerts
San Francisco Appeal

Opinion: Transit Bills Fight Climate Change (OR Rep. Earl Blumenauer)
Politico

Racking Up Miles? Maybe Not (Vehicle-miles-traveled tax is looking increasingly like the future of transportation financing, so how could such a new system work?)
Washington Post

RSVP For Metro’s First Bicycle Rountable On 2/19
Green LA Girl