Here’s a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog. Don’t forget you can also follow the Metro Library on Facebook and Twitter.
Putting L.A. transit in the fast lane (Los Angeles Business Journal)
In an opinion piece, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas — who is also on the Board of Directors of Metro — ticks off the reasons that the 30/10 initiative proposed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is worth supporting. One of them, writes Ridley-Thomas, is the enormous amount of money that can be saved by building projects now instead of waiting 20 years when construction prices will likely be higher. Ridley-Thomas also writes that 30/10 must have “regional equity” across the county, from “Malibu and the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley, from the South Bay and South Los Angeles to the Antelope and San Fernando valleys.” Villaraigosa’s original draft of the plan focused on 12 transit projects. To reach all those areas, highway projects would need to be included.
Let’s make 30/10 work for all the county (The Signal)
Another opinion piece on 30/10, this one from Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who is also on the agency’s Board of Directors. “While it sounds great on paper, 30/10 is inherently flawed and neglects large regions of the county,” writes Antonovich, saying that 30/10 needs to include highway projects to provide something for residents paying the Measure R sales tax who live in the San Gabriel, Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, as well as the Glendale and Burbank areas. Other concerns for Antonovich is the allocation of funds to different projects listed in the 30/10 plan and what would happen if one was to go over budget, as well as how Metro would pay for operating all the different transit projects should they get built. “Prior to endorsing the 30/10 plan these issues must be vetted at the MTA, and I look forward to working with the board of directors to ensure the plan is regional, balanced, equitable and supported by the entire county,” Antonovich writes.
With expanded cell phone service on subway, cell phone thefts rise (New York Times)
I’m not sure what to make of this story. The gist of it is that as more people take phones out of their pockets, purses, etc., the more visible they are and more are being stolen. One passenger in Boston shrugged it off, saying that phones are relatively cheap these days and if his gets snatched, he’ll turn off his service and buy a new phone. Metro is in the early stages of exploring how best to wire the Red and Purple lines here for cell phone service.
Categories: Transportation Headlines, Transportation News