Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog.

High Speed Rail Conference: Station Motivation (LA Streetsblog)

Streetsblog attended the California High Speed Rail TOD Marketplace, an event put on by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The event focused on plans for grand stations along the planned line including the San Diego station which would connect high speed rail to the airport. Closer to home, Anaheim’s planned ARTIC station features a soaring modern design.

My Car, My Crutch (PlanningPool)

This article is an interesting muse on the freedoms and bindings of the personal automobile. On one hand there are the vast options of mobility the car provides. On the other, there’s the idea that by relying on a vehicle for mobility, one is cordoned off from the outside world and their senses dulled because of it.

The perils of average density (Human Transit)

Human Transit tackles another confusing issue when it comes to transit planning: average density. One of the so-called geometries of transit is that effective transit requires high density. But how do we define density? The blog notes that it’s not as clear cut as it seems and then goes on to describe the density that is essential for good transit, namely that the most important number is the density around transit stations. But numbers don’t tell the whole story – planners must also consider the nature of the density around transit stations, is it auto-oriented or transit-oriented?

Subway Critics Attacks Based on Faulty Logic (LA Streetsblog)

Streetsblog rebuts some of the recent criticism of the Westside Subway Extension from local news media. A good point is brought up: New York City has one of the most extensive subway systems in the world and yet its streets are still packed with gridlock – does that mean the subway is a rip-off? Common sense can answer that one.