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.
Buses, bikes and businesses battle to be king of the road (SF Examiner)
As Metro move forward with its planning of the Wilshire Boulevard bus lanes, our Nor Cal neighbors in San Francisco are considering developing a similar network of their own. The SF Municipal Transportation Agency is seeking to add 250 miles of exclusive bus lanes on streets serving major transit corridors in the city. The lanes would substantially increase bus speed and reliability — MUNI buses only average 8 mph presently — and as little as 1 mph increase citywide would produce a savings of $76 million due to increased efficiency.
Expert says Sydney could learn from LA (Sydney Morning Herald)
Our colleague Andrew West in New South Wales has an interesting piece on the ways his city can learn a lot from, yes, Los Angeles when it comes to public transportation. Replete with Hollywood film references, this article quotes US Asst. Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg who talks up LA’s transportation future and offers it as a potential model for Sydney. As West notes, there are a number of geographic similarities between Los Angeles and Sydney, among them: they’re both sprawling metropolises, with multiple activity centers, originally built around a streetcar system.
What now for the West Hollywood Transit Corridor? (LA Streetsblog)
Writer Dan Wentzel, who normally makes his home at The Pink Line, takes a look at possibilities for Metro Rail in his West Hollywood neighborhood. When Metro selected its route for the Westside Subway Extension, it omitted the spur to West Hollywood on the grounds that the agency didn’t have the funding under Measure R. However, Metro did point out that light rail could be a good fit in WeHo in the future. With that in mind, Wentzel examines how a northern leg of the proposed Crenshaw Line could eventually connect up with the Hollywood & Highland Red Line Station via San Vicente Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. Fun fact: West Hollywood was one of just a handful of cities in Los Angeles County to support Measure R by over 80%.
Categories: Transportation Headlines, Transportation News
Thank you for the mention and the link to both websites. 🙂
LA Streetsblog is indispensable.
I’d like to recommend two other blogs that have meaty discussions about transit planning. Please check out Jarrett Walker’s blog “Human Transit” at http://www.humantransit.org
Also great is Yonah Freeman’s blog “The Transport Politic” at http://www.thetransportpolitic.com