Transportation headlines, Thursday, October 20

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.

City seeks federal money to extend L.A. River bike path (KCET)

There’s presently a seven mile gap in the L.A. River bike path as the river travels through downtown Los Angeles. Good news: the L.A. Department of Transportation is seeking a $5 million grant from the feds to bridge that gap with on-street bikeways, as well as build five miles of river path in the San Fernando Valley and 20 miles of lanes to connect neighborhoods to the path. In total the project is expected to cost $18 million. DOT will ask the L.A. City Council to match a federal grant with some of the city’s Measure R local return dollars that are dedicated to bike and pedestrian programs.

L.A. area home to dozens of deficient bridges, report finds (L.A. Times)

Advocates are ramping up their calls for greater investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure, trying to get the ear of a Congress that has kicked the transpo can down the road for the last two years. What better way to do that than by pointing out urgent structural concerns facing bridges all across the country? Here’s the key quote with respect to L.A. County: “Using a 2010 federal database, the group’s analysis also found that of the nation’s 69,223 bridges classified as structurally deficient…Los Angeles County is home to 91 of the 99 busiest.”

Five ways market research paints bright future for public transit (DC Streetsblog)

Writer Carolyn Szczepanski highlights five cultural, political or demographic forces that suggest transit will continue grow in importance in the American transportation ecosystem. There are two that I find most interesting: One, America’s population continues to grow quite rapidly — somewhat unique among developed countries — and is expected to hit 400 million people by 2050. Two, Generation Y — those born between 1982 and 1994 — tend to be much more interested in living in walkable urban communities and less so about owning a big house in a car-oriented suburb.

1 reply

  1. I think adding the bike lanes on the river is a waste of money to me because why should we people keep paying tax money to give everything to bikers?

    As for the bridge on the 10 freeway, if it has to be repaired then repair it because it’s the busiest freeway in LA I ever seen.

    As for the article where it says “Five ways market research paints bright future for public transit from DC Streetsblog is just an “opinion” article not a fact, but IMO the population in USA needs to be reduced down a lot since there no need to have like over a million of people in this country.

    USA will always be a car land NOT a mass transit land, we are a free country which has been taken away from politicans that don’t care about rights.