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 Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.
The new Ocean Boulevard “Green Street” in Santa Monica between Neilson Way and Lincoln Boulevard. Sidewalks were widened, bike lanes painted, trees were planted, among other things. Click above to see a fact sheet on the project. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.
Monrovia officials to weigh settling lawsuit over TOD at future Gold Line station (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
The lawsuit was brought by a developer who alleged the city of Monrovia and its former redevelopment agency for violating a development agreement to build new residences and retail on 80 acres of land near the station. The city is weighing giving two acres plus about $600,000 to the developer, clearing the way for about 200 apartments to be built.
What would ideal CEQA reform look like (California High-Speed Rail blog)
Smart post about efforts to change California environmental law — which many see as getting in the way of good projects that could ultimately help the environment. While long studies and lawsuits play out, financial backers of projects have to absorb the large cost of sitting and waiting. Making changes will be tough. Many environmental advocates fear changing the law will lead to abuses while others say that something must be done to make it easier to build in cities.
Car fasting for Lent? (Copenhagenize.com)
Some members of the Catholic and Protestant clergy in Austria are urging following to give up or significantly reduce their car usage during the upcoming Lent. It’s part of a push to improve public health and increase park land and, yes, it means walking to church.
Categories: Transportation Headlines
Good post to read! Note, however, that the photo caption is incorrect. The street pictured is Ocean *Park* Boulevard, not Ocean Boulevard. 🙂
@LAX Frequent Flyer: Good points, but I’d encourage targeted density in Santa Monica, specifically around the future Expo Line stations. Otherwise, we’d just be encouraging more car trips in an area where residents and workers are already addicted to their cars.
Hey Alex —
Thanks for catching that. I’ll fix. I only lived two blocks from that street for 7.5 years!
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Getting rid of height restrictions, zoning laws, minimum parking space requirements, and building high rise condos and apartments faster to bring real estate prices down are much more important to improve the quality of life in this city for denser living.
A strong middle class is important to keep this city going. How can the middle class be strong if they cannot even afford homes in this city?
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/10/the_average_la_worker_still_cant_actually_afford_to_live_in_la.php
— Average rents are $1,797 per month, but the average household can only afford $1,325.
— Median income earners in LA County can afford a house worth $200,000, but the median housing price is something like $300,000.
— There’s a shortage of new housing being built–the Southern California Association of Governments says the county needs 22,500 new units a year through 2021; only 13,100 units are being developed this year.
— “Only New York and San Francisco have lower levels of housing affordability than Los Angeles.”
— Middle income earners–people making between $42,400 and $63,600 per year–“fall into a housing ‘donut hole’ by earning too much to qualify for subsidized affordable housing, but too little to afford the high-end market-rate housing preferred by developers.”
Fix this one first.
For a GREAT book about urban/transit/etc issues from a Christian perspective check out “The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment.”
It includes a lot of good points about walking to church (and specifically, building churches that CAN BE WALKED TO in cities that can be walked in), and includes some great history on the Jewish perspective and history of not driving vs. driving on the Sabbath. A great read and great perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/Space-Between-The-Engagement-Environment/dp/0801039088/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360607187&sr=8-1&keywords=the+space+between+a+christian+engagement+with+the+built+environment