Art of Transit:
California ballot will include gas tax repeal in November (LAT)
This will be a big ticket item on the November ballot in California with voters being asked to keep or repeal the gas tax and vehicle free increases approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017.
Proponents of Opponents of the repeal say the money is needed for a backlog of road repairs and to help fund transit and other mobility improvements. Opponents say the state has mismanaged transportation funds that it already has.
The state recently announced $1.8 billion in funding for Metro road and transit projects from SB -1.
Why little vehicles will conquer the city (CityLab)
This graph is good:
Call them Little Vehicles—not just bikes and scooters, but e-bikes, velomobiles, motorized skateboards, unicycles, “hoverboards,” and other small, battery-powered low-speed not-a-cars. Nearly all of them look silly, but if cities take them seriously, they could be a really, really big deal. Little Vehicles could significantly erode private car and ride-hail use, and play a key role in helping cities achieve their as of now unattainable environmental and road safety goals.
Short car trips may be short, but cumulatively they put a lot of vehicles on the road. The big question, of course, is where do the little vehicles go? Sidewalk or street?
Uber autonomous-SUV driver streamed ‘The Voice’ just before deadly Arizona crash, report says (LAT)
Police say the crash could have been avoided if the driver was not distracted and are considering vehicular manslaughter charges against the back-up driver. The driver was there in case the technology failed — which it did by failing to detect a person crossing the road.
Driving? Your Phone Is A Distraction Even If You Aren’t Looking At It (Five Thirty Eight)
The antics I’m seeing on local roadways are horrifying. Some are obviously due to distracted driving, others just brazen lawbreaking.
True story! I was driving to my Gold Line station the other day when someone pulled to my right on Cordova Street in Pasadena and used the bike lane/parking lane to pass me. The driver then proceeded to blatantly run the next red light. Shortly after that, a driver entered the intersection on a green light and promptly did an illegal u-turn in the middle of said intersection.
Bottom line: no one seems too worried about getting a traffic ticket as far as I can tell.
Proposed 77-story tower would be L.A.’s tallest building (Urbanize LA)
The location on Figueroa next to the 110 freeway is a bit awkward rail-wise, but not an impossible walk, bike ride or bus trip to Pershing Square, 7th/Metro or the future light rail station at 2nd and Hope being built as part of the Regional Connector project.
Exploring The Promise — And Unintended Consequences — of Rent Control (KPCC)
Good article about the upcoming statewide ballot measure on rent control. I’m including it here because housing and transit are related issues. The Metro Board of Directors on Thursday is considering the Metro Transit Oriented Communities Policy, which would allow local return funds to be used for things such as affordable housing.
Some other interestingness from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ByRosenberg/status/1009844383200391168
If you were to remake the Golden State, where would you draw the lines? https://t.co/U9iPcS0dKp
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) June 22, 2018
Finally…below is my favorite moment of many fun moments at Arroyo Seco Weekend…the Gold Line wasn’t exactly jam-packed with festival-goers (the Rose Bowl is two miles from the train) but more than a few of us made the pilgrimage from Memorial Park Station to the free shuttle at Parsons, which efficiently deposited us at the Rose Bowl-adjacent festival grounds.
I was also pleased to see many people at the festival that had not traveled as many times around the sun as I. Good to see the kiddies are interested in the Days of Yore when, musically speaking, everything was better than the present (my view; Metro hasn’t taken a official stance yet on whose music is better).
Things to listen to whilst transiting: Plant’s “Carry Fire” album from 2017. Easy to find on your streaming service. Very excellent!
Categories: Transportation Headlines
What is ‘Plan B” if the gas tax and vehicle license fee increases are repealed?
Plan B is Time/Waiting. All the projects that could be accelerated with the tax now will have to wait for Measure R and M money to accumulate. Pretty sure federal funds are not coming anytime soon, especially with the current lot of leaders. . . .
Is it the official position of Metro that cyclists cannot use the bus/bike lanes on Sunset?