Recent News Downtown advocates urge transit over cars San Diego Union Tribune - November 15th, 2011 By Robert J. Hawkins When Kris Michell, president of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, articulates a vision for the urban center, it doesn't include a whole lot of automobiles. "Downtown should be all transit," Michell stated flatly during a forum on transit hosted by the San Diego Taxpayers Association on Tuesday. Link to article TTI Study: California roads top fuel-waste list The Wall Street Journal - November 15th, 2011 Californians are among the top fuel-wasting drivers in the nation, burning up more than 38 million gallons in the most congested roadways last year, according to a report released Tuesday. The study by the Texas Transportation Institute examined 328 of the most congested stretches of highway in the nation and ranked roadways based on the amount of fuel wasted due to congestion. Seven of the top 10 fuel-wasting stretches were in Los Angeles Link to article
Senate Bill May Weaken Smaller Metros, Empower State DOTs Streetsblog Capitol Hill - November 14th, 2011
By Tanya Snyder In Indiana, the state DOT wants to build a 142-mile extension of Interstate 69, but the Bloomington metropolitan planning organization won't allow it - the group had written the road out of its three-year transportation plan and members are standing firm, refusing to write it back in. These local MPOs often (though not always) see the importance of things like urban transit and active transportation where states too often focus on big road-building projects. There are 384 MPOs in the country. Two-thirds of them represent communities of less than 200,000 people. And there's an existential threat to all of those MPOs in the new Senate transportation bill.
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Firms turning to environmental law to combat rivals Los Angeles Times - November 14th, 2011 By Nicholas Riccardi California's landmark act on environmental quality is credited with preserving scenic landscapes but is now slowing key projects and spawning a flurry of litigation. To halt a competing project near USC, Conquest Student Housing turned to a legal weapon that one of its co-owners allegedly compared to a crude bomb: cheap and destructive. Conquest owned 17 buildings that rented to USC students. When the developer Urban Partners proposed erecting a new complex to house 1,600 students, Conquest sued under California's landmark environmental law. Link to article
L.A. Vision, U.S. Promise: Implications of the America Fast Forward Proposal Planetizen - November 14th, 2011 By Allison Brooks and Darnell Chadwick Grisby The vision laid out by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other civic leaders includes light rail linked to an expansive bus network connecting the cultural homes of the African-American, Latino, and Asian-American communities; a "subway to the sea" that runs through a heavily congested but jobs rich corridor, and a beautiful intermodal transit hub in a reinvigorated downtown. When Mayor Villaraigosa asked the federal government to loan the region money to accelerate this vision- making it happen in ten years instead of thirty-it captured the imagination of national policymakers and community stakeholders alike. Link to article
California can't afford not to build high-speed rail system Merced Sun-Star - November 12th, 2011 Opinion -- By Bob Balgenorth California urgently needs high-speed rail now, and the recently released draft 2012 Business Plan from California High-Speed Rail Authority spells out how we can finally make this long dream a reality. Our economy needs a more modern, efficient transportation system now. Our environment needs cleaner modes of transportation now. And our workers need the hundreds of thousands of good new jobs high-speed rail will bring right now. Not in a few years -- now!
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Want to Sell Voters on Transit? Keep It Simple Streetsblog Network - November 10th, 2011
By Angie Schmitt What makes a local transit referendum successful? Studies have shown that developing consensus among business and environmental leaders is important. Also critical, argues Ben Schiendelman at Seattle Transit Blog, is developing a strong, clearly-articulated marketing campaign. According to Schiendelman, the question that is foremost in voters' minds when they step into the ballot box is, "How much will I get, and how much will I pay?"
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Another way to fight obesity: city planning The Bakersfield Californian - November 10th, 2011 Opinion A new study reveals that the number of Kern County children who are overweight or obese rose nearly 6 percent between 2005 and 2010, while the statewide rate fell 1.1 percent over the same period. The Center's studies have recommended various policy solutions to address these problems. One idea is to implement zoning changes that would limit new fast food restaurants in neighborhoods where there is already an overabundance, or provide incentives for grocery or produce stores to locate in neighborhoods that don't have one. Another suggests including the health implications of an establishment in the community design and permitting process. Link to article
Regional Agencies Taking Slow Walk Towards Sustainable Funding Streetsblog Los Angeles - November 9th, 2011 By Damien Newton In recent weeks, regional transportation agencies in Southern California have made some slow moves towards embracing a more sustainable transportation network throughout the Southland. Local "Metropolitan Planning Organization" the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is poised to pass a long term plan that would dramatically increase bicycle and pedestrian funding while its sister agency in San Diego passed the first regional funding plan complying with the state's ground breaking greenhouse gas emissions law SB 375 Link to blog
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