Mike Eng
Streetsblog LA
Vroom! It’s Time to Talk Speed Limit Increases at City Council
When we last checked in with the City Council Transportation Committee, they decided to table a motion to increase the speed limit on Chandler Boulevard, where the limit would increase from 35 MPH to 45 MPH along the Orange Line, and Riverside Drive which would change the limit from 35 MPH to 40 MPH for its entire length between the Burbank border and Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. The Councilman for the area, Paul Krekorian, wanted a chance for the community to give input on the increases before the proposal went through, and now the increases are back on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting.
February 23, 2010
Times Covers Coming Metro Cuts, Avoids Mentioning Pols By Name
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times took a look at the coming budget crisis at Metro. The article just scratches the surface of the issue, correctly noting that there are a lot of reasons for the quarter of a billion dollar operating deficit including the state's budget grabs, lower than projected sales tax revenue and an 8% decline in ridership from Metro's record setting year in 2008.
January 25, 2010
State Legislative Committees Hold Trio of Hearings Downtown
So, we are finally past that near relentless series of community meetings for corridors, bullet trains, etc. of the past few months. But don't think you can catch your breathe! We are about to have three legislative hearings on transportation topics, all being held at the Metro Board Room:
November 30, 2009
Is It Time for California to Adopt the “3-Feet-Law?”
More and more states are adopting laws that protect cyclists from passing cars by requiring that cyclists receive a three foot buffer on their left before any vehicle can pass them. According to a recent USA Today article, fourteen states and the District of Columbia have adopted the three-foot-law and it has already passed one legislative body in New Jersey.
August 6, 2009
Caltrans Working Hard to Speed Up Local Streets
Tomorrow, new rules governing how municipalities evaluate speed limits on local roads will go into effect. Unfortunately, these rules allow municipalities even less room than before to resist speed limit changes. The new rules maintain the backbone of the bad law, speed limits are set based on how fast the "eighty-fifth" percentile of drivers are speeding but still manage to make it harder for municipalities to resist faster streets for pesky reasons like pedestrians or cyclists want to use the street.
June 30, 2009
Caltrans on the 710 Tunnel Project: Trust Us, We Know What We’re Doing
Last week, community forums were held in Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge on the proposed project that would construct a tunnel connecting the I-710 and I-210 freeways in Pasadena. The Glendale News Press reported, in two separate stories, that opposition to the project is as strong as ever and that Caltrans isn't happy that the opposition is speaking up now.
June 2, 2009
How Mike Eng and the Auto Lobby Stalled on Safe Streets
So what happened?
Despite the support of just about everyone in Los Angeles, A.B. 766 didn't muster the support to even come to a vote at the Assembly Transportation Committee Hearing yesterday. How could such a slam dunk piece of legislation, a bill that would protect cyclists and pedestrians from the increased speeding of drivers, be such a non-starter with the State Legislature?
May 12, 2009