Month: July 2008

Bike Advocates Discuss Testimony as a TV Crew Looks On

The LAPD Testifies on the Gate Closure

In an effort to improve safety and mobility for pedestrians and cyclists, Washington, DC has embarked on a number of livable streets reforms (market rate street parking), and is considering others (reclaiming auto-occupied street space for people). Though a recent article in the Washington Post casts these initiatives as a "war" against car commuters, it's clear that DC officials -- like those in many US cities -- are in fact acting to level the field following decades of auto dominance, and at a time when driving has become a more expensive, less desirable option.

London Mayor Boris Johnson may scale back the congestion pricing plan put in place by Ken Livingstone, whom Johnson defeated in May. The Times is reporting that the current 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. flat rate charge could be altered in a number of ways, including a reduction in the hours during which the fee is applied and reversing an extension of the zone, which was implemented last year.

Riding the Subway with Zev (Bottleneck Blog)  Santa Monica, an Inaccessible Moat (LA Weekly)  Schwarzenegger Enthusiastically Supports High Speed Rail (Pajamas Media)  Half a Million to Study Westside Traffic (LA Now) Orange Line Ridership Growing (Daily News) Religion Professor Takes Swipe at MTA, Sales Tax, and Subway to Sea (Daily News)  Middle-Class Homeless’ Living Out … Continued

I'll have a full report on the Transportation Committee's big bike meeting earlier today, but one piece of quick news that doesn't require an in-depth report is an announcement by Councilman Bill Rosendahl that he will be holding a community meeting about the state of cycling within Mandeville Canyon Road. The Councilmember hopes to bring the community together to discuss how everyone can best share the road. Some ideas on the table include: signage, road improvements, road-sharing guidelines, and public education about the vehicle code.

A View from Olympic Boulevard at Dusk

As debate over the merit of congestion pricing rages on throughout LA County, a new report by the Texas Department of Transportation, hardly a hotbed of anti-car radicalism, throws cold water on one of the leading arguments against road pricing: that the roads where Metro wishes to place variable tolls are already paid for by gas taxes.