Today’s Headlines

  • D.C. Launches Bike-Share Network (WaPo)
  • Think Metro is Wasteful?  Check out LAUSD (Daily News)
  • Metro Breaks Ridership Records (Bottleneck Blog, LAist)
  • 115 New Parking Spaces Coming to Abbot-Kinney (LAist)
  • More Than 40 U.S. Cities Exploring Streetcar Systems for Their Downtowns (NYT)
  • D.A. Investigating Cop’s Critical Mass Takedown (Chelsea Now)
  • City Puts in New Parking Meters on 5th East of Spring (Bus Bench)
  • Biking Beijing With an Olympic Cyclist (NYT)
  • LAPD Cyclist Struck on Freeway (LAist)

  • Here’s one from the New York Times:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/us/14streetcar.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

    Here is a link to a great article in the New York Times today about the revival of interest in many cities in using streetcars to revitalize areas.

    I imagine the Purple Line going to Santa Monica and the Pink Line connecting Hollywood and Century City via Santa Monica Blvd and La Cienega Blvd. However, there are lots of areas where streetcars might be the way to go. Broadway downtown has been mentioned as a possibility.

    How about a streetcar from Union Station on Sunset all the way to the strip?

    How about a streetcar for Ventura Blvd?

  • johnny

    I’m a bit more tentative about streetcars. What advantage do they hold over bus service? As far as I can tell, they have all the sluggishness of buses and all the capital costs of light rail. The only advantages I can think of are marginal – reduced operation costs and vehicle lifespan, less pollution than (non-electric) buses, and the reassurance you feel after seeing tracks on the road that “a train’s going to show up sooner or later”. I admit that i haven’t attended any streetcar workshops, and I’m open to reconsider. Surely there’s some way to convey the advantages of streetcars in print?

  • Hi Johny,

    Back when there was a Streetcar conference last spring Streetsblog featured a wrap up by Ron Milam. Hope you find it useful.

    http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/05/23/street-smart-streetcars-and-cities-in-the-21st-century-workshop/

  • johnny

    Thanks for the link Damien. I’ll try to make it to the next workshop.