LA Observed is reporting the sad news that the Times’ transportation writer and former Bottleneck Blogger Steve Hymon fell victim to the budget ax earlier this morning. 

Because of Hymon’s efforts, Streetsblog and the LA Times actually had a pretty good relationship.  We regularly linked to each other’s stories and we both recognized the other’s important role in the debate around transportation policy.  When Hymon admitted to being a regular car-commuter in a Streetsblog interview, it helped create the longest thread in LA Streetsblog history as readers debated the role of the media in shaping and creating transportation policy.

The next steps for both the Times’ transportation beat and its former intrepid-reporter aren’t clear yet; but what is clear is that whether a Bottlnecker, a Streetsblogger or both; his contributions and reporting will be missed.