Month: August 2009
Streetsblog LA
There Are Opponents to Highway Crash Memorials?
The California State Assembly recently passed legislation that will allow the family of victims of highway crashes to pay Caltrans to erect signs memorializing the fallen and reminding drivers to drive safely. However, thanks to opposition from a group of what the Times terms "environmentalists," the legislation is actually watered down so that our state's highways aren't littered with signs ruining the view.
August 10, 2009
The Peculiar Federalism of Transit Safety: No National Standards Exist
The recent crash of two D.C. Metro trains has laid bare a glaring
lack of authority at the obscure local committee that is supposed to
ensure transit riders' safety, as the Washington Post reported today.
But the problem is bigger than the nation's capital: The Federal
Transit Administration (FTA) has not issued broad safety rules for rail
transit, leaving the issue in the hands of state oversight agencies.
August 10, 2009
So Much Parking It Hurts
Today on the Streetsblog Network, Austin Contrarian counts the ways that too much parking can damage a downtown:
August 10, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Pentagon to Back Transpo Reform? Military Says Climate Change Threatens National Security (NYT) Where’s the Transit Mix in Cash for Clunkers? (Daily Kos) Council Adopts Permanent Ban on New Billboards (Daily News) 3 Adults, 4 Children Killed in Car Chase (LA Now) A Brief History of American Street Design (Planetizen) Westside Dreamin’ of a Real … Continued
August 10, 2009
Metro Shuffles the Deck on Security
Earlier this month, Metro CEO Art Leahy fired two senior executives in charge of security, and handed oversight of all security operations over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. Details of the firing, slipped to me from anonymous sources at Metro HQ, have started to make the rounds via email and seem unusually harsh for the jovial persona presented by Metro and Leahy in particular:
August 7, 2009
Update From NC: Shooting a Cyclist in the Head Is Not Attempted Murder
A grand jury in Asheville, North Carolina has reduced the charge against a motorist who allegedly shot a cyclist in the head from attempted first-degree murder to felony assault. Charles Diez According to reports, on July 26, Alan Simons was shot by Charles Diez after a confontation along a busy road. The shooting took place … Continued
August 7, 2009
Electrified Transportation’s Big Week in Washington
While lawmakers were approving
billions of dollars to entice auto buyers into moderate fuel-efficiency
progress this week, the Obama administration was ramping up its push
for electrified transportation.
August 7, 2009
The Victory Boulevard That Could Have Been
On Wednesday evening, I received a phone call from my sister-in-law. She was calling because she noticed that the road right outside her driveway was re-striped and she thought the outline could change the road from a four-lane arterial street with left hand turn lanes to a two-lane street with bike lanes on either side and a bus-only lane down the middle.
August 7, 2009
“You Would Just Love to Lob Something at Their Heads”
The troubled relationship between cars and bikes is an old topic, but that hasn't stopped it from being a hot one on the Streetsblog Network and around the web in general this week. And it's not going to go away any time soon.
August 7, 2009