Month: March 2010
Streetsblog LA
Streetfilms: StreetSummit 2010, Building Momentum for Change
(editor's note: It's always nice to have the Streetfilms crew in town. Let's fill their comments section to let them know that we want more! - DN)
March 24, 2010
Feds Begin Redefining ‘Affordable Housing’ to Include Transport Costs
The
process of expanding the federal government's definition of "affordable
housing," a stated goal of the Obama administration's sustainable communities effort, began in earnest yesterday with the introduction of a new index that integrates transportation prices into the cost of living for hundreds of metro areas.
March 24, 2010
Parking Rock Star, Donald Shoup Blasts L.A.’s Parking Policies
It's no secret that Livable Streets advocates are big fans of the theories of Donald Shoup. The Shoupista that introduced him on Saturday referred to him as "Shoup Dogg," and Streetsblog prefers to sing "Shoup there it is." These kind of salutations for an Economics professor who dresses the part of the academic activist from his tweed jacket to a t-shirt that reads "All may park, ALL MUST PAY" may seem silly; but his message for Angelenos is not. Our parking policy doesn't just make bad economic sense, it's also playing a major role in holding our city back. The UCLA professor is considered one of the foremost expert at parking policy, and when it comes to his host city; he doesn't like what he sees.
March 24, 2010
Expo Station Coming to Farmdale and Exposition?
The strange saga of the Expo Light Rail Line continued yesterday when Judge Maribeth Bushey of the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed amendment to the environmental documents for the Expo Line Phase I that would allow the construction of a rail station at the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Farmdale Avenue, right next to Dorsey High School. The CPUC has previously ruled that the intersection has to have a pedestrian bridge because the proposed at-grade design was ruled unsafe. You can read the full text of Bushey's proposal, here. If you're just interested in reading about the design of such a station, post #872 on the Expo Forum on the Transit Coalition message boards has the details.
March 23, 2010
Bids For Federal Streetcar Aid Top Available Money by Nearly Tenfold
After announcing $130 million in new streetcar grants in December, the Obama administration received more than $1.1 billion in applications, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff told lawmakers today — offering more evidence of the growing local enthusiasm for competitive transportation funding that began with the stimulus law’s TIGER grant program. New Orleans, above, … Continued
March 23, 2010