Day: June 5, 2013

I was excited to be able to attend the 10th Annual City Lites Inner City Sports and Wellness Fair this year. I had sat in on a few of the monthly event-planning meetings held in the run-up to last year's fair and had been impressed by the number of services City Lites was able to bring together and the dedication of organizers and volunteers to creating a healthy and fun environment for kids and their parents. I also applaud the effort to  make healthy activities -- including a bike and walking tour -- an integral part of the festivities.

On June 7, Streetsblog's annual Spring/Summer fundraising drive will be over. To spice things up in Greater Los Angeles, we announced our plans to expand with independent websites in Santa Monica and Long Beach and challenged the residents in these cities.

I grew up in Central Washington State and when I recently learned my autistic nephew was about to graduate I determined to witness this important family milestone by travelling north. And in the process also experience something I have long been curious about: sleeping car service on Amtrak long distance routes. I have ridden coach on the Coast Starlight (Amtrak's route between Los Angeles and Seattle) previously up the coast for two round trips and have vivid memories of what that was like. It is widely seen as one of the more scenic routes operated by Amtrak.

Skywalks, pedestrian overpasses, or, as our friends at Transit Miami like to call them, "hamster tunnels," are an ugly symbol of the last century's transportation sensibilities. In an effort to comfortably integrate pedestrians into the street fabric and boost sidewalk activity, some cities, including Cincinnati and Baltimore, have been tearing down their pedestrian bridges.

Here's another obscure but significant obstacle to building walkable places in America: the Institute of Transportation Engineers' shoddy traffic generation models for mixed-use development.

Now Locking Metro Fare Gates Is About Being Fare to “Taxpayers” (NBC4) Plans for Pedestrian Beach Path in L.B. Draws Fire from Enviros (Press-Telegram) Complaints Grow About Ticketing in HOT Lanes (LA Weekly) Highlights from Yesterday’s Press Conference on Wilshire. Bus Only Lanes Open in Mid-Town (The Source) Lanes “Get Us Closer to New York … Continued