It's been over seven years since I wrote the "Welcome to LA Streetsblog" post at the first non-New York Streetsblog site. A lot has changed in those seven years. After over a century of car-centric planning, the City of Angels is pedaling away from its reputation as the "car-culture capitol of the world."
As I type these sentences, Los Angeles is building or expanding five rail lines, is opening a two- mile-stretch of bus-only lanes on the iconic Wilshire Boulevard, and is painting bike lanes at a faster rate than even New York City.
The entire state of California is seeing a similar transformation, and now Streetsblog is expanding to cover stories throughout the state, not just those in Greater L.A., the Bay Area and the corridors of power in Sacramento. Led by the excellent writing of Melanie Curry, Streetsblog will continue to cover statewide policy and expand to cover major issues in cities large and small throughout the state.
In addition to Melanie and myself, we'll be hiring a part-time writer to cover the Central Valley later this month. (For details on that job, click here.) We're working on finding funding sources for Sacramento and San Diego and are looking to add "syndication partners" similar to the partners Streetsblogs in Ohio, Texas, Saint Louis and the Southeast already have.
But that can wait for tomorrow. Today we launch. Anyone interested in learning more should read our press release, after the jump.
Streetsblog California Launches to Cover Transportation and Urban Design in the Golden State
The nationwide news website, Streetsblog, today announces the launch of Streetsblog California, a new website that will focus on transportation issues of statewide significance in America’s most populous state. Visit Streetsblog California at http://cal.streetsblog.org and follow the site on Twitter @StreetsblogCal.
Since 2006, Streetsblog has covered the movement to transform cities by reducing dependence on private automobiles and improving conditions for walking, biking, and transit. Streetsblog reporters have broken important stories about transit funding, pedestrian safety, and bicycle policy, among many others. The website is known for writing that makes arcane topics like parking prices and induced traffic accessible to a broad audience.
“We’re very excited to be expanding our work to cover issues throughout the Golden State,” writes Damien Newton, the former editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, who will be co-editing SBCA with Melanie Curry. “There are a lot of important stories in California besides the ones we’ve been covering in greater Los Angeles and the Bay Area.”
This is the tenth website in the Streetsblog network. Streetsblog covers transportation policy and related news in five cities (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Saint Louis), three states (California, Ohio, and Texas), and the southeast region, as well as at StreetsblogUSA, which reports on federal policy and other national stories.
Streetsblog Cal will start with Newton and Curry providing regular updates on news and issues around California with a focus on legislation, implementation of the state’s climate change laws, state transportation agencies, and other issues of state importance. Today’s story, about the California Transportation Plan 2040, covers a topic largely ignored by other news outlets: the introduction of a potentially game-changing long-term transportation plan that could completely transform the way future Californians think about and access transportation.
Currently, Streetsblog California has two syndication partners in addition to the other Streetsblogs: Santa Monica Next and LongBeachize. The team is looking to augment its reporting with local coverage by adding reporters and signing up syndication partners. Currently, the site is seeking a part-time writer in the Fresno/Central Valley area. If you would like to apply for the Central Valley position or become a syndication partner, contact Newton at the address above.
“I am looking forward to continuing and expanding our coverage of statewide issues,” said Curry. “California is beginning to grapple with how to build and sustain livable communities that have great transportation choices, both statewide and on the local level--and of course there is a lot more work to be done. I’m excited to be part of the team that gets to cover these breaking issues.”
Streetsblog California is a joint project of the California Streets Initiative and OpenPlans. Publication is made possible by a generous donation of The California Endowment.
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