Car Dependence
Streetsblog LA
Alhambrans Urge City Council Not to Widen Fremont Avenue and its Off-Ramps
Residents who favor multimodal investment showed at city council to sound off on what they feel is a poor use of a “once in a lifetime” pot of money from the cancelled 710 extension.
May 16, 2023
Alhambra Planning to Reconfigure its 710 Freeway Stub
The city presented a batch of ideas that increase capacity and use of the 10 Freeway, but also includes some protected active transportation facilities
March 30, 2023
Walk Against the Machine – Monterey Park Activists Oppose Traffic Lane Expansion
A plan to take away parking lanes on Monterey Park’s iconic Garvey Avenue hasn’t been getting very far. Could it be reshaped into a multi-modal project?
May 18, 2022
Some Perspective On How Angelenos Are Driving Less
Last week, Los Angeles City Deputy Mayor, and soon-to-be Santa Monica City Manager, Rick Cole tweeted out a graph showing that Angelenos are driving less than we used to. In 2002, the average city resident drove 11.9 miles each day. By 2013, that daily Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) has declined to about 10.8 miles each day. I asked Cole for the source of the graph, and his only response, tweeted, was that it's from an "L.A. City Planning Report." Which report is not clear.
June 22, 2015
L.A.’s Real Growth Is in Car-Free and Car-Lite Families
I've never made it a secret that I'm one of the few Streetsblog editors that owns a car. But in the new Los Angeles, the one that prioritizes transit projects over highway expansion, that my family of four only has one car that we barely use is becoming the new normal.
August 1, 2013
Times Victory: Trio of Bills Take Aim at “Buy Here Pay Here” Car Dealerships
A trio of state legislators have introduced legislation aimed at "Buy Here Pay Here" dealerships in California. These dealerships, where used cars are sold at a marked up price with loans that have abnormally high interest rates, are often used by people of lesser means as a last resort to get a car. These dealerships not only sell cars, but provide their own financing, creating two ways to benefit from the overpriced sale of a used car.
February 6, 2012
Update: Villaraigosa/Garcetti/Englander Plan Would NOT Apply to Used Car Dealers
I just received an update from the Mayor's Office on the proposal to eliminate business taxes for car dealerships.
November 9, 2011
Vallianatos: Policy Shifts Towards Walkable Communities Anathema to “Buy Here Pay Here”
(This is part two of our series on reader's response to last week's series on Buy Here Pay Here used car dealerships. Yesterday we summarized the statements of Joe Linton, Roadblick, Adrian Martinez, Damien Goodmon and Allison Mannos. Today we bring a more detailed response from Occidental College Professor Mark Vallianatos. Tomorrow, we'll have a response from Voice Newspaper Editor Carlos Morales. - DN)
November 9, 2011
Mayor, Garcetti, and Englander Call for Exempting Auto Dealers from City’s Business Tax
Picture this. One day one of the most important political figures in the city stands in front of a major Downtown attraction and announces that train service to this attraction will be increased dramatically in the coming weeks. The next day, a major political figure, flanked by an up-and-coming political star and the City Council President, stands with the head of the local automotive dealer lobbying group and announces a political proposal to end business taxes for car dealerships.
November 8, 2011
Streetsbloggers Respond to the Times’ Buy Here Pay Here Series
First, let's state for the record that Ken Bensinger and the Los Angeles Times did a public service by shining a harsh light on the largely unregulated "Buy Here Pay Here" used car dealership industry. Too many dealers in this industry and preying on poor people desperate for a car by intentionally driving up their debt so that in the end the "dealership" ends up with the shoppers money and gets a chance to sell the car all over again.
November 8, 2011