Transit Advocacy
Streetsblog LA
Politicians Threaten High Speed Rail Ballot Proposal
Far be it from me to disagree with an elected representative of the people, but the time for word smithing is past. As the midnight deadline approaches, the Senate is again dithering while a needed regional project sits on the drawing board. Anyone surprised by the most recent State Senate Stall isn't paying close attention. Officials in Sacramento have repeatedly show scorn for alternative transportation, be it the continual robbing of "dedicated transportation taxes" or using parochial concerns to threaten this fall's proposed sales tax ballot measure, and the voter's right to decide transportation issues for themselves.
July 15, 2008
Cleveland’s Health Line Setting a National Example for Bus Rapid Transit
The Tribune reports that the Chicago Transit Authority is studying Cleveland's new Bus Rapid Transit service, called the Health Line, as it prepares to launch its own BRT lines next year.
July 14, 2008
Metro Postpones Decision on LRTP to November. Advances Sales Tax.
Unwilling to anger any key constituencies before turning around and asking them to support a sales tax increase, the Metro's Board of Directors voted to postpone a final vote on their Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), the document which outlines what projects will and won't be funded in the next 30 years, until the first meeting after the election in November.
June 26, 2008
Coming Soon:Free Bus Rides to Dodger Stadium
The #4 Metro Bus Currently Rides Close to the Stadium, but There's Still the Walk up the Hill
June 23, 2008
Georgia Governor Comes Around on Commuter Rail
Display of Georgia progress at the Welcome Center on I-85, near the South Carolina border
June 23, 2008
New Group Calls for Greenway Along Proposed Expo Line
A rendering of the Proposed Greenway
June 20, 2008
Obama Calls for Investment in Regional Intercity Rail
We noted yesterday that Barack Obama has promised to direct more federal funds to bike-ped infrastructure if elected. Now comes word that the Illinois Senator is going public with his support for a regional rail network linking midwestern cities, an idea he had floated quietly during the Democratic primary campaign.
June 17, 2008
Westsiders Vent at Last Night’s Expo Meeting
Last night the Expo Construction Authority held a community meeting in the Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services Gymnasium, right in the heart of a community that has historically been opposed to construction of Phase II of the Expo Line. As expected, it was hard to find a supporter of extending light rail from where Phase I ends in Culver City all the way to downtown Santa Monica. In recent days, the Bottleneck Blog has done a great job of covering the controversy.
June 10, 2008
Republicans Stop Feuer’s Efforts to Lower Sales Tax Threshold
Assemblyman Mike Feuer finds himself back in the news this week. All four of his legislative bills written to help L.A. County raise transit funds have cleared the Assembly and he was featured in a recent story aired nationally on National Public Radio. However, when partisan politics becomes involved with policy, bad things can happen.
June 6, 2008