People

Yesterday, at a meeting of the Metro Board of Directors Construction Committee, L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich became the first public official to throw cold water on Mayor Villaraigosa's transit dreams by denouncing plans to place an extension of the Measure R half cent transportation sales tax indefinitely.

Five years ago, I was sitting at my desk in New York City reading about Los Angeles and wondering how I was going to adapt.  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seemed obsessed with speeding up car traffic to the detriment of neighborhoods.  It's hard to remember the Mayor's talk of Tiger Teams, specialized LAPD units designed to punish cars parked in rush hour travel lanes, cars "blocking the box" or anyone else that dared impede traffic at rush hour.  His attempt to "Manhattanize" Downtown Los Angeles was widely mocked in media outlets.  His signature transportation project was The Subway to the Sea, which was widely considered a pipe dream.

State Senator Alan Lowenthal’s “Give Me 3″ legislation, S.B. 1464, is going back to the Senate Housing and Transportation Committee on April 17. The bill would require drivers to give cyclists a three foot passing berth when overtaking them. I say “going back” because nearly identical legislation, S.B. 910, was passed by both houses of the legislature last year, before Governor Brown exercised his veto. Brown expressed concerns about hypothetical traffic congestion caused by cars slowing down to pass bicycles.

The election is still a year away and already the campaign promises are flying!

Yesterday, the United States Senate passed a two-year extension of federal legislation that allows the federal government to fund transportation projects throughout the United States.  While the legislation still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives before being signed by the President, the legislation's passage allows the Senate, in this case led by Senator Barbara Boxer, to set the agenda and not the House of Representatives, controlled by a more conservative breed of politician.

The fourth event in the AIA’s mayoral candidate series with Wendy Greuel began with a 25 minute delay. Greuel was ensnarled in the city’s notorious traffic on her way from a previous engagement on the westside.  It was an apt precursor to the engaging conversation that followed. The former councilwoman, Dreamworks executive and current city controller proved that she is no stranger to issues of urban planning, transportation, and architecture as she fielded questions on the future of L.A’s built environment, mobility challenges and architectural aspirations.

Earlier this week, the Mayor's Office called to set up a brief chat between Streetsblog and Mayor Villaraigosa during his trip to Capitol Hill as part of "L.A. on the Hill," a yearly lobbying sojourn of L.A.'s elite.  The trip coincided with a crucial vote on the reuthorization of the Surface Transportation bill, which failed yesterday to get the needed 60 votes to move to the Senate floor.

On October 7th, Governor Jerry Brown shocked the California cycling community and snubbed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and bill sponsor Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) when he vetoed Senate Bill 910, a proposed law that would have required motorists to give cyclists a three foot buffer when passing. However, proponents of the “Give Me 3″ bill are back with a new proposal -- SB 1464.

This Saturday marks the first two of four of the introductory public meetings for the City of Los Angeles Mobility plan, set to be completed in 2014.  Maybe they learned something from the disastrous early outreach meetings for the Bike Plan in 2008, because this time enthusiasm is higher for the plan.