People

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.

(We just found out from Metro, via email and The Source, that the Regional Connector discussion is being moved until next month so "local concerns" can be addressed in the financial district. - DN)

(We need to raise $7,250 in just under three weeks.  Pledge a donation here, and please help spread the word. - DN)

In her own words, Mayoral Candidate and 9th District City Council Woman Jan Perry has had a "bird's eye view" of planning in Los Angeles since 1990, when she was tapped by then City Councilman Mike Woo to be his planning deputy.  In the over two decades since then, Perry has been a key figure in City Hall when it comes to any discussion of  planning and Los Angeles, most prominently as a member of the City Council for the last eleven years.

In recent weeks, two competing pieces of legislation are moving in Washington, D.C.  The first, is moving through the House of Representatives on a series of highly partisan votes and is reviled by advocates for transit, walking, bicycling and complete streets for it's over-the-top support for highway construction.  The other is moving through the Senate with unanimous bi-partisan support and funds a more balanced vision for transportation funding.