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Streetsblog LA
Move LA Fundraiser Attracts 30/10 Movers, Asks “What’s Shakin?”
On Sunday morning, transit reform champions Move LA hosted a garden party to raise money for its campaign to support Mayor Villaraigosa’s 30/10 plan and to enlist Los Angeles' stalwart political activists in its efforts. Held in the often traffic-swarmed West LA neighborhood of Brentwood, the event was organized by Streetsblog friend and Huffington Post transportation writer Joel Epstein.
September 20, 2010
Shoup: Cato HQ the Perfect Lab for Reforming Commuter Parking Subsidies
Thanks for your Cato@Liberty post clarifying several points where we agree about parking policies.
September 10, 2010
Greig Smith: Neighborhood Councils Should Have Final Say on Bike Projects
A new motion by Valley Councilman Greig Smith would require the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to create a public outreach plan whenever new bicycle projects are proposed and would require the approval of the local Neighborhood Council before any new bicycle infrastructure would find its way onto the streets.
September 9, 2010
Republicans Line Up to Oppose Obama’s Transportation Proposal
The critical multi-year transportation bill, which lawmakers have sidelined since last summer as they’ve quarreled about how to pay for it, looks to be back on the agenda after President Obama’s pugnacious Labor Day speech, in which he called on Congress to ramp up investment in transportation. The broad outline of Obama’s plan calls for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, constructing 4,000 miles of rail, and rehabilitating 150 miles of runway over the next six years.
September 9, 2010
What Is a “Call for Projects” and Why Is the City Gearing Up for It?
Today's City Council Transportation Committee Hearing has a couple of big-ticket items sure to earn ink. A proposal to increase the city's allotment of spaces for car-sharing has already been covered in LAist. A second motion asking LAPD and LADOT to make certain that the President can't shut down the Westside next time he needs to raise some money is even more press friendly. But a one-page motion by Bill Rosendahl and Tom LaBonge represents a small step in changing the way the city plans its transportation projects, and will almost assuredly earn little press outside of Streetsblog.
September 8, 2010
Living on Earth, a National NPR Radio Show, Looks at Cycling and L.A.
It's a story that's told so often, it's almost cliche. Biking in Los Angels is hard, and dangerous. More people are taking to two wheels in the Car Culture Capital, but they're taking their own life into their hands. If only Los Angeles were run by people who cared about bicycling, the city could be a cycling paradise. I mean, consider the weather and reasonably flat terrain...
September 7, 2010
Labor Day Homework: Play the Tom LaBonge Transit Game
Yesterday, the Daily News printed an odd opinion piece by 4th District City Councilman Tom LaBonge which outlined his views on how Metro should grow Los Angeles' rail system in the coming years. I say "odd" because the former Metro Board Member has to know that Measure R transit funds have to be spent on the projects listed in the ballot initiative passed in 2008, and it's unlikely the agency is going to raise the funds for anymore transit projects in the near future.
September 3, 2010
Donald Shoup Destroys “Libertarian” on the Cost of Parking
We’re reprinting this reply [PDF] from UCLA professor Donald Shoup, author of the High Cost of Free Parking, to Randal O’Toole, the libertarian Cato Institute senior fellow who refuses to acknowledge the role of massive government intervention in the market for parking, and the effect this has had on America’s car dependence. It’s an excellent … Continued
September 2, 2010
Push for 3 Foot Passing Law Finds a New Booster
At least eleven states have laws requiring drivers to leave three feet between their vehicle and cyclists while passing. If the Mayor of Los Angeles has anything to say about it, California will join those states before the year ends.
August 25, 2010
Helmets Ready! Mayor Hosts First Bike Summit
Despite the Monday 9am hour and the picture perfect weather, a
standing-room only crowd assembled in the Metro Board Room for city of
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's first Bike Summit. Alongside
Mayor Villaraigosa were Department of Transportation (LADOT) General
Manager Rita Robinson, Metro CEO Art Leahy, Department of City Planning
(DCP) General Manager Michael LoGrande, and Police Department Deputy
Chief Kirk Albanese sitting in for Chief Charlie Beck.
August 17, 2010