People

Several of the capital’s most famous cyclists will be on hand tomorrow to help Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, celebrate the local Bike to Work Day — an event that was originally set to mark the unveiling of the new Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane, which was delayed by city officials … Continued

"I'm on the team!...I'm right here on the Love Train with sisters and brothers in organized labor, the environmental movement and the business community to make this happen right now!" exclaimed incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman at a rally yesterday for the 30/10 initiative at the Green Line Station near LAX.  (Watch her full speech, Streetscasted here.)  The 30/10 initiative would use federal loans and grants to leverage the half cent sales tax passed by L.A. County voters for transit projects to complete a thirty year program in 10.

Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D), two of the nation's best-known advocates for greater investment in the built environment, today joined several House Democrats in calling for federal action on a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) -- even as questions about how the bank's scope, and Congress' resistance to raising sustained new transport funding, continued to dog the debate.

Over at CicLAvia's blog, Joe Linton, who is no stranger to Streetsblog readers, has an interesting article featuring a dozen "Sadik-Khan"  like projects that could, and should, be done by the city of Los Angeles before next year's Street Summit.  After her inspiring perfomance at this year's Summit, NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan promised to come back next year and see how we're doing.  To, to the city of L.A. I say, "Tick-tock city!  That's only ten more months!"

As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tangled with a senior GOP senator today over the White House's $500 million-plus request for its inter-agency office of sustainable communities -- a new project aimed at channeling federal energy towards local transit-oriented and smart growth plans -- an influential Democrat joined her fellow senator in raising questions about diverting highway money to the effort.

(Since leaving the LA Weekly, where she did everything from review bands to serve as transportation writer, Gloria Ohland has been heavily involved in the transit reform scene.  Most recently she worked with the T.O.D. advocacy group Reconnecting America.  You'll be seeing more of her writing here in the very near future...DN)

Maybe it's just me; but has anyone else noticed a chance in our mayor recently when it comes to discussing walking and bicycling?  All of a sudden it seems like the Mayor can't get enough of talking up the virtues of moving from place to place sans automobile.   First there was a mention in the State of the City and earlier this week on Huffington Post he touted people powered transportation as one of the best things Angelenos can do to clean up our air.

Last week, Metro Chair Ara Najarian penned a piece for The Source announcing that bicycle parking is coming to the Westlake/MacArthur Park T.O.D. at some point in the future.  It's not everyday that the Metro Board Chair responds to something written on Streetsblog (although Stephen Box and I are debating which one of us he actually responded to); so Streetsblog owes a response.