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Streetsblog LA
Mayor’s Office Rescues 10% Set-Aside for Bicycling and Pedestrian Projects in Measure R Local Return
As someone who has been pushing hard for a "bicycling and pedestrian set aside" for Measure R funds from before it was called Measure R, I have mixed feelings about yesterday's City Council Joint Hearing with the Transportation and Budget & Finance Committees.
April 20, 2010
Could L.A.’s Transit Plan Become a Winning Campaign Issue for Boxer?
President Obama did triple duty last night for the re-election campaign of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), visiting three fundraisers to send a stark message about polls that show the environment committee chairman holding a single-digit lead against her GOP challengers despite a formidable cash advantage.
April 20, 2010
Final Obama Fuel-Efficiency Rule Gives Breaks to Electric, Luxury Cars
The Obama administration today released its final rule raising U.S.
auto fuel-efficiency standards to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon
(mpg) by 2016, winning plaudits from environmental groups while
offering extra benefits to makers of electric and luxury cars.
April 1, 2010
In New York, Robinson Packs the House, Leaves Em Speechless
LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson spoke to a standing room-only crowd at NYU's Rudin Center this morning, kicking off the New York City Street Summit. Robinson's speech, delivered just two weeks after NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan brought lessons from the Big Apple to her backyard, was both a spirited defense of LADOT's planning policies and a response to Sadik-Khan's vision of change.
April 1, 2010
Could Gas-Tax Bonds Pay For the Next Federal Transportation Bill?
House infrastructure committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), facing steep political odds
in his push to pass a new six-year federal transportation bill this
year, has begun to pitch an outside-the-box solution to the financing
shortfall that is still stalling congressional action: Treasury bonds.
March 31, 2010
As Minneapolis Joins NACTO, Oberstar Backs Shift on Transit Operating Aid
At an event in Minneapolis today, House transportation committee
chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) announced his support for giving urban
transit agencies more flexibility to spend federal transportation
formula money on operating -- a change in the current law that has already won the backing of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood but has split the transit industry.
March 31, 2010
Bike Corrals for the City of Los Angeles
Due to Los Angeles City Council leadership and community advocacy,
bike corrals may soon be coming to Los Angeles. The April 14th meeting
of the city's Transportation Committee is scheduled to hear a council
motion on implementation of a pilot corral in Northeast Los Angeles.
Here's the backstory on how that came to pass.
March 29, 2010
‘A Dozen or So’ Senators Delay Passage of Oberstar’s Highway Funding Fix
A contentious congressional dispute over
$932 million in transportation funding remains unresolved this week
after the Senate approved a one-month extension of federal aviation law
rather than a three-month version of the bill that included a fix to
the provision at issue.
March 29, 2010
Parking Rock Star, Donald Shoup Blasts L.A.’s Parking Policies
It's no secret that Livable Streets advocates are big fans of the theories of Donald Shoup. The Shoupista that introduced him on Saturday referred to him as "Shoup Dogg," and Streetsblog prefers to sing "Shoup there it is." These kind of salutations for an Economics professor who dresses the part of the academic activist from his tweed jacket to a t-shirt that reads "All may park, ALL MUST PAY" may seem silly; but his message for Angelenos is not. Our parking policy doesn't just make bad economic sense, it's also playing a major role in holding our city back. The UCLA professor is considered one of the foremost expert at parking policy, and when it comes to his host city; he doesn't like what he sees.
March 24, 2010