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Streetsblog LA
Rita Robinson Unplugged: Speaking Truth to Power or Excuse Making?
Earlier today in City Watch, Editor Ken Draper sings the praises of LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson for speaking to last weekend's meeting of Neighborhood Council representatives and being bluntly honest about the state of the city's finances while attacking the City Council. Draper's column is full of tough talk from Robinson, all of which can be seen on the video above. She doesn't mince words, claiming the City Council is in a state of "denial" and that they suffer from "Reality Deficit Disorder."
December 18, 2009
Villaraigosa in Copenhagen: L.A. Needs to Do More for Bikes
Yesterday Mayor Villaraigosa gave an interview to KPCC, Southern California Public Radio, where he talked about what Los Angeles can do to be a more green city. CicLAvia has the mayor's comments about bicycles:
December 17, 2009
Ray LaHood Visits ‘The Daily Show’ to Talk Transportation
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Jon Stewart on The Daily
Show last night to talk about his department's role in the stimulus
debate, infrastructure modernization, and development of a U.S.
high-speed rail system. Check out the video above (and let us know what
you think in the comments).
December 16, 2009
House Jobs Bill Mimics the Stimulus: $27.5B for Roads, $8.4B for Transit
The House is slated to vote as soon as tomorrow on a job-creation package that includes $27.5 billion for highways and $8.4 billion for transit, according to a transportation committee document obtained by Streetsblog Capitol Hill. House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Bike Portland via Flickr) That funding divide mirrors the spending levels … Continued
December 15, 2009
Move L.A. Wants to Get Moving!
Denny Zane is calling on the Measure R Champions and challenging them to engage in a second round of battle, this time mobilizing to embrace the 30/10 campaign which will leverage the anticipated $40 Billion in funding and then expedite the process so that 30 years of transit construction can be completed in the next 10 years.
December 15, 2009
Transport Bill Earmark to Help Road Project in Palin’s Hometown
Sarah Palin is no longer the governor of Alaska, but a project long
championed by the 2008 vice-presidential nominee -- and staunch earmark
critic -- stands to benefit from an earmark inserted into the transportation spending bill that cleared Congress over the weekend.
December 14, 2009
Last Night’s Bike Meeting Highlights: Late Start, Unanswered Questions but Anti-Harassment Ordinance Moves On
By the time the bike portion of the "Bike-Only" City Council Transportation Committee hearing began at 3:45, one hour and forty-five minutes late, it was clear that the bicycling-love-fest that we've seen at past "Bike-Only" meetings wasn't going to happen. Not only did the meeting start late because of an over-run of the City Council meeting, but Councilman Richard Alarcon had already stormed out of the room because Councilman Bill Rosendahl had caused the full Council to lose quorum and Councilman LaBonge had already snapped at the audience for talking during public comment.
December 10, 2009
Heavyweights Gather to Discuss Mayor’s Ten Year Measure R Proposal
Monday Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. Move LA and the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art are co-sponsoring a public meeting on Strategies to Accelerate
the Development of the Wilshire Subway and Other Measure R Projects in
Los Angeles County--What You Can Do to Help Implement the Measure R
30-Year Plan in 10 Years! The meeting will be held at the Museum's Brown Auditorium, in the Art of the
Americas building off the Central Court. The Museum is at 5905 Wilshire
Bl. just east of Fairfax.
December 9, 2009
Livable Streets All-Stars, Blumenauer and Sadik-Khan, Launch Cities for Cycling
Addressing a packed house in Washington last night, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, posed a Zen-like 'universalist cyclist question'.
December 9, 2009
White House Backs $50B For ‘Merit-Based Infrastructure Investment’
President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new
transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in
Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and
ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure
investment that leverages federal dollars."
December 8, 2009