Reaction from a Shoup-ista

Yesterday morning, Dr. Donald Shoup hit column 1 in the LA times. Shoup was the feature in an article titled "He puts parking in it's place." In 2 days, the online version has received over 100 comments and over 500 "likes" on Facebook. The comments range from support from the Shoupista army, to attacks on Shoup personally as a hippie and socialist, his ideas and even his jokes. I guess I missed the part in the bill of rights where car owners were given the right to free parking, all the time.

Metro's Westside Subway–Unsuprisingly–Will Do Little For Congestion

Metro's Draft EIS/EIR for the Westside subway extension reveals that the subway will--perhaps unsurprisingly--do little to cure congestion on arterials and freeways on the Westside, although it will add another option for traversing the Westside and will increase accessibility to employment centers.  The subway study area generally extends east from downtown LA--through some of the densest parts of LA--to Santa Monica, and includes pieces of several jurisdictions.  Furthermore, as the draft EIS/EIR notes, Westwood and Century City have higher employment than many mid-sized downtowns elsewhere.

Served by already congested road networks, both Westwood and Century City, along with other major activity centers in the corridor are projected to grow, further straining the transportation network.  The corridor already has highest number of bus boardings in Southern California and, in existing traffic congestion never mind future conditions, even the "Rapid" lines along Wilshire (the 720 and 920) prove to be misnomers.  The EIS/EIR projects that by 2035 buses may slog down the corridor at 8 to 11 mph.  As buses become increasingly unreliable and slow due to congestion, they become less and less competitive with private vehicles.  The EIS/EIR concludes that, "The improved capacity that would result from the subway extension is the best solution to improve travel times and reliability and to provide a high-capacity, environmentally-sound transit alternative."

AB 909: Reducing Penalties for Rolling Rights on Red

A bill by Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo seeks to reduce the base fine for drivers who roll through red lights to make right turns.  Assembly Bill 909 would reduce the base fine for such violations from $100 to $35 (the fines are considerably higher after all assessments are made).  Hill and supporters are defending the California stop and claim the existing law was not intended to target rolling right turns, but drivers running red lights through intersections.  They contend that red light cameras and ticketing rolling stops are not about increasing safety, but about raising revenue.

Mayor's Bike Summit

This morning Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held his first (and hopefully not last) bike summit.  The Mayor's recent bike accident seems to have sparked his sudden concern for bicyclists in L.A. and served as the impetus for putting together the bike summit.  Although several advocates criticized the timing of the meeting--Monday morning is not a great time for most people--the summit seemed to be a step in the right direction. 

Bicyclists packed the Metro board room for the two hour meeting, which was lead by the Mayor and a panel including LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson,...

A cheaper way to start bike sharing?

Bike sharing programs, which offer people an alternative to driving and helps fill the gaps in transit networks, have been increasing in popularity in Europe and are now catching on in the US with programs such as Denver's B-cycle and Nice Ride in Minneapolis.  SoBi--short for Social Bicycles--is attempting to build the bike share momentum by cutting capital costs for modern bike sharing.  
While European and, now, North American bike-sharing typically use specially designed, proprietary bicycles, the SoBi design incorporates a GPS system and a locking mechanism in a compact box/rear rack that can be attached to any bicycle, also allowing members to lock the bike up at any bike rack.  The design is being touted as a way to significantly cut the capital costs of starting a bike sharing program.  SoBi is entered in Pepsi's Refresh Project for a chance to test drive the program in NYC.

amazing vintage tokyo subway manners posters

these are just a couple from an amazing set at pinktentacle of vintage subway manner posters from tokyo between 1976 - 1982.they type of subway riders everyone despises

let people exit before entering jerk!

see entire set here

Tom Vanderbilt on being a carless loser

Tom Vanderbilt looks at Hollywood's portrayal of non-drivers, concluding that they are generally shown as misfits, deviants, or losers. He wonders whether this is because these films are produced in the epicenter of American car culture--where no one could ever conceive of civilized transportation as anything other than driving--or whether it is a product of what John Urry terms "automobility"--the pervasiveness and constant reinforcement of the car in all aspects of life. He does note, however, that this attitude towards non-drivers may be changing, as portrayed in the recent (500) Days of Summer.

http://www.slate.com/id/2262214/?from=rss

I Bike Minneapolis (and St. Paul)

On a hot summer day in my hometown, I began a 30 mile bike adventure through the twin cities. I was having some difficulties with my mom’s bike. The seat was constantly pushing me off and the right front brake pad was rubbing the tire. I knew this would be okay for a short while, but not for the entire adventure ahead. I rode to a friend’s house in uptown just a few miles away and dropped the bike there. From her house, it was just a short walk to the nearest bike share station.

Great times at 2010 Transporters Party

Brian and Evy opened their home again for the 18th annual Transporters party. I'm pleased to report that the new and improved Mode Split Stickers were a hit. They were also impossible to miss since they were in neon shades of yellow, green, and pink.

Sampling of mode split stickers.

John Gahbauer  carpooled with Dave Castle.

Forty-two people attended the Transporters party, up five from the year before. (Note: The number excludes Lilly Taylor the Golden Retriever, whose purpose at the party was to be adorable and to eat leftovers that had fallen to the floor.)

Lilly Taylor the Golden Retriever. She's so cute!!!

 Like last year, carpooling was the most prevalent mode. Eighteen of us carpooled (or fampooled) to our destination, as illustrated by the graph below.

Mode split from 2010 Transporters Party

Ryan Bradley Runs... err Walks the City

Writer and editor of the World Policy Journal, Ryan Bradley, has recently walked more than 70 miles through Los Angeles and has started writing a miniseries on his journey. His writing is more than a journal of his experience, instead he take his uses his personal experiences to expose larger transportation problems and then takes an in depth look at those issues. Some of the issues include development patterns, transit use, race, and sidewalk maintenance. Each part of the series is a good individual read so you can read one part or the whole series. Click here to read the story.

Sirinya's Live Blog "Changing Lanes: Bold Ideas to Solve LA's Traffic Problems", part of The Rosenfield Forums

Program for today's event; Picture is thanks to Juan's Nexus One.

Sirinya here live-blogging from "Changing Lanes", the second Rosenfield Forum (a UCLA event), which has brought together transportation scholars and policy leaders to talk about solutions to Los Angeles's transportation problems.


NOTE: This will be fully updated by Monday. For now, these are my notes. Enjoy!!!

Old modes of public transportation made New: Cable Car

Maybe it's because I'm from San Francisco and have a nostalgic and generous view of the cable car, or maybe it's because I now live in Los Angeles, which is slowly attempting to expand lines of public transportation, but this article in NewGeography has convinced me that maybe there is something to it.

Moving Toward Sustainable Transportation | 16th UCTC Student Conference 2010 at UC Irvine

Information is up online for the 2010 UCTC Student conference, hosted at UC Irvine. This year's theme is Moving Toward Sustainable Transportation. Now that I have graduated, I won't be going, but I wish to encourage current students to attend. The UCTC conference is attended by such a diverse cornucopia of students and professors who are studying transportation from different disciplines.

[Admittedly I had some trouble wrapping my head around the high-level engineering work being done at UC Irvine].

But I found the scholarship being one through the geography department at UCSB and the ITS center up at UC Davis (particularly Susan Shaheen's work on carsharing) absolutely fascinating.

The event is free. There is travel money for those who present and for undergraduate students.

Website: Moving Toward Sustainable Transportation | 16th UCTC Student Conference 2010 at UC Irvine

Bruins for Traffic Relief launch party « Be A Green Commuter Home

I just blogged earlier this morning on the blog for UCLA Transportation about the launch party for Bruins for Traffic Relief, the student transportation/transit advocacy org on campus. I was a member last year, and learned a LOT about the ins and outs how transportation and land use decisions are made in the city.

Students, I learned, can have an immense amount of influence by bringing up issues that might otherwise be ignored, or simply unaddressed.

The article:
Bruins for Traffic Relief launch party « Be A Green Commuter Home

- Sirinya MA '09

City official gives up his Hummer in a race to City Hall - latimes.com

City official gives up his Hummer in a race to City Hall - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Good Infographics - TTI Congestion Info

Designer Oliver Munday, looks at traffic in a few major U.S. metropolitan areas, and what the municipalities are doing to combat the congestion. See it here: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1001/ibm-traffic/flash.html

Check this out...

this is a good waste of time:


http://weburbanist.com/2010/01/18/more-than-fit-to-sit-15-clever-bench-ads/

Richard Ankrom's Guerilla Public Service: Freeway Signage

Don't sit idly by.

• http://www.good.is/post/the-fake-freeway-sign-that-became-a-real-public-service/
• http://www.laweekly.com/2009-12-31/la-life/richard-ankrom-s-freeway-art-caltrans-buys-into-the-prank/
• http://ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html

Urban Planning a Messy City: Billboards, Blight, Parks and Traffic

Curbed LA's review of '09. Woah, LA.

Holland's Plan to Tax on Every Kilometer Driven

Holland's Plan to Tax on Every Kilometer Driven