Tag: California
Identifying the most desirable communities in America
What’s the most desirable community in the U.S.? In a recent study titled “Driving to Opportunity: Local Rents, Wages, Commuting, and Sub-Metropolitan Quality of Life,” researchers investigated differences in local rents, pay, commuting costs, household characteristics and amenities in nearly 2,100 areas within metro areas throughout the U.S., creating an index based on “willingness-to-pay,” which “indicates the quality […]
Safe Route to School has huge impact on child safety & walking rates
It may be widespread from Minnesota to Georgia now, but the program (or SRTS) was first pioneered by California back in 1999. A recent study out of Berkeley, “Examining Long-Term Impact of California Safe Routes to School Program: 10 Years Later,” takes a look at the impact of the program on safety and on walking and biking […]
Slower than a speeding bullet: building American high-speed rail
90 minutes: That’s how quick a bullet train may travel between Houston and Dallas. A railway company in Texas is now firming up its plans to build a high-speed train network between the two cities, reports the Texas Tribune, with hopes to begin operations by 2021. Though this project plans to operate without federal funds, […]
Is Portland’s smart growth smarter than Los Angeles’?
A recent study contrasts Portland, long admired as an example of a smart growth city, and Los Angeles, often considered the American epitome of urban sprawl. Authors Hongwei Dong of California State University and Pengyu Zhu of Boise State University define smart growth as “a reaction to urban sprawl” that promotes “compact urban form, orderly […]
Caltrans scrambles to keep up with transportation trends
SNL’s “The Californians” pokes fun at the Golden State’s obsession with freeways and car culture, but the show’s writers may have to revise their scripts. Californians are walking and biking twice as much as they did ten years ago, according to the most recent household survey conducted by the California Department of Transportation. Caltrans, as […]
Sen. Boxer (D-CA) speaks out on highway fund
Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, announced in a recent letter that salvaging the Highway Trust Fund is a major focus of her office, reports the blog Better Roads. Boxer, in a letter addressed to Congressman Dave Camp, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and Congressman Sander Levin, reads, “Although Congress passed […]
Should federal transport spending take job creation into account?
Even as the amount of federal funding awarded to contractors falls, there’s broad recognition that the country must invest in its transportation infrastructure. Earlier this week the Council on Foreign Relations released Transportation Infrastructure: Moving America, its report on America’s aging transportation network, while policy wonks such as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and former […]
Preferential parking in Los Angeles: boon or burden?
Los Angeles: notorious for its tough parking. Does preferential parking help solve the problem or aggravate it? That depends on whether or not you have preferential parking yourself. What is preferential parking? A Preferential Parking District restricts outsiders from parking in a neighborhood. Los Angeles has about 30 of these districts. How does a district […]
Troubled Disneyland expands parking, but experts skeptical of move
Even “The Happiest Place on Earth” has parking problems. With guest attendance rising every year from 2004 to 2012, Disneyland hasn’t been able to keep up with parking demand. As a result, annual pass holders and tourists consistently find themselves hunting for parking in remote structures, especially on Sundays. Walt Disney Co. is addressing the problem by […]
Los Angeles pilots Bicycle-Friendly Business District
Policymakers in Los Angeles are doubling down on the idea that cyclists can boost businesses and piloting the city’s first Bicycle-Friendly Business District (BFBD). Targeting northeast LA’s main streets—N. Figueroa and Colorado, York, and Eagle Rock boulevards—the BFBD will act as the foundation for a citywide program expected to begin next year or 2016. The […]
Santa Barbara’s corrupt parking enforcement sees more changes
Four months after the sentencing of former police business manager Karen Flores, who embezzled more than $500,000 from Santa Barbara’s parking-citation fund, the city approved $55,000 for an analysis of its outdated ticketing system. City Hall initially issued a proposal request for the study last fall and received just one response from J R Parking […]