The Transit Coalition e-Newsletter, Tues., June 12, 2007
Weekly Transit eNewsletter
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Volume 3, Issue 24
Welcome to an The Transit Coalition weekly newsletter! Our organization participates in meetings with key decision makers and community leaders and our goal is to keep you informed on the latest developments in the transportation scene across Southern California.
Four of the twelve worstbottlenecks in the nation are found in the Metro Special Board Meeting on FY 08 Proposed Budget: Wednesday, June 13, 9:30 a.m.,Board Room, Metro Headquarters, Orange County Transportation Authority Board Meeting: Monday, June 25 and July 9,9 a.m., Board Hearing Room, About The Transit Coalition:
Global warming threatens to alter the California landscape in more ways than one, and in no way for the better. Already, state legislators are crafting at least 60 bills to tackle the problem. Less precipitation and the resulting reduction in snowpack would lead to strained water sources. New housing developments would have to provide water, traffic and pollution mitigation and reduce the “carbon footprint” of its residents. Should they fail to address these problems, such planned communities would be subject to litigation or abandoned outright.
And just how does public transportation figure into all of this? Proponents are relying on increased public concerns about global warming to champion funds for mass transit. Some hope that the subject, higher gas prices and increased demand for buses and trains can fire up a backlashagainst plans by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to raid Spillover funds for transit operations.
Global warming is also pitting lawmakers against car makers. One particular bill would make buyers of gas-guzzling vehicles pay up to an additional $2,500 in fees while rewardingbuyers of more efficient vehicles with a rebate of up to the same amount.Automobile makers charge that it would penalize families who need larger vehicles. Also, a growth plan for the
Several opponents of
Meanwhile, San Diego City Beat speculates why Schwarzenegger is trying to kill the project despite his desire to see
College graduates are growing more conscious of the transportation choices they must make upon leaving school,according to a recent Daily Bruin article.Seeing car ownership as an unaffordable expense, graduates look for places near public transit to save money. Indeed, one Washington Post columnist suggests that graduates must think not only where they will work, but how will they get there on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, a tug of war is brewing in
Once again, Amtrak leads the way in transportingpeople in the most energy efficient manner, according to a recent study by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Amtrak uses less energy per passenger mile than cars, airlines or even subways and commuter rail systems. The report revealed that airlines and cars consume more than one-fifth more energy per passenger mile than Amtrak's trains. In more good news, the San Jose-Sacramento Capitol Corridor service logged 141,789 passengers, the highest monthly ridership total in the history of the service.
Donate and Join The Transit Coalition: We have a tough fight, as the Mayor and some media want to kill or damage rail transit. Your financial help is needed to build opposition to these ill informed actions. Do you want to save and improve transportation in
And just what kind of fixes do people have in mind? Some believe small improvements will have a big impact, while others advocate for car tunnels under the
Meanwhile, the California Transportation Commission holds VenturaCounty drivers in suspense when it comes to widening the 118 Freeway, and the Ventura County Star editorializedtheir discontent. The City of
Don’t count on gas prices dropping significantly anytime soon. Demand for fuel is growing faster than expected, and countries are putting pressure on oil exporters to increase their output. In the meantime, here are a few ideasthat can help you save some gas in these times.
Robert Bruegmann of the
However, this is not stopping development along train lines. In fact, transit-oriented development is growing at a rapid pace across the country. Locally, however, rumors are flying around that famed architect Frank Gehry will not take part in Phases II and III of the
Plans to clean up the ports receivedsupport from (surprise, surprise!) port truckers. Tractors using the facilities produce 30% to 40% of pollution from the ports, which has been linked to higher risks of cancer, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments.Truckers attended a recent meeting to share their stories on ailments stemming from pollution from the very tractors they drive. Some criticize the port plan to prohibit older tractors to enter the docks, fearing it would drive out small enterprise.
However, this expression of good will does not dissipate skepticism that the accompanying expansion plans will worsenpollution problems.
Aviation experts and proponents ponder how to entice the federal government to upgrade the massive and aging flight control system. Passenger traffic will rise by 78%to nearly 1.3 billion annually by 2025. Updating the system with GPS technology and an information sharing system, among other things, would cost $40-billion. Advocates say the proposed modernization is expected to improve efficiency and increase safety.
A Detour: In flagrant violation of the Brown Act, security officers at the DWP building in
Here is a list of other recent developments:
June 7: The Transportation Security Administration charged $219 million in security fees, covering two years, to 22 airlines. Southwest owes the most, at $54 million. The 22 carriers appealed the fees in January 2006 as unfair and excessive, but the TSA denied these appeals.
United Airlines began servicefrom
June 11: Presidential candidate Bill Richardson visited Los Angeles to discuss the importance of building public transportation across the nation. If elected,
The Orange County Transportation Authority Board voted to spend $133 million to bring bus rapid transit to the county, in the same vein as Metro Rapid Buses. The first route will run from
Some 300 people showed up at a meeting to discuss and criticizethe I-405 northbound carpool lane project through the
The House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development voted to give Amtrak $1.4 billion,rejecting a proposal by the president to fund the intercity passenger railroad at $800 million. The FY 2008 spending bill also contains $3.6 billion for the airport improvement program for upgrades at airports across the country, $850million more than the president’s request; and $40.2 billion for highways, $600million for than requested.
June 12:OCTA and representatives from bus driver unions resumed contract talks. An Orange County Register editorialused the crisis as a soapbox for privatization of public transit. A letter in reply countered that privatization would lead to reduced quality of service.
Upcoming Events: Metro Westside/Central Governance Council: Wednesday, June 13, 5 p.m.,La
Metro Gateway Cities Governance Council: Thursday, June 14, 2 p.m., Gas Company ERC,
Metro CommitteeMeetings: Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21, Board Room, Metro Headquarters,
Metro Special Board Meeting on Call for Projects: Wednesday, June 20, 1 p.m.,Board Room, Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza (adjacent to Union Station),Los Angeles.
Considerattending our monthly Transit Coalition Dinner Meeting on Tuesday,June 26 - 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at PhilippeThe Original,
Metro Board Meeting: Monday, June 28, 9:30 a.m., Board Room, MetroHeadquarters,
Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority: Thursday,July 5, 2:30 p.m., Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Board of Supervisors Hearing Room 381B,
SCAG MagLev Task Force:Thursday, August 9, 10:00 a.m. SCAG Offices,
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Contact Us:
We welcome your thoughts and comments on our new electronic newsletter. Please write us:
Bart Reed, Executive Director
Numan Parada, Communications Director
The Transit Coalition is a 501[c](3) non-profit whose goal is to increase Transit Options and Mobility in Southern California by mobilizing citizens to press for sensible public policy to grow our bus and rail network.
As a grass roots group, we depend upon your contributions to allow us to pursue our important work. Add yourself to our mailing list and please donate to help us grow.
Visit our Discussion Board for the latest dialogue on transit.
6 Comments:
Anonymous said:
Isn't there a way of posting this without it hogging the whole site?
Anonymous said:
What a bunch of horse crap. STOP SPAMMING US.
Anonymous said:
Hogging the whole site? Its about 1/3 of what Zuma writes every hour..and at least he uses the "Read More" function.
Anonymous said:
Numan? Is that, like, the post office guy on Seinfeld?
Anonymous said:
Pardon me, how can something be called "global warming," when this phenomon is occurring only in the Northern Hemisphere, and most of the carbon dioxide emissions are coming from the ocean?
Does this mean we won't be able to use our cell phones when we're in the middle of the ocean?
Anonymous said:
You're right, global warming doesn't exist.
Now please go back to talking to the voices in your head.
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