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 We'll have a new MTA board chair on Sunday. The new boss wants to get things moving:
Santa Monica City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor will take over as chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors Sunday. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will act as first vice chair, and county Supervisor Don Knabe will be second vice chair. "In the coming year, Los Angeles County faces many challenges as we strive to improve mobility for the region through implementation of various transportation improvement programs," O’Connor said. "I look forward to leading Metro on a course that encourages people to ride-share with car pools and van pools or take public transit whenever possible." The MTA will also continue its pursuit of transit-oriented developments, said O’Connor, who has been on the board since 2001. (CNS) (Photo: MTA)
Not a good start to the holiday getaway weekend: A load of animal carcasses that spilled from a big rig on the westbound Pomona (60) Freeway at Crossroads Parkway in Industry is causing a traffic nightmare for motorists. Three lanes are blocked, according to the California Highway Patrol. (CNS)
A couple of questions and answers about congestion pricing:
What are the different types of congestion programs? Many congestion-pricing projects involve charging motorists to drive on certain roads or lanes, with the toll varying depending on the level of traffic. London employs a "cordon charge," in which motorists pay a toll (about $20) for entering a congested district. "Areawide charges" involve charging motorists for using all roads in a certain area.
Where is congestion pricing already being used? In San Diego County, there are express lanes on the 15 Freeway, where motorists pay anywhere from $1.50 during off-peak hours to $4 during rush hour. Orange County has the 91 express lanes, a 10-mile stretch where tolls range from $1.15 to $9.50, depending on the hour.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
 The MTA's study of congestion pricing is getting strong reaction. The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II reports that AAA is lined up against allowing toll-paying motorists into carpool lanes:
Still, the idea of allowing solo motorists who pay a toll to use carpool lanes is already generating strong opposition from some commuters as well as auto advocacy groups. "We feel it will be a form of double taxation to charge people for the roads they have already paid for by gas taxes," said Hamid Bahadori, principal transportation engineer for the Automobile Club of Southern California. "Rather than trying to restrict access, they had better start delivering on the projects."
The story includes a reader poll on the issue.
 Paris Hilton says she will be a better person after her time behind bars -- and also a better driver. The AP uses this as a jumping-off point to review Hollywood celebrities with driving troubles. Here's a sample (full story below):
-- Mel Gibson tools down Pacific Coast Highway at 87 mph with a bottle of tequila in his Lexus last year before he’s pulled over. After an angry, anti-Semitic rant in which he blames Jews for all the world’s wars, he’s taken to jail for drunken driving.
-- Lindsay Lohan, six weeks shy of the legal drinking age, winds up in the hospital, then under arrest on suspicion of DUI and finally in rehab after crashing her Mercedes-Benz into a curb on the Sunset Strip over Memorial Day weekend.
-- Nicole Richie, 25, is charged with DUI in December after the California Highway Patrol finds her SUV parked in a freeway car pool lane with her in it. She’s entered a not guilty plea.
-- Rapper-actress Eve pleads no contest to DUI after smashing her Maserati into a concrete median on Hollywood Boulevard and is sentenced to wearing a booze-detecting ankle bracelet for 45 days.
Continue reading "Bad celebrity drivers" »
 The Subway to the Sea took a very small step forward today with money for a study. But some members of the MTA want to be clear that the action doesn't mean they support the $4-billion-plus Wilshire Boulevard project:
The MTA board agreed today to spend $3.6 million to study the feasibility of extending the Purple Line to Santa Monica. A federal ban, in place since 1985, prevents the Metro Purple Line from extending west on Wilshire Boulevard past Western Avenue, but the transit agency is moving forward with plans to study alternate routes and preliminary engineering and environmental issues. Board members said commissioning the study, which should take 12 to 18 months to complete, does not mean the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is endorsing the project or will necessarily move forward with plans to extend the Purple Line, which was previously called the Red Line between Union Station and Wilshire/Western. "When we speak in terms of competing for federal funds, there’s also other projects we’re looking at for federal funds as well. I want to be clear that this action, although a first step, is not in any way, shape or form approving a 'subway to the sea,' " said county Supervisor Don Knabe. (CNS)
 Busy day at the MTA, which also approved its budget for the next year, with a few last-minute changes that affect bus service:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board today unanimously approved a $3.1-billion budget for the coming fiscal year. Before the spending plan was approved, board members were granted some last-minute requests, including $4.5 million for 22 bus mechanics and 11 electricians. At the request of Supervisor Gloria Molina and Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, the agency will also spend $975,000 to install video cameras on all buses to monitor accidents and near-misses. The most debated motion was one put forth by Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who asked that the agency continue bus line 442, between Hawthorne and downtown Los Angeles, for one more year at a cost of $332,000. The line was scheduled for cancellation because of low ridership, but Burke asked that it be given a reprieve after complaints from riders. If the line does not reach 60% capacity in the next year, it will be canceled. Some board members voiced concerns that the motion would undermine the power given to local service sectors, which usually make the decision to discontinue a line. "This is the beginning of opening up the flood gates," Molina said. "There are many lines that we could talk about, and as we look, we don’t have enough budget to operate all of our lines. We committed ourselves to sector governance -- they have their responsibilities and duties." (CNS)
 In a major shift in philosophy, L.A. transit leaders today agreed to develop plans for toll roads in the county within three years.
The decision by the MTA board of directors comes amid criticism that Los Angeles remains one of the few metropolitan areas in the country not to experiment with so-called congestion pricing, in which motorists are charged to use certain roads based on the amount of traffic.
Last month, the county lost out on a major federal grant because it did not have any congestion pricing programs in the works. London and New York have both garnered headlines for efforts to charge motorists who drive into those cities during rush hour. Closer to home, both Orange County and San Diego County have toll roads and so-called HOT (high-occupancy toll) lanes in which motorists pay based on the amount of congestion.
Traditionally, L.A. officials have been cool to congestion pricing, with critics using the term "Lexus lanes," referring to the rich who they say take money away from rail and bus services. But the county’s worsening traffic -- and the need for more transit project revenue -- has changed some minds. "At some point, we have to reduce the number of single-passenger automobiles if we want to reduce gridlock in L.A. County," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. No specific projects have been identified.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
 The MTA board is still debating its budget, according to The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II. An interesting highlight:
-- There is a push to add a detailed study on congestion pricing in L.A. County. Such pricing -- often in the form of toll lanes and HOT lanes -- are used in Orange County and San Diego County but not in L.A. And the county missed out on some federal funding because of it.
 The Reason Foundation's list of the most traffic-packed states finds California is one of the worst -- but far from the worst (North Dakota and South Carolina take those honors):
California roads are some of the nation’s most congested, the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation said in a survey released today. "Gridlock isn’t going away," said David T. Hartgen, the study’s lead author. "States are going to have to prioritize and direct their transportation money to projects specifically designed to reduce congestion if we are going to reverse this troubling trend." Drivers in California, Minnesota, New Jersey and North Carolina are stuck in the worst traffic, with over 70% of urban interstates in those states qualifying as congested, according to the think tank. (CNS)
Continue reading "We're #7!" »
The latest from The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II: A Los Angeles judge today refused to grant an injunction preventing the MTA from imposing hefty fare hikes for bus and rail service, making it likely the new prices will go into effect as scheduled this weekend.
 A judge this afternoon is deciding whether to issue an injunction that would block the MTA's big fare increases. The Bus Riders Union plans a demonstration after the court hearing at MTA headquarters. The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II will have an update on the court hearing soon.
 A new city audit says L.A. was overcharged in a Dial-a-Ride contract in South L.A. The L.A. Department of Transportation is now trying to recover the funds:
The city of Los Angeles was overcharged $700,000 over eight years under a Dial-a-Ride contract with the nonprofit Watts Labor Community Action Committee, according to a city audit released today. Though the contract is no longer in effect, City Controller Laura Chick said the issue "starkly illustrates things that the city still needs to change." Chick’s audit also found inaccuracies in contractor invoices and a lack of clarity in contract requirements with the nonprofit agency, which provided Dial-a-Ride services on the Westside, South Los Angeles and the Harbor area from September 1998 through last September. The city’s Transportation Department, which oversaw the contract, is working with the city attorney’s office to recover the lost funds, according to the agency’s spokesman, Bruce Gilman. (CNS)
It's been a terrible 12 hours of traffic headaches at the major 60/91/215 interchange in Riverside. Last night, it was that massive fire at the plastics factory that closed the entire interchange. This morning, it's a big rig crash:
A big rig crashed into a support column and spilled fuel on a freeway connector road early today, forcing its closure through the morning rush-hour period, authorities said. According to the California Highway Patrol, the ramp bridging the eastbound (91) Freeway to southbound Interstate 215 was reopened around 10 a.m., roughly six hours after the accident. Caltrans spokeswoman Terese Lagana said the big rig was transitioning from the 91 onto the southbound I-215 connector ramp when it collided with one of several "crash cushions" that shield support columns throughout the 60/91/215 interchange. (CNS)
The great truck protest perhaps ended with a whimper. But organizers were still proud of the turnout. They said some drivers could not take part because they got hauls they needed to move. They also said that they got their point across without hurting fellow commuters.
-Rong-Gong Lin II at the Port of Long Beach
Continue reading "Where were all the trucks?" »
The trucks have parked at the Port of Long Beach. But for some reason there are fewer here for the rally than when the convoy started. There are about 19 trucks now -- compared with about 30 at the start at Exposition Park. The remaining convoy made an extra run around the port to pass the line of cameras one more time.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, at the Port of Long Beach
The trucks just crossed into Long Beach on the Gerald Desmond Bridge -- but did anyone notice in a town so full of big rigs? Maybe not. The roads in and out of the Port of Long Beach are usually jammed with trucks.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, in Long Beach
The truckers are now in the port area, about five minutes from the end of their demonstration. So far, no major delays -- and inside the port, the caravan is increasingly blending in with the rest of the truck traffic.
-- Tiffany Hsu, on Terminal Island
The convoy is now on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, and things suddenly look dramatic. The narrow span offers a good backdrop for the line of trucks crawling over it, led by a white vehicle with a banner reading, in Spanish, "Supporting the Truckers." At the base of the bridge, one car pulled off the road and the driver took pictures (though maybe he's connected to the protest). Next stop: the Port of Long Beach.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, on the Vincent Thomas Bridge
Trucker German Merino says he doesn't want to cause traffic gridlock or do anything to make the commute worse. He does, however, want to make a statement during the protests. As the caravan approaches the port, traffic is going about 35 mph, and some puzzled motorists appear to be trying to figure out what's going on on the 110. Organizers say more trucks will join the caravan as it reaches the port and crosses the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
-- Tiffany Hsu, on the 110 at Pacific Coast Highway
Trucker German Merino, 53, was among the procession of trucks that headed single-file down the slow lane of the 110 Freeway this morning as part of the protest. He said he had worked in the trucking industry for 23 years and wanted to see better conditions. "I like what I'm doing. I like my job," said Merino, a father of four who lives in Bellflower and hauls port containers for Total Distribution Services. "That's why I've been in business for so long. But for 23 years I've been waiting for this trip to come true. To be able to give my family a more stable economy."
-- Tiffany Hsu, on the 110
Turns out it's hard to create a media sensation on the freeway. That's what the trucker/demonstrators are quickly learning. To many veteran freeway watchers, the 30-truck protest march down the 110 looks like just another morning commute. And the truckers are being very polite -- allowing motorists to cut in and other of their convoy. As a result, it appears that many 110 drivers don't even know they're in the midst of a protest.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, on the 110 at the 405
As the caravan approaches the 110-105 interchange, the protest designed to raise attention to port pollution is getting moderate interest. There are few people looking down from bridges over the 110 Freeway, and commuters seem to be taking the protest in stride. When the caravan began, traffic south on the 110 was jammed. Now traffic has opened up. The trucks are still traveling at 20 to 25 mph, but other motorists are speeding through, and many seem to be paying little attention to the protest.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, on the 110 at the 105
The protest got off to a slow start. Instead of 100 trucks, the organizers got only about 30. They hope to pick up more trucks en route to the Port of Long Beach.
All the trucks are in the second lane from the right, traveling about 20 to 25 mph -- well below normal speed. The CHP is out in force. Other lanes are moving fairly well.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II, on the 110 at Century Boulevard
We've seen protests on streets, parks, even mountaintops. But today's trucker protest on the 110 may be the first mass protest on a freeway. Bottleneck will cover it, with Times staff writers Rong-Gong Lin II and Tiffany Hsu in the caravan and checking for traffic trouble spots.
Prepare for congestion — even more than usual — on the Harbor Freeway this morning.
Beginning at 8 a.m., a convoy of 100 diesel trucks plans to travel south in one lane of the freeway from South Los Angeles near Exposition Park, then cross the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the Port of Long Beach, a trip expected to take about two hours. The convoy will be led by a hearse, symbolizing the premature deaths caused by pollution emitted at the port.
"It could cause traffic headaches. It's not often you see 100 trucks going down the road nose to tail," said Officer Richard Langsdale of the California Highway Patrol.
Bottleneck will provide coverage of the freeway protest throughout the morning.
The convoy is being organized by the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, a group that includes truck drivers and environmental, health, labor and community groups in southern Los Angeles County. The group supports a draft plan by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to slash diesel pollution from trucks by 80% in five years.
Some truck drivers have said they support the measure, arguing that they breathe in the pollution too, but cannot afford to resolve the problem on their own. State air quality and health experts have linked 2,400 premature deaths a year to noxious emissions produced by the ports, which reported an average 10% increase in trade in 2006.
The plan would also increase drivers' income by requiring trucking companies to hire their truckers as employees, rather than pay them at a lower rate as independent contractors.
Representatives of trucking companies have opposed the plan, saying they would face additional costs, which could drive small companies out of business. They also have said that the ports' plan would illegally supersede interstate commerce laws.
Organizers said they chose the route because many truck drivers live in South Los Angeles. They will wind up at a closed-door meeting at the Port of Long Beach, where port officials will hear comments about its proposal. Port officials are expected to vote on the plan this summer.
"The intent is to get the voices of the drivers heard," said Patricia Castellanos, co-chairwoman of the coalition. "These drivers don't have the luxury of paying for high-priced consultants."
Langsdale of the CHP said it is illegal for drivers to purposely go slower than the flow of traffic. But it is not illegal to drive the speed limit for big rigs on the freeway — 55 mph.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
 The city today will unveil another of its red-light cameras -- this one in Van Nuys. It comes with a $381 fine:
Red-light runners at one of the San Fernando Valley’s busiest intersections will be caught on camera beginning tomorrow. The city’s 20th Photo Red Light system, at the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Oxnard Street, is scheduled to be switched on during a news conference tomorrow morning. Thirty-one traffic collisions have been logged at the intersection over the last two years, making it a prime target for a monitoring system, according to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, whose 2nd District includes the area. Scofflaws receive a $381 ticket in the mail, along with a photo of their vehicle running the red light. The city’s 2006-07 budget set aside more than $1 million to equip 32 intersections with cameras that will snap photos of scofflaw drivers, but the city has fallen behind on installing the equipment. (CNS)
Inland Empire commuters can expect this massive fire to cause major delays for the evening ride: A roaring fire in an industrial yard sent a huge column of black smoke blowing across Riverside County on Tuesday. The fire burned furiously in a large commercial yard filled with crates, lumber, barrels and trash. About 20 firefighters poured streams of water onto the site, near the junction of the 60 and 91 freeways and Interstate 215. "I’ve never seen anything like this in my life," said Lee Carmen, 39, who owns a nearby cabinet shop. "It’s just getting worse and worse." (AP)
 You might want to stay away from the Harbor Freeway through South L.A. this morning. That's when 100 truckers have vowed to stage a convoy/protest down the freeway to push for "green trucking" at the port. Here is the staging: 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. One hundred port drivers assemble with their trucks at the staging location at Exposition Parking Lot 5, 807 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (at Hoover Street), L.A.
8 to 10 a.m. The massive convoy of diesel-spewing trucks heads south, jamming the 110 Harbor Freeway during late-morning rush hour.
10 a.m. Trucks and drivers, along with environmental, community and public health activists, arrive for a rally at the Port of Long Beach headquarters.
 The PT reports that charges were filed against an alleged drunk driver who police claim hit more than 20 cars -- and two people -- during a spree in Belmont Shore earlier this year:
Drunk-driving and hit-and-run charges were filed Friday against a Long Beach man who, according to police, hit about two dozen cars and two people on a wild night in Belmont Heights earlier this year. No one was seriously hurt in the incident, but property damage ran high when David Wecksler -- allegedly under the influence of a controlled substance -- plowed into row after row of parked cars in Belmont Heights on Feb. 15, said Accident Investigations Detective Brian Watt.... Wecksler, 31, told police he had been playing poker with friends at 10th Street and Loma Avenue and had a few drinks, but insisted it was a blown tire that caused him to lose control.
 As promised, opponents of the MTA's fare hikes are going to court in an attempt to block the higher charges. The challenge raises the specter of more litigation for the MTA just as it exits a federal consent decree. From the press release:
According to a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Bus Riders Union (BRU) and the Labor/Community Strategy Center (LCSC), MTA violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving massive bus fare increases without considering the environmental impacts of its decision. By turning riders into drivers, groups say the fare increases -- as high as 140% -- will result in even more air pollution, global warming emissions and traffic congestion. Indeed, MTA's own projections and analyses confirm that the increases will cause more pollution. "The MTA is forcing many thousands of riders off the system and back into cars," says David Pettit, director of the NRDC's Southern California Air Program. "This will bring into our streets, roads and highways an enormous number of cars, trucks and other vehicles, increasing pollution and exacerbating traffic congestion."
 Looks like the LAPD has a new way to combat the paparazzi. Officials announced that beginning today, many blocks around Paris Hilton's Hollywood Hills home will become temporary "No Stopping" zones -- just as the hotel heiress is about to be released. Residents have complained loudly to The Times about the media circus that occurred the morning Hilton was hauled back to jail earlier this month. We wonder if this new tactic will be used elsewhere if it works on the most closely watched jail release in some time. Here are the streets in question:
-- Kings Road from Sunset Boulevard to Hollywood Boulevard
-- Harold Way between Queens Road and Kings Road
-- Carlton Way between Queens Road and Kings Road
-- Queens Road from Sunset Boulevard to Hollywood Boulevard
(Photo: AP; LAPD parking bulletin below)
Continue reading "No Parking in Parisland" »
Here's a new way for the Vals to get to the beach -- a shuttle service that officials hope will make the canyon roads a bit safer:
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and City Council members Dennis P. Zine and Wendy Greuel will hold a news conference to promote the new Topanga Canyon Summer Beach Bus connection with the Orange Line at Warner Center Transit Station. The service to Topanga, Will Rogers State and Santa Monica beaches will begin Monday and run through Labor Day. (CNS)
Another freeway shooting, this one on the 405 in Huntington Beach. Thankfully, no one killed this time: A suspect remained at large today in connection with a road rage exchange of gunfire with another motorist in Huntington Beach that sent a bullet into a third vehicle, injuring the driver, police said. The suspect, driving a light blue Chevrolet El Camino, exchanged gunfire about 4 p.m. Friday with Michael Layton, 35, of Long Beach as the two entered the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway from Beach Boulevard, said Huntington Beach police Sgt. Michael Spencer. A bullet from the exchange left Mark Chang of Redondo Beach with facial lacerations, either from broken glass or bullet fragments, Spencer said. (CNS)
 Wow! When you put it that way, it is impressive. The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin offers some historic context to the upcoming opening of the 210 Freeway through San Bernardino County. It's been an epic project that began 40 years ago:
It'll be almost 40 years between the opening of the first part of the 210 Freeway and completion of its last piece later this year. That's more years than it took America to complete the transcontinental railroad, dig the Erie Canal, build Hoover Dam and finish the Panama Canal -- combined. The final eight miles from Fontana to San Bernardino will end the last major Southern California freeway project south of the San Gabriel Mountains, according to Ty Schuiling of San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county's transportation authority. With the exception of an endlessly delayed chunk of the 710 Freeway in South Pasadena, the 210 link is all that's left of the ambitious Southern California freeway-building plan begun more than a half-century ago.
 How bad? Here's how bad. The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II reports that the vast majority of Southern California's carpool lanes don't comply with federal standards. This map tells the story. Apparently, some are much worse than others:
A Caltrans study found that during the evening rush hour, nearly one-third of carpool-lane miles do not meet federal minimum standards, which require that the lanes flow at speeds of 45 mph or faster at rush hour. The speeds are far lower on some major Southern California routes, including portions of the 405 Freeway from the South Bay through Orange County as well as the 5 and 210 freeways. Local officials say the 91 Freeway carpool lanes connecting Orange County and the Inland Empire can slow to 10 mph during rush hour, with portions of the 55 and 57 freeways doing even worse.
 Evelyn Catron decided to leave her car at home and take the bus to downtown L.A. to see "Jersey Boys." She provides a travelogue to Valley News readers, saying the trip was something of an adventure, family history lesson and a trip down memory lane:
We reach Fletcher Drive and I can see the old Van de Camps [sic] Bakery ... or at least its façade. I hear it's a school or something now, but they kept that lovely outer structure, God bless them! This area belonged to me when I was a kid, and to my cousins, and to our barefoot friends and our schoolmates, in the thirties ... My Aunt Nonie's house, where I was baby-sat, is buried behind that factory wall; the market on the corner is still here, but has become small units, supporting small endeavors.
 The MTA budget is a step closer to being a done deal, despite an appeal by the Bus Riders Union:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposed $3.121-billion budget for the coming fiscal year was recommended for approval today by the agency’s Finance and Budget Committee. The MTA Board of Directors will vote on the budget June 28. During a budget workshop last week, board members Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke and Long Beach City Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal asked the agency staff to find an additional $4.5 million to hire more mechanics. The committee’s decision to approve the budget followed a 10- minute public hearing, during which members of the activist group the Bus Riders Union expressed their disappointment in the agency’s decision to raise fares on bus and rail lines. "It is a real raw deal for a lot of bus riders. At the core [of the budget] is this new fare increase," said BRU member Manuel Criollo. (CNS)
Continue reading "'Raw deal' at MTA?" »
 As Santa Monica moves forward with its plans to rebuild the California Incline, the city is getting some static from Pacific Palisades. PP residents tell the Palisadian-Post that they worry the reworking of the legendary roadway connecting Pacific Coast Highway with Santa Monica's Ocean Avenue and the bluffs overlooking the ocean will bring more traffic their way:
"If you look at this project," said [Pacific Palisades Community Council] Vice Chair Richard Cohen, "the overwhelming costs are going to hit residents of L.A. And the clear benefits are going to the residents of Santa Monica. We ought to raise hell! We have to stay on our elected leaders."
Among many other complaints, members want Santa Monica to complete improvement of the bluffs before it begins working on the Incline; they want the city to reconfigure the Ocean Avenue-Moomat Ahiko Way intersection to allow two right-turn lanes; and they fear that a traffic signal at 415 PCH during incline construction will create more congestion. Members also want to require around-the-clock construction and provide a bonus for early completion.
 The L.A. City Council is getting aboard the (increasingly long-shot) bid to build a high-speed rail line up and down the state. In our area, some see it as a good commute alternative between L.A. and OC:
Efforts to fully fund construction of a 700-mile high-speed rail link that would begin in San Diego, travel through Los Angeles and end in the Bay Area won the unanimous support of the Los Angeles City Council today. The proposed electricity-operated train would travel 220 mph, whisking passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours. The council also agreed to support a $9-billion bond measure that will go before voters in November to begin construction on a portion of the $40-billion rail system. Backers say the rail system is projected to carry 68 million passengers annually by 2020. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that California cannot afford the bond money to pay for construction of elevated and underground tracks at a time when more highways, levees, schools and prisons must be built. (CNS)
 Could we be close to the first major increase in fuel economy standards in two decades? Looks possible:
Senators reached agreement Thursday on a proposal to increase automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon, the first significant boost demanded of automakers in nearly 20 years. The agreement, expected to be announced at a news conference, would scale back a proposal already in an energy bill but still was considered strong enough to have wide support from environmentalists. The compromise aimed to head off attempts by senators sympathetic to the auto industry from pressing a less stringent proposal. Supporters said they had the 60 votes needed to prevent opponents from blocking it. Earlier Thursday, Senate Democrats fell three votes short of the 60 they needed to advanced a tax package that would have levied $29 billion in new taxes on the oil industry to pay for development of renewable fuels and clean energy programs. (AP)
 Dump the Pump Day arrived around Southern California with various events urging people to take mass transit to work. The Orange County Transportation Authority was offering juice and muffins to commuters in Fullerton. In L.A., the MTA used the day to unveil its new Rapid bus lines. But did if feel like less traffic out there? (Not to the few people the BB talked to.) Did you dump the pump?
In honor of Dump the Pump Day, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced today the launch of four additional Metro Rapid and Metro Rapid Express bus lines. Metro Rapid Line 704 on Santa Monica Boulevard and Metro Rapid Line 760 between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach Boulevard will begin operating on Sunday, bringing the number of rapid lines in Los Angeles County to 18. The transit agency expects to operate 28 Metro Rapid lines by mid-2008. Metro Rapid Express Line 920 will start running on Monday along Wilshire Boulevard. The line will begin at Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont and make stops at Western Avenue, Fairfax Avenue, Beverly Drive, Westwood Boulevard and 4th Street in Santa Monica. Metro Rapid Express Line 940 will also start Monday, with stops at the South Bay Galleria Transit Center, Metro Green Line Hawthorne Station, La Brea and Manchester avenues, King and Crenshaw boulevards, King Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, Broadway and 6th Street, and Union Station. (CNS)
 Michael Krikorian has found what he calls the most expensive intersection in L.A. Not because of the upscale real estate. At the corner of Clinton Street and La Brea Avenue south of Hollywood, you cannot turn RIGHT during certain hours. And there is a $159 ticket if you do:
IT’S 1:30 P.M. ON FRIDAY and a blue-gray 2007 750Li BMW tooling along Clinton Street in the Hollywood flatlands pulls up to the southwest corner of Clinton and La Brea Avenue. Suddenly, three children from the nearby Bais Yaakov school begin frantically knocking on the Beemer’s passenger window — startling the driver as other children, aided by a crossing guard, walk in front of his car and cross La Brea. Kids or no kids, two cars waiting behind the BMW begin honking at the luxury car to get going. With the crosswalk now free of kids, the hassled driver turns right onto La Brea. He’ll pay for it — $159, in fact. About 80 yards ahead of him on La Brea, an LAPD officer steps into the slow lane and gives the approaching BMW the “Stop! In the name of the law!” gesture. The officer, Regina Smith, informs the driver that he has just made an illegal right turn and will be ticketed. He’s clearly fuming.
 There's been a thoughtful dust-up on The Times' opinion page the last few days about traffic, "smart growth" and the future of development in L.A. It's between author Robert Bruegmann and activist Gloria Ohland. Bruegmann today says:
Rather than put as our goal a reduction in vehicle miles traveled, we should instead be looking first of all to maintain or increase mobility for all citizens. This will, of course, involve major changes to our current transportation system that we have clearly outgrown. Public transport can and should play an important role in this, but given the low densities of our cities, the scattered locations of homes, jobs and other activities and the enormous gains in efficiency provided by private transportation, it is highly unlikely that traditional buses or trains will supplant private transportation in any significant way.
 Ever since the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro was fitted with blue lights in 2005, it's been a picture-postcard icon. Ever wonder why blue? There's a back story to that, according to Caltrans' Inside Seven, which wrote about an award the lighting project recently won:
The blue lights were chosen, the committee explained in its award application, because they stand out from the amber-colored lights and maritime navigation indicators in the harbor area, “making the bridge a landmark clearly visible from land, sea and air.” Directional placement of the lights prevents them from disturbing the Peregrines roosting on the substructure of the bridge and also prevents light from shining upward, so the project doesn’t contribute to sky-glow or affect migratory birds flying overhead. LED bulbs consume minimal electricity and require infrequent changing, reducing the exposure of maintenance personnel to the risk of working below the bridge deck or on the bridge cables.
 Here's a new way officials are trying to deal with street racers: Crush their beloved cars, in front of them. Leave it to the Inland Empire:
Charles Hoang winced when the whoosh went out of the tires. Daniel Maldonado took pictures with a digital camera as glass exploded and rained down to the ground. The two teens didn’t know each other but they shared a common grief standing near each other under the sweltering sun Wednesday. They both watched helplessly as the cars they had so meticulously souped up and tricked out were crushed and turned into metal pancakes as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in Southern California. "That’s my heart, my dream," said a visibly upset Hoang, 18, of Chino, who was surrounded by friends as his 1998 Acura Integra was put into a compactor. "That’s my girlfriend, the love of my life. The cops can crush my car, but they can’t crush my memories." Six vehicles were destroyed at an auto graveyard as local law enforcement ramped up enforcement against illegal street racing, which is responsible for or suspected in 13 deaths in Southern California since March. The thrill-seeking, adrenaline-pumping activity is rampant in Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles where rows of tract homes line wide streets ideal for racing. Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested for investigation of street racing activities over the past two years in San Bernardino County alone. That includes spectators as well as drivers. (AP)
 Big changes could be coming to California's carpool lanes. The federal government has concluded the lanes are getting too congested. And the state is now looking into ways to clear them out, NC Times reports:
Under pressure from the federal government, California transportation officials said Tuesday they will devise a strategy by the end of August to free up clogged car-pool lanes. Measures could include adjusting the hours that the car-pool requirement is in effect, stepping up California Highway Patrol enforcement, allowing continuous access into the lanes and limiting access to hybrids on congested freeways, said Tamie McGowen, a Caltrans spokeswoman in Sacramento. On Friday, the Federal Highway Administration told the California Department of Transportation the state is out of compliance with federal law because it has allowed lanes to become congested, state officials said.
The Vatican has created a "Drivers' Ten Commandments." According to AP, the document says: "Cars can be 'an occasion of sin' — particularly when they are used for dangerous passing or for prostitution. It warned about the effects of road rage, saying driving can bring out 'primitive' behavior in motorists, including 'impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility or deliberate infringement of the highway code.' "
The rules:
1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.
 Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are teaming up for a new generation of high-tech parking meters. They take credit cards (which given the price of parking is a major step forward):
The cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood today began testing solar-powered parking meters that allow motorists to use coins or credit cards. The FlexPay Parking Meters are being tested in Beverly Hills along the east side of the 300 block of North Canon Drive and in West Hollywood on the west side of the 1000 block of La Brea Avenue. According to officials from both cities, the FlexPay meters will use existing poles and will blend in with the traditional meters. But they will be clearly identifiable as FlexPay meters and offer step-by-step instructions for people using credit cards. The meters use encryption technology to protect credit card numbers. "The encryption technology used is the same as used by banks and credit cards," Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad said. "All the transactions are very safe. Nobody knows your credit card number and nobody can mishandle that." Each meter will include a hotline number for people who run into troubles with the machines, which are monitored by city officials using wireless connections. (CNS)
 The battle over widening the 405 is not just a local issue in Brentwood and Sherman Oaks. The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II says it's become a measure of how Caltrans does as it embarks on major freeway widening projects around Southern California:
But the project has generated strong opposition from some residents — and created something of a test case as Caltrans embarks on new freeway-widening projects with the help of the bond measure. The state Transportation Commission decided to provide $2.7 billion for expanding and improving Southern California freeways over the next few years. Besides the 405 project, Caltrans plans to widen the 5 Freeway in the Valley and southeast Los Angeles County. Road widenings are also slated for sections of the 57 and 91 freeways in northern Orange County, parts of the 91 and 215 in Riverside County and portions of the 10 and 215 in San Bernardino County.
Caltrans has bought about 10 homes in the Norwalk area, where the agency plans to replace a freeway overpass and add four lanes along the 5 north of the Orange County line, hoping to end a major traffic bottleneck.
 When will they learn? The travel editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer comes to town, discovers our light-rail system and rides it. His piece actually offers an interesting outsider's view of the Metro Rail. He thinks the Gold Line affords lovely views. He seemed less impressed with the Blue Line:
I have been doing something both subterranean and subversive. I've been riding the Los Angeles subway. I felt like a renegade, riding the subway in L.A. Zipping through the depths of the city is not for L.A.; that's for Chicago or the other coast - back east, as they say in California. Where is your car? Where is your sense? Car sense, that's the Los Angeles culture.
 That shooting last Friday that killed a motorist on the 710 -- the second on the freeway in three days -- seems to combine all the things you hate about driving in L.A. Sounds like it started as a road-rage incident, continued as a drag race, and ended as a freeway shooting:
A scary chase between a motorist in a small rental car, and an SUV with tinted windows trying to run it off the road, may have led up to yesterday’s murder on the Long Beach (710) Freeway, police said today. Los Angeles resident Jaime Raul Saldana, 37, was found dead behind the wheel of a small car that had crashed into the median of the 710 freeway, said coroner’s Lt. Joe Bale. Police believe his rental car may have been pursued by a driver in a black SUV with tinted windows. The SUV was seen swerving into the victim’s vehicle shortly before the wreck. Both cars apparently went north on the 710 Freeway to its end at Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, where they made two left turns to speed back south on the same freeway, police said. (CNS)
 Here's something interesting from AP about why rising temperatures are just one more reason you are feeling a pinch at the pump:
It’s not just increased demand that sends summertime gasoline prices soaring. It’s also the increased temperature. As the temperature rises, liquid gasoline expands and the amount of energy in each gallon drops. Since gas is priced at a 60-degree standard and gas pumps don’t adjust for any temperature changes, motorists often get less bang for their buck in warmer weather. Consumer watchdog groups warn that the temperature hike could end up costing consumers between 3 and 9 cents a gallon at the pump -- adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The effect could cost U.S. drivers more than $1.5 billion in the summertime, including $228 million to drivers in California alone, according to the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, which recently addressed it in hearings.
 What causes the most traffic? A fast-food eatery? An apartment? A car dealership? A gas station? The Times' Steve Hymon (who else?) goes through the numbers:
What causes more traffic — commercial or residential properties?
Mindful readers may recall this column proposing a few weeks ago that one way to rid the city of its housing shortage would be to force each of Los Angeles' council districts to allow apartment buildings up to four stories to be built on its monstrously ugly commercial boulevards. That led some readers to suggest that this column had dangerously misplaced its head. Why? Those big boulevards couldn't handle all those extra cars that new apartment dwellers would bring. In the meantime, we got our paws on two traffic-trip volumes by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. By their count, a lot more cars drive on and off commercial properties than residential lots. See the top part of the chart, above. But as the bottom part of the chart shows, the number of vehicles in Los Angeles County has risen with the population over the decades. So it stands to reason that the more people you allow to live someplace, the more cars and traffic overall there will be.
(See chart below)
Continue reading "Traffic: The biggest magnets" »
 Back in the day, the killer commute was from the Westside to downtown. Now it's east to west (where Westside commercial construction has boomed). Howard Leff tells in colorful detail the horrors of his commute from east to west. As he writes in the Downtown News, he tried a train-bus combo:
I've actually done the one thing no person living east of La Brea, let alone near downtown, should ever contemplate. And it's too late to turn back, since my gracious new employers have already provided me with a desk, cubicle, e-mail account, stapler, free hat and a bunch of colorful thumbtacks. I have taken a job on the Westside, meaning I'm an authentic Eastside-to-West L.A. commuter. The ugly facts: I live a seemingly manageable 18.4 miles from work. But during drive time (anytime except 3:15 a.m.), it's sheer agony. Driving to the Westside from my neighborhood northeast of downtown involves a gut-wrenching choice between jammed freeways and crowded, slow-moving boulevards.
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We'll have a new MTA board chair on Sunday. The new boss wants to get things moving:
