Sub-$4 gas, 710 closure and what to do when hit by a bus: Ramping up, August 21
It's not a truck strike
The photo came yesterday from Valencia, Spain, where the trucks were participating in a load test for a new bridge expected to open next summer.
Gas headed south of $4?
The average price of a gallon of regular in California fell to $4.018 yesterday, according to AAA. The price has been falling by about one cent a day and is already below $4 at many locales. Unfortunately, Pasadena isn't one of them -- I took this pic yesterday at the Chevron I've been tracking. The $4.179 price for regular is a four-cent dip since Monday.
710 closure tonight
The southbound 710 from Valley Boulevard to the 10 is scheduled to be closed between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Friday for a TV-show shoot. The California Film Commission says it's likely that the shoot, for the CW program "Valentine," will be done before 4 a.m. Details at yesterday's post.
Next time your car gets hit by a bus...
Get an accident report. A colleague of mine recently had one of his side-view mirrors chopped off by a Metro bus. Later, when he sought Metro's accident report to give to his insurance company, the agency denied him the report.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Marc Littman said internal accident reports are considered confidential. Therefore, the agency wouldn't provide the report even if someone submitted a public records request.
"If someone submits a public records request for the accident reports, Metro will deny it because it could end up in litigation," Littman wrote in an e-mail. "If a report had been filed by the claimant, then they can get a copy of what they submitted; otherwise, they’d have to get a court subpoena."
Bottom line: If you get into an accident with a bus -- the MTA's or anyone else's -- get a police report, if possible.
On the subject of buses
The eagle eyes at LAist blog -- which this blog considers essential reading -- caught this recent release from the Big Blue Bus touting its new rapid service between downtown Santa Monica and the Rimpau Transit Center via Pico Boulevard. Click here for the Big Blue release.
Sales tax update
The state Senate may take up AB 2321 today. That's the bill that would authorize a half-cent sales tax increase in Los Angeles County for mass transit and road projects. It's expected to pass and then be returned to the Assembly for reapproval.
Blog update
I'm off work today and Friday. There will be light posting until I return Monday. And what would I like in my e-mail in box Monday? URLs for all the many neighborhood blogs across the Southland that deal with traffic and planning.
Recent Bottleneck posts that may titillate you
Metro picks subway route but isn't telling the world -- yet
The man stalling San Francisco's bike plan
Transportation lessons, courtesy of Portland, Ore.
Is gas cheaper now than in 1960?
Congestion pricing proponents say tolls don't harm the poor
top photo: Manuel Bruque / EPA
bottom photo: Steve Hymon / LAT
Irwin,
MTA knows very well the California Public Records Act, which is the version of the FOIA for state and local agencies.
MTA is to the CPRA what the Bush administration is to Congressional subpoenas.
It is quite clearly a violation of the act to claim that accident records are confidential. The courts have been clear in this regard, specifically with respect to the MTA. But it is MTA's attempt to force people to literally go to court to see the act enforced.
The cost of such is high and the number of people willing to do such is low. The process itself is a violation of a provision in the CPRA that says the agency cannot not obstruct or delay the delivery of public records.
Posted by: Damien Goodmon | August 25, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Anything claim related or has the whiff of a lawsuit is automatically stamped "CONFIDENTIAL" and not disclosed. If you have a problem with that, tell it to the judge.
Posted by: calwatch | August 21, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Here is another link on the Streetcar revival:
http://conservationreport.com/2008/08/20/public-transportation-streetcars-making-a-comeback-in-american-cities-but-they-shouldn%E2%80%99t-have-left-in-the-first-place/
It also discusses how the auto industry sabotaged public rail transit after World War II.
Posted by: Dan W. | August 21, 2008 at 10:55 AM
MTA never heard of the Freedom of Information Act? You shouldn't need a subpoena
Posted by: Irwin | August 21, 2008 at 09:29 AM