Metrolink crash, traffic light timing and Measure R: Ramping up, Sept. 22
Positive train control systems: My colleague Dan Weikel takes a look at places where the anti-collision technology has been implemented and seems to be working. Metrolink officials say there isn't yet such a system that would work in Southern California. Here's an excerpt:
"Positive train control is not a new concept, nor a new technology," said George Gavalla, the former head of the Federal Railroad Administration's safety office, where he worked from 1995 to 2004. "That accident would not have happened had they invested in a system that can detect a train going through a signal," he said, referring to Metrolink.
Francisco Oaxaca, a spokesman for Metrolink, said the only part of the agency's 388 miles of track that has automatic braking is a stretch in south Orange County that was equipped with the system by another railroad before Metrolink began operation in 1992. Oaxaca said Metrolink officials were not prepared Friday to say anything more about rail safety measures.
Signal synchronization: L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is set to unveil some traffic signal timing improvements at a news conference this morning. I'm going — to ask him about the Metrolink crash.
Measure R: With the state budget apparently settled, this could be the week that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the state bill authorizing the Measure R half-cent sales tax hike election on Nov. 4 in L.A. County. If the bill isn't signed by the end of the month, the election is kaput. I spoke on Friday to Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), who sponsored the bill, AB 2321, and he said that he's spoken to the governor, is optimistic and has been speaking about the bill with community groups for a few weeks now. The groups, Feuer said, seem to support the sales tax hike.
