California
Basics
How Could Transit Agencies Cope With a Sudden Loss of Federal Funds?
Under Trump and the Republican Congress, transit agencies can't be certain the funding they're expecting will materialize. Via TransitCenter, here's a look at how cities have coped with the sudden and dramatic loss of resources.
January 24, 2017
Transit Vote 2016: California’s Transportation Funding Ballot Initiatives
We continue our overview of what’s at stake in the big transit ballot initiatives next week with a look at California. Previous installments in this series examined Indianapolis, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, and Raleigh. All three of Streetsblog's west coast editors contributed to this article: Melanie Curry of Streetsblog CA, Roger Rudick of Streetsblog SF, and Joe Linton of Streetsblog LA.
November 7, 2016
How Federal Rules Make It Harder to Build Trains in America
The Wall Street Journal's Bob Tita broke the news yesterday that the manufacturer of 130 new Amtrak railcars is years behind schedule, and probably won't complete the order before the federal funding for it expires. How did this happen?
April 12, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: California’s 710 Tunnel
A proposal to drill a pair of highway tunnels is the most expensive, most polluting, least effective option for solving the San Gabriel Valley’s transportation problems.
January 22, 2016
Funds for Walking and Biking Under Attack in Congress This Week
Funds for walking and biking infrastructure account for a tiny portion of federal transportation spending. Safer streets don't cost much, though, so for the cities and towns that count on these programs, a few dollars from the feds can be a huge help. Despite the relatively small sums at play, walking and biking programs are a constant target for a certain breed of hardline conservative in Congress. This year is no different.
November 2, 2015
Late Late Show’s James Corden Opens Fire on Coronado Bike NIMBY’s
Mocking people who fight safe streets improvements and bike lanes is hardly a new sport. From the subtle humor of the bicyclist crashing into Stephen Colbert's desk to Jon Stewart's rant about Dorothy Rabinowitz and the freakout about Citibike.
October 2, 2015
The World’s Nuttiest Bike Lane NIMBYs Live in a San Diego Beach Community
Think you've read about every possible NIMBY objection to bike lanes? Think again. These recent comments from a public meeting in San Diego’s affluent Coronado beach community are definitely, um, different.
September 24, 2015
Study: Uber Reduces Drunk Driving Deaths
There's an unexpected upside to the introduction of Uber into more and more U.S. cities, according to a study published earlier this year: the service helps reduce drunk driving fatalities.
August 13, 2015
Parking Madness 2015: Detroit vs. Walnut Creek
The Parking Madness competition has never been fiercer. In yesterday's match-up, Parkersburg, West Virginia, edged Boston by a slim 12 votes, and before that, Amarillo beat out Nashville by just six votes. Your ballot counts.
March 19, 2015
Talking Headways: Level of Disservice
In California, whether you’re building an office tower or a new transit line, you’re going to run up against the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The law determines how much environmental analysis you need to do for new projects. But sadly, in practice it’s better at propagating car-oriented development than improving the quality of the environment.
December 12, 2014