BOYARSKY ON LONDON & LA AS SISTER CITIES

Columnist Bill Boyarsky writes on LA Observed that "London sprawls like Los Angeles, but it has a huge rail underground rail  network that's packed during rush hours and in the evening . . . The fact that the London underground has existed and grown since the 19th century in such a sprawling city is a great argument against the complaints of the diminishing band of LA transit skeptics who maintain our city is too spread out to support a train system. . . " Read it here:

WHEN THE 1% SAY NO: Cities need transit & affordable housing but outdated laws make it easy for the 1% to say no

William Doig posted this on Salon.com today:

Continuing the grand tradition of privileged communities opposing transit projects, the good people of 90210 are fighting a plan to run a subway below Beverly Hills High School. For years, Beverly Hills has been trying to derail the planned alignment of the West Side Subway Extension, saying it would be safer to run it beneath Santa Monica Boulevard (though their own study indicates otherwise). The threat of lawsuits and endless public hearings have delayed the project but not killed it; now opponents have released a video claiming that the subway could ignite pockets of methane gas and blow the school to bits. “Methane gas, toxic chemicals and teenagers don’t mix,” intones the grim voiceover . . .

Link to the story here:

VIDEO OF BOXER'S UPDATE ON THE TRANSPORTATION BILL

SEN. BOXER: GREAT PROGRESS; DEAL POSSIBLE BY END OF JUNE

Just in from The Hill, a congressional newspaper:

The chairwoman of the committee of lawmakers that is conferencing on a new federal surface transportation bill said Wednesday that a substantial portion of the issues that could prevent a deal between the House and Senate have already been cleared.

"I wanted to tell you were making very good progress -- I would say great progress -- on working through the various issues," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said during a press conference at the Capitol.

"Approximately 80 percent of the (Environment and Public Works) title ... is non-controversial," she continued. "The EPW title makes up about 80 percent of the entire bill, so this is a very substantial report I'm giving you."

 

Boxer is leading a 47-member committee of lawmakers that is trying to meld a two-year, $109-billion transportation bill that was passed by the Senate with a pair of temporary extensions of current funding that were approved by the House.

The lower chamber had sought to pass a five-year, $260-billion measure that was funded in part by increasing domestic oil drilling, and their short-term measures mandate approve of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline that has been rejected by President Obama.

But Boxer said Tuesday that leaders in the Republican-led House have been willing to negotiate the differences in the chambers' respective approaches to transportation funding in good faith.

"I am particularly pleased … by the willingness of Speaker Boehner to work with us to accomplish our mutual goal," Boxer said Tuesday. "I had a very good conversation with him yesterday, and he told me that he met with the leaders on his side and he told them to get the conference report done. He is working to make sure we get this done, and that is the best news that I had heard in a long time." 

Boxer vowed the lawmakers on the conference committee would complete their negotiations before the current funding for road and transit projects runs out.

"The conferees are fully engaged, we will have our conference report ready to circulate among the various colleagues by early June and we intend to have this bill on the desk of the president before June 30," she said.

ACTION ALERT: METRO BOARD

This is another critical stretch on the path to building out a robust and well-connected transit system in LA County: On Thursday, May 24, LA Metro's Board of Directors takes up the issue of whether to support AB 1446 – Assemblyman Michael Feuer’s bill to remove the sunset date in Measure R and authorize an extension of the sales tax on the November ballot. We hope that you can attend the board meeting and provide public comment – you are allowed one minute and we suggest that you speak on one of the "Top 10 Reasons to Extend Measure R Now!" -- which are included below! The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at Metro Headquarters. TOP 10 REASONS TO EXTEND MEASURE R NOW: • It will create 400,000 jobs over 10 years at a time when jobs are needed badly; • The entire system can be built more cheaply now than if construction occurs over a longer time frame because of inflation; • LA will benefit from immediate congestion reduction benefits; • Reduced congestion = improved economic competitiveness; • LA will benefit from improved air quality; • GHG emission reductions will be accelerated; • Voters will get 20 more years of service out of the system; • The increased connectivity of the system will greatly enhance ridership on all line; • This ensures there will continue to be adequate funding for operations (20% of Measure R is dedicated to operations); But why extend Measure R now? Because we can win now! • Polling on the extension is excellent – voters are ready! • The coalition is in place now! • The increased turnout for a presidential election will help! • We’ve got the momentum – LA has new mojo!

TOP 10 REASONS TO EXTEND MEASURE R

LA Metro's Board of Directors takes up the issue of whether to support AB 1446 on Thursday. AB 1446 is Assemblyman Michael Feurer's bill to remove the sunset date in Measure R and authorize an extension of the sales tax to be placed on the ballot. Move LA convened its business-labor-environmental coalition Monday to discuss Metro's rationale for extending Measure R. From our perspective, here are the Top 10 Reasons: • It will allow Metro to bond against a longer revenue stream and raise the money upfront to build all 12 new rail and bus rapid transit lines in the next 10 years • It will create 400,000 jobs over 10 years at a time when jobs are needed badly; • The entire system can be built more cheaply now than if construction occurs over a longer time frame because of inflation; • LA will benefit from immediate congestion reduction benefits; • Reduced congestion = improved economic competitiveness; • LA will benefit from improved air quality; • GHG emission reductions will be accelerated; • Voters will get 20 more years of service out of the system; • The increased connectivity of the system will greatly enhance ridership on all line; • This ensures there will continue to be adequate funding for operations (20% of Measure R is dedicated to operations); But why extend Measure R now? Because we can win now! • Polling on the extension is excellent – voters are ready! • The coalition is in place now! • The increased turnout for a presidential election will help! • We’ve got the momentum – LA has new mojo!

THE SUBWAY & HOLLYWOOD'S RENAISSANCE

When three subway stations opened on Hollywood Boulevard in 2000, the legendary neighborhood was on the skids, with gangsters, prostitutes, "no-tell motels" and crack houses, and bewildered tourists wandering and wondering where the glamor had gone. A dozen years later and Hollywood's star has risen again. There are fancy clubs and restaurants, pricey condos offering rooms with a view, upscale streetlife, and escalating property values -- property taxes collected in 2010 were six times what they were in 2000. Should we praise -- or blame -- the subway for gentrifying Hollywood? And what are the lessons learned for other neighborhoods as Los Angeles embarks on the biggest transit expansion initiative in the U.S.? Move LA has completed a case study and it's a great story arc -- the declaration of the redevelopment area, the clean up, the new development -- with quite a cast of characters, including the property owner "SlumBusters" group, the Martini Sisterhood of women activists, the renters coalition that organized tenants and, of course, the political leaders who made it possible, City Councilmembers Mike Woo, Eric Garcetti and, especially, Jackie Goldberg. Read it here.

LA'S UNION STATION RANKED AMONG 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD

Readers of the Flavorpill e-guide to culture in LA, SF, NYC, Chicago, Miami and London asked readers to name the most beautiful train stations in the world and LA's Union Station made the Top Ten list. The Flavorpill editors write that the response to this survey was "overwhelming," and that they can't believe that "this enchanting mode of transport" -- train travel -- could ever have been replaced by air travel: "If you've flown anywhere lately you know that the airport experience today is a far cry from the much more civilized approach to globe-trotting represented by the drop-dead gorgeous constructions we've rounded up here. Check the Top Ten here. Readers were so interested in this topic that Flavorpill posted 10 more favorites here.