As of early May, some residents of public housing projects in Sacramento have access to an on-demand vehicle service using electric cars, reports the Sacramento Bee. Through a partnership with Boston-based Zipcar, eight electric vehicles—two at each of four public housing complexes throughout the city—are now available for residents’ use at significantly subsidized rates. The $1.3 million project is funded through California’s cap-and-trade program that charges businesses to offset their impact on the environment.
CA
LA drivers wonder whether expanding the 405 was worth it
After years of construction headaches and a $1.6 billion investment, the Sepulveda Pass project, which expanded Interstate 405, the nation’s busiest highway, appears to have had a minimal impact on congestion. The project, which added carpool lanes, on- and off ramps, and three new earthquake resistant bridges on the 72-mile stretch of I-405 through Los Angeles, took six years to complete and cost $600 million more than the initial $1 billion estimate.
California city loses lawsuit after death of bicyclist on road with substandard bike lanes and no lighting
In June 2012, Dr. Gerald Brett Weiss, a nationally known neurosurgeon, was killed when he was hit from behind while riding his bicycle in the community of Indian Wells, CA. In mid-November of this year his family won a $5.6 million judgment against Indian Wells, claiming that the city was negligent in not providing sufficient width for bike lanes or lighting that would have prevented the crash.
The psychology of public acceptance of gas tax increases
A recently published study from two Michigan State University sociologists found that the telling factor for whether an increased gas tax would be supported by the public was how the justification for the increase was presented. Their suggestions for framing the reasons for an increase are based on research on “fear appeal.”
Highway capacity won’t relieve congestion or lower emissions, studies conclude
A commonly cited strategy to achieve lower emissions and energy use is highway capacity expansion intended to reduce delay. But, as a new brief from UC-Davis and hosted on the Caltrans website points out, congestion relief is usually short-lived, due to “induced demand” or “induced travel.”
High-speed rail pushes on without federal funding
Xpress West, the high-speed rail developer that had been seeking federal loans and private investors to support its plan to build a high-speed rail line from Southern California to Las Vegas, has formed a partnership with China Railway International USA to move the project forward. China Railway International will provide $100 million initially and officials say construction could begin in fall 2016. A proposed extension via the High Desert Corridor, linking Xpress West’s Victorville station with Palmdale, 60 miles to the west, will connect the Xpress West line to Las Vegas with the existing Metrolink commuter rail service, as well as the California High Speed Rail system.
CalTrans offers grant to study freeway conversion in Long Beach
Thanks to a quarter million dollar environmental justice grant from the California Department of Transportation, the City of Long Beach will now be able to study options for turning its Terminal Island Freeway into a local street, reclaiming 88 acres of land for a network of parks, and improving public health.
California first state to regulate ridesharing
California has become the first state to regulate these services and has preempted the ability of local jurisdictions to impose their own rules. The California Public Utilities Commission has set insurance and safety regulations that would allow the services to continue under a new category known as a Transportation Network Company.
California first state to regulate ridesharing
California has become the first state to regulate these services and has preempted the ability of local jurisdictions to impose their own rules. The California Public Utilities Commission has set insurance and safety regulations that would allow the services to continue under a new category known as a Transportation Network Company.
California moves to reform traffic mitigation process
The California legislature last week passed a bill that will remove highway level-of-service and parking from traffic mitigation analyses. The bill applies to projects in many urban and suburban areas. An earlier version of the legislation, SB 731, would have eliminated LOS standards statewide and replaced them with what essentially would have been an impact-fee based on VMT or some other systemic metric. Advocates say the weaker version in SB 743 still covers wide swaths of the state’s most populous areas, and that while it does not require statewide reform, it allows the Office of Planning and Research to accomplish such a change through rule making.