California Has Officially Ditched Car-Centric ‘Level of Service’
Ding, dong... LOS is dead. At least as far as the state of California is concerned.
August 7, 2014
Is LADOT’s New SF-Imported Chief the Antidote to LA’s Defeatist Attitude?
Should Mayor Eric Garcetti have hired someone with more Los Angeles experience to run Los Angeles' Department of Transportation? With San Francisco's Seleta Reynolds chosen as the incoming department head, there's been a small buzz that only someone with direct experience with our region can handle making L.A. a better place to live. It has to be someone with local experience, they say.
July 22, 2014
CA Assembly Bill Would Create Alert System For Hit-and-Run Crashes
It is too common a story. A family is crossing the street or some friends are bicycling along when a negligent car driver changes their lives forever. While the victims lie wounded in the street, the driver flees and is never heard from again. Advocates for safe streets, victims of hit-and-run crashes, and their friends and family say that there are not enough resources or legal protections for victims.
June 13, 2014
A Rising Tide for Walking and Biking in California Cities
This week, the League for American Bicyclists released its nationwide "benchmarking" report on the state of active transportation throughout the country. The report contained good news for those working to make California a more safe and attractive place to bicycle. California rose ten spots to #9 in the state to state comparisons, scoring nearly 54 points out of a possible 100.
May 5, 2014
Meet Our New Sacramento Teammate: Melanie Curry
Streetsblog SF and Los Angeles have a new hire starting on February 1 that will dramatically expand our coverage. I am pleased to announce that Melanie Curry will be as full-time writer covering news out of the California capitol and across the state.
January 24, 2014
State Bill Would Require License Suspension for All Hit and Run Drivers
CA Assemblyman Mike Gatto introduced legislation Tuesday mandating that any driver who commits a hit and run offense, even if the victim is not seriously injured, forfeit their driver's license for six months. Gatto's legislation is his second effort to criminalize hit and run crashes following last year's Assembly Bill 184 which extended the statute of limitations for hit and run drivers.
January 23, 2014
Is California Ready to Raise Its Vehicle License Fee?
Every state has its "third rail" that politicians are afraid to touch. When I began my advocacy career in New Jersey in 2004, politicians were deathly afraid of raising any tax after Democratic Governor Jim Florio was ousted in the solidly blue state because of tax increases he pushed through. Florio had been defeated over a decade earlier in 1993.
January 8, 2014
Legislative Wrap: How Livable Streets Bills Fared in Sacramento
Last week was a busy one in Sacramento as lawmakers scrambled to compromise and pass important pieces of legislation while others will have to “wait ’til next year.” Streetsblog offers the following scorecard for some of the most important pieces of legislation that will impact the drive to create livable streets.
September 16, 2013
New “Kings Arena” CEQA Bill Would Still Nix LOS in “Transit Priority Areas”
Steinberg's hasty press conference held after the passage of SB 743
September 13, 2013
CEQA Reform Update: Is This the End for LOS?
Finally, some sanity may be coming to California's most important environmental protection law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Under current law, all projects, be they rail lines, bike plans, or new buildings would have to prove that it would not impact local driving times or it would have to complete a costly mitigation plan.
September 11, 2013