Streetsblog Los Angeles

It's no surprise that the oil industry is fighting California's cap-and-trade program. But it is enlightening to see the strategy laid out in a leaked PowerPoint presentation [PDF].

California transit agencies are now allowed greater use of bus-mounted bike racks that hold three bicycles. Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 2707 Tuesday, a bill authored Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) to allow 40-foot-long buses to be equipped with folding bike racks that can carry up to three bikes.

State agencies are figuring out how to best spend new cap-and-trade revenue, and the first step is asking the public for input on creating guidelines for eligible projects.

Housing advocates and local officials gathered in Oakland last week to discuss guidelines for California's new Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC). It was one of three packed meetings held throughout the state by the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), the state agency that oversees the AHSC, to gather input on the new program's guidelines. 

The California Transportation Commission has released a list of recommended projects that could get funding from the state's Active Transportation Program. The ATP is a new statewide grant program that funds bicycle and pedestrian improvements throughout California. The list is expected to be approved by the full CTC at its August 20 meeting.

Ding, dong... LOS is dead. At least as far as the state of California is concerned.

A California Court of Appeals has removed the most significant legal impediment threatening California’s High-Speed Rail project. The unanimous decision of the three-judge panel, rendered on Thursday, reversed Judge Michael Kenny’s Nov. 25, 2013 ruling, which had blocked the state from issuing bonds under Prop. 1A, the High Speed Rail Act of 2008.

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.

More and more California cities are looking to bring protected bike lanes to their streets, and a growing body of research showing the benefits they provide are giving city leaders a stronger case in the face of opposition to change.