California is awarding $24 million to BART for earthquake retrofits and $15.6 million to AC Transit for 50 new buses in the first big payout for public transit from a 2006 state transportation ballot measure, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday. Also, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will get $12.1 million to help create dedicated lanes for rapid transit buses along 4.3 miles of streets through downtown San Jose. CC Times 3/08/08
Leading academics and policy-makers gathered in Sacramento yesterday to discuss solutions to one of California's most pressing and controversial problems: how to meet infrastructure investment needs. The event, titled "Paying for Tomorrow's Infrastructure: Options and Strategies for Sustainable Financing," was hosted by The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, which is based at the University of Southern California. Business Wire 3/07/08
A project expected to provide ferry service to more than 24,000 employees within a three-mile radius of Oyster Point Marina/Park is in limbo. The plan's progress hinges on the appointment of a five-member advisory board to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, and that hasn't happened yet. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to choose three people, while Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are each expected to appoint a member, said Peter Grenell, general manager of the San Mateo County Harbor District. Inside Bay Area 3/10/08
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants California to implement its own vehicle emission standards to fight global warming. At first glance, Congress might seem a likely ally in his efforts to overturn the Bush administration's refusal to let the state do so. But legislation to clear the way may fail for a reason that is close to home for Schwarzenegger -- his fellow California Republicans. Most GOP members of the state's congressional delegation are siding with the Bush administration in trying to keep states from imposing stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions than the federal government. Without bipartisan support from the state's representatives, the bill's proponents say, the measure's prospects are dim. LA Times 3/09/08
Despite decades of efforts to widen highways and move people from cars to transit, the Bay Area continues to strangle itself in congestion. An economic slowdown and rising gas prices might temporarily loosen the flow on the roads. But the trends are in the wrong direction:
-Bay Area residents drove an average 18 miles a day in 1990. Today, it's 21
-commutes take longer
-San Francisco's Muni and the East Bay's AC Transit both report less patronage
CC Times 3/09/08
The nation's busiest seaport could lose at least 3% of its cargo container business if it adopts a controversial proposal requiring shipping companies to employ the thousands of short-haul truck drivers who work on a contractual basis, a new study says. The analysis, conducted by Boston Consulting Group, said that "substantial diversions" of the Los Angeles port's business probably would shift to the neighboring port of Long Beach or to other harbors. LA Times 3/08/08
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