Transportation Daily News August 13

Transit and infrastructure:

 

*Highway 50 plan may not be green enough for state -- In what appears to be a California first, state highway officials are shelving a major Highway 50 widening plan in Sacramento until they can study whether the expansion will contribute to global warming. The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday it will not fight a Sacramento court ruling that the agency conducted an incomplete environmental review for a project that would add lanes on the congested Rancho Cordova freeway. Sacramento Bee 8/13/08

 

Incidents prompt BART to consider Segway rules -- Fears of out-of-control Segways careening about BART trains and stations are prompting the transit agency to consider limiting use of the devices to people with disabilities. BART planners are recommending the restrictions after three incidents in May and June. SF Chronicle 8/13/08

 

Cab company asking drivers to prepay fees -- Cabbies asked the San Francisco Taxi Commission Tuesday to bar the city's largest taxi company, Yellow Cab, from making drivers prepay their gate fees each month.  These fees now average $98.50 per shift. Drivers say the policy is a legal maneuver to cement their status as independent contractors instead of employees, depriving them of their rights to workers’ compensation and other benefits. SF Examiner 8/13/08

 

*62% of Californians Want High Speed Rail -- Last month, 62% of voters polled by JMM Research said they would support the bond measure, up from 52% in November. Voters cited having an "affordable" transportation alternative, "reducing dependence of foreign oil" and "reducing traffic congestion" as reasons for supporting measure. California High-speed Rail Blog 8/13/08

 

Emissions:

 

*UCS Says that California Must Reinvent, Not Weaken the State's Zero Emission Vehicle Program -- The staff of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has submitted a proposal that would significantly weaken the state's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. If adopted by the board, this plan would make it more difficult for California to meet its goal of cutting global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). CARB could make its decision as early as this Thursday. H2Daily 8/13/08

 

Coast Guard:

 

U.S. to plug border 'loophole': Open seas -- Immigration officials are beefing up patrols, buying more boats and preparing for a surge in illegal water crossings as immigrants and drug smugglers are likely to chart new routes into the USA through the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean. Heavier enforcement on the U.S.-Mexican land border, in the form of staffing, fencing, cameras and other detection technology, will force smugglers and migrants to look for easier entry spots, says Lloyd Easterling, assistant chief of the Border Patrol. USA Today 8/13/08