California

L.A.'s Union Station Turns 80 and Looks to the Future
Ridership is down and the station has struggled in recent years, but new plans could help revive the 80-year-old historic landmark.

Property Transfer Taxes Gain Traction as Cities Search for Ways to Address Homelessness
San Jose, California is the latest city to consider raising its real property transfer tax to fund homeless programs.

Evaluating the 2011 'Twitter Tax Break' Along San Francisco's Troubled Market Street
The 2011 "Twitter tax break" was controversial at the time, and remains so to this day. New offices and employees have filled the corridor of Market Street where the tax break is in effect, but massive challenges persist.

BART's New Trains: Back to the Drawing Board to Make More Room for Bikes
BART is readying its "Fleet of the Future," which includes adding more room than originally designed for bike storage.

Using Gas Tax Revenue to Remove Traffic Lanes Adds to Road Diet Debate
Reducing the number of traffic lanes to improve bike and pedestrian safety can be inherently controversial when auto travel times are increased, and it can upset motorists further when they learn gas taxes are funding those safety improvements.

After a Failed Freeway Plan, Alternatives Prove Controversial
With plans to extend California's 710 Freeway off the table, cities in the path have been awarded funds for alternative road projects. But residents of San Marino aren't all on board.

Does Oakland Have a Future as a Public City?
The city is experiencing significant growth and development, but it has a complicated history of booms and lags and its civic future is uncertain.

Nancy Pelosi Not the Only Powerful California Woman Disrupting the Trump Administration
No issue is more important to California's air and climate regulators than ensuring that the state retains its ability to set tailpipe emission standards. Mary Nichols, the head of the Air Resources Board, has threatened to ban tailpipes.

Free Transit Rides for Students Possible in Sacramento
The Sacramento City Council could ensure that more students arrive at school every day, as future lifelong transit riders, by offering free public transit.

Plans for TOD Housing at Berkeley BART Station
The city is behind plans to turn parking lots around the North Berkeley BART station into much-needed housing.

How Much Should Electric Vehicles Be Charged in Lieu of Gas Tax?
Currently, electric vehicles pay a $17.50 annual registration fee in Illinois. A bill to double the 19 cents per gallon gas tax, unchanged in almost 30 years, would also increase the EV fee over 57-fold to $1,000.

New on Netflix: How Street Vendors Create Vibrant Cities
Street vending has been a contentious issue in many places, but this part of the informal economy is important to the social and economic well-being of cities.

Report: Ballot Measure Intended to Spur Affordable Development Had the Opposite Effect in L.A.
L.A. voters approved Measure JJJ in 2016 in the hopes of encouraging more affordable housing as a trade-off for discretionary approval. The result has been no development at all.

Mulling the Idea of Ending Right Turns on Red Lights
San Francisco might follow the lead on New York City when it comes to right turns on red lights.

Eleven Units of Affordable Housing Coming to S.F. Bay Area Suburb
A new apartment building is going up in Danville, California, but the affordable housing it will provide is a drop in the bucket compared to the state’s massive housing needs.

From April to May in L.A.: From a Green New Deal to Transit Service Cuts
Can Los Angeles convince drivers to cut the number of automobile trips in half while also transit frequency on several light rail lines?

Transit Needs Improvements Sooner Rather Than Later
The Los Angeles transit system is losing riders, but L.A. Metro has been slow to implement changes that could keep people using it.

State Preemption and Electric Scooters
The great battle between local control and state preemption shifts focus again in California. This time micromobility, electric scooters and the like, are on the front line of the conflict.

As EV Sales Soar, Transportation Emissions Continue to Increase
California has embraced electric vehicles like no other state, with success reflected in increased sales and registration data, yet transportation emissions have increased for the last four years, primarily from light-duty vehicles.

Oakland's Adaptive Bike Share Program
The pilot program seeks to make bike share more inclusive by providing bikes designed to make biking easy and accessible for disabled riders.
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