California

The Many Ongoing Public Transportation Projects of the Bay Area
The San Francisco Chronicle offers a round-up of 11 big transit projects, by Caltrans, BART, SFMTA, and others, making progress around the bay.
On-Demand Shuttle Pilot Operating in Los Angeles
The LAnow on-demand shuttle began operation earlier this month.

Study: Housing Crisis Stems from Inequality (Not Zoning)
A new paper examines the impacts of broad economic trends—like inequality, job markets, and migration—on housing markets in the nation's major metropolitan areas.

The Resilience of Culture
Cultural institutions and heritage sites may contribute to a city’s social cohesion and attract investment.

San Diego Unbundles Parking, Eliminates Parking Minimums and Sets Maximums
In addition to replacing parking minimums with parking maximums of one space per unit in transit corridors, the city council went a step further by requiring unbundling, that is, requiring separate payment for parking from the housing.

Bill Would Phase-Out Most Diesel Emissions in California
The bill is directed at the medium and heavy-duty trucking industry, which, along with buses, account for 90 percent of the state's toxic diesel exhaust. Diesel emissions would need to be reduced by 80 percent by 2050. Will electric trucks be ready?

California Lawmakers Seek New Ways to Relieve High Rents
Legislators are trying to chip away at the law that restricts tenant protections around the state.

Transit Ridership Up in San Diego
Most of the U.S. saw public transit ridership continue its downward trend last year, but San Diego’s ridership, particularly on light rail, was up.

More States Look to Expand Tenant Protections
Cities and states around the country are reconsidering decades-old bans on rent control.

Santa Monica Pedestrian Mall Wants People to Hang Out
Updates are coming to the Third Street Promenade as it seeks to innovate the retail experience.

Where a Freeway Plan Failed, a Development Opportunity Rises
Now that the plans to extend the 710 Freeway in Southern California between Alhambra and Pasadena are finally dead, the question remains about what to do with the state-owned land at either end of the planned route.

L.A.'s Plan for Vermont Ave: BRT in 2024, Rail in 2067
Anyone hoping for rail transit down one of Los Angeles' busiest transit corridors will have to wait awhile.
New Leadership at SPUR
Alicia John-Baptiste, a veteran of transportation and planning agencies in San Francisco will take the helm of the influential planning and urbanism think thank.

Amendments to Sen. Wiener's 'More HOMES Act' Address Jobs-Housing Balance
"Jobs-rich area," a new term that targets some suburban regions, is among amendments added March 11 to Senate Bill 50, the reincarnation of Wiener's controversial SB 827 housing bill that died last year.

It Takes a Fatality to Remove On-Street Parking
On March 8, 30-year-old Tess Rothstein of Berkeley was riding a rented Ford GoBike in San Francisco's SoMa district when a car door suddenly opened, forcing her outside the narrow white line of the conventional bike lane into the path of a truck.

Housing Threats Dialed Down in California
California's new governor is giving local governments more time to comply with state-mandated housing targets.

Managed Lanes Coming to the San Francisco Peninsula
State and county officials gathered on Friday to celebrate the start of a $514 million project to convert carpool lanes to express lanes and connect auxiliary lanes to make for a lane addition. The 32-mile project on Highway 101 opens in 2022.

Editorial: Raise Height Limits to San Jose's Proper Stature
The city of San Jose has the "least distinctive" downtown skyline of the nation's major cities, according to editorial board of The Mercury News. The City Council has a chance to change that.

Choosing Bike Lanes Over Bikelash in Los Angeles
Activists threaten to sue after the city of Los Angeles decided to forgo environmental review on a street reconfiguration project that removed a vehicle lane on Venice Boulevard.

Legislation Introduced to Enable the Bay Area to Tackle Housing Crisis as a Region
A new bill would grant the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area taxing authority to raise revenue in the nine-county region to find solutions to the housing crisis. Another bill would reduce the voter threshold below two-thirds for eligible taxes.
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