Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library

Transportation Research, Resources, And History In Context

We Are In Overdrive: L.A. Constructs The Future, 1940-1990

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on April 4, 2013 6:18 pm

“Every city has had its boom, but the history of Los Angeles…should be regarded as one continuous boom punctuated at intervals with major explosions.”
—Carey McWilliams, ...

At L.A.’s Streetcar Inauguration, Who Told 8-Year Old Shirley Temple, “Buy Yourself A New Automobile”?

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on March 22, 2013 2:54 pm

This week marks the anniversary of the 1937 National Transportation Week celebrations in Los Angeles. We reviewed the event for last year’s 75th anniversary, and included video footage of ...

“Movers & Shakers”: Metro Transportation Library Receives National Honor For Innovative Services

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on March 18, 2013 11:05 am

This week, we received some great news. I have been named a 2013 Library Journal “Mover & Shaker”! Each year, just a handful of individuals are selected from thousands of information ...

At Last: All Of Los Angeles Transportation History Explained In Interactive Timeline & Interactive Organization Chart

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on February 25, 2013 2:54 pm

[Above: Metro Library's new interactive timeline for Los Angeles transit history. "X" out the introduction box and move the chronology slider along the bottom to reposition the timeline. You ...

Remembering Huell Howser: Some Archived Images Of The Region’s Official Rideshare Spokesman

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on January 7, 2013 6:51 pm

Metro Rideshare campaign launch (Click for more information) Going back as far as at least the Gold Rush, California has been built on promotion — and we lost one of our greatest boosters this ...

Broadway Bound: Looking Back At Historic Streetcars On Broadway In Los Angeles’ Historic Core

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on December 4, 2012 4:29 pm

Cable car on Downey (now, North Broadway), circa late 1880s. Courtesy Huntington Library Photo Archives collection. (Click to enlarge) It was announced yesterday that plans to bring streetcars back ...

How Is A Mastodon Like A Bus?: Local Transit Planning Impacts Los Angeles’ Paleontological Record

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on November 19, 2012 6:53 pm

At the 7th Annual LA as Subject Archives Bazaar last month, archivist Denise Villegas participated in a “Pecha Kucha-style lightning round” highlighting each collection’s most ...

All Of SoCal History Comes Alive At The 7th Annual LA As Subject Archives Bazaar!

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on October 17, 2012 6:10 pm

(Click to enlarge) Southern California history comes alive once again at the 7th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar on the campus of USC on Saturday, October 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Organized ...

28 Years Ago This Week: The World Returns For Los Angeles’ Gold Medal Performance In Olympic Traffic Relief

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on August 9, 2012 4:20 pm

Only four cities have hosted the modern Olympic Games more than once. When the world returned to Los Angeles in 1984, fifty-two years after its inaugural Games, the Olympics had changed: 140 ...

Planning Olympic Legacies: Transport Dreams And Urban Realities

Posted by Metro Digital Resources Librarian on August 7, 2012 2:44 pm

When a city wins the right to hold the Olympics, one of the oft cited advantages to the region is the catalytic effect upon the urban and transport projects of the host cities. However, with ...

News of importance to Los Angeles and Southern California

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Leimert Park Station, 405 Lanes, Long Beach 710, Bike Share, Gold Line Eastside Extension, HOV Lanes, Anthony Foxx, Waze & More

Posted by Metro Librarian on May 24, 2013 9:34 am

May 24: This Date In Los Angeles Transportation History (The "locally preferred alternative" for rail from downtown into Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles is approved, paving the way for a Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension)
Metro Transportation Library Primary Resources Blog

$1.1 Billion In Sandy Aid Announced For Transit Systems
NJ.com

Capital Bikeshare Members Reduced Their Driving By 4.4 Million Miles Per Year (check out Capital Bikeshare's data dashboard here)
StreetsBlog LA

The Case For Caution When Building Streetcars
The Atlantic: Cities

The Development Scene: The Latest Info Of 88 Downtown Projects
Los Angeles Downtown News

Do High Occupancy Toll Lanes Really Help Congestion? ("In the U.S. many states have built high occupancy toll lanes. Most don’t make a lot of money. But they do cut commuting times.")
Toronto Star (Canada)

Downtown Features New Bike Lanes, Racks, Events
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Foxx Rocks His Confirmation Hearing, Reveals Some Initial Priorities
StreetsBlog DC

Funding OKd For Light-Rail Station In Leimert Park ("Metro approves $80 million for an underground station on the planned Crenshaw Line. Supporters hope it will help revitalize the African American business corridor.")
Los Angeles Times

How Does Anthony Foxx's Transportation Experience Compare To Past USDOT Secretaries?
Transportation Issues Daily

How Waze Became The Hottest Map App Around
The Atlantic: Cities

Huge: Crenshaw Line Getting Leimert Park And Hindry Stops
Curbed LA

I-5 Bridge Collapse: A Painful Reminder Of The Nation's Misguided Priorities
StreetsBlog DC

Infrastructure And Automobile Shifts: Positioning Transit To Reduce Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts For Urban Sustainability Goals (PDF)
IOP Science via Arizona State University

Lawmakers Form Public Transit Caucus ("A bipartisan pair of lawmakers in the House announced on Thursday that they were forming a caucus for public transportation supporters.")
The Hill

Livable City: Ticket Fee A Smart Way To Fund Transit To Warriors Arena
StreetsBlog SF

Long Beach: 710 Expansion Update; All Community Alternative 7 Options Considered
StreetsBlog LA

A Los Angeles Cycling Highway ("Pasadena resident Horace Dobbins bankrolled the construction of the Cycleway, after receiving approval from the state legislature, which was against the idea until a former governor and friend of Mr. Dobbins threw his weight in with the project.")
The City Fix

Metro Board Approves Crenshaw Line's Leimert Park Village Station
Los Angeles Times

[D.C.] Metro Moves To Modernize Fare-Collection System
Washington Post

New Lane Opens On Northbound 405 Freeway
Los Angeles Times

Santa Monica: Improving Bus Service Is An Imperative To Meet Our Sustainability Commitments
StreetsBlog LA

Sometimes, You Just Need To Set Aside The Data And Explore An Area By Bike
StreetsBlog LA

State Gives New Tools To Fund Streetcars ("The bill allows the city to dedicate tax revenues from several specific parcels around Minneapolis to help pay for a new streetcar line. The city pushed for the new funding method because, unlike regional transit like light rail, streetcars would be a localized project requiring more municipal investment.")
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Transportation Secretary Nominee Ducks Highway Financing Questions
Roll Call

When Lincoln Park Was Eastlake ("Like many of Los Angeles' first public parks, Eastlake (now Lincoln) Park began as unwanted land: a fifty-acre site rejected by a railroad and given to the city for free." Includes archival images and maps)
LA as Subject via KCET

William Fulton On Why Smart Growth Pays And Sprawl Decays (interview with Smart Growth America vice president and former Ventura mayor)
StreetsBlog DC

Yes Viginia, There Will Be A Leimert Park Station On The Upcoming Crenshaw/LAX Line
StreetsBlog LA

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Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library

Transportation Research, Resources, And History In Context

News of importance to Los Angeles and Southern California

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