Damien Newton
Recent Posts
L.A. City Council Approves Controversial Westside T.O.D.
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Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council approved the largest transit-oriented development near a new Expo Line Station in Los Angeles’ Westside. The development, located at the 4.7 acre site owned by the Martin Automotive group sits at corner of Olympic Boulevard and Bundy Drive. The project is mixed use, with significant housing, 150,000 feet of […]
#DamienTalks 41 – Chanell Fletcher and the Next Steps for Fighting Climate Change
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Welcome back to #DamienTalks. Today, #DamienTalks with Chanell Fletcher, the associate director of Climate Plan. With the the California legislature passing and the governor signing new legislation this year furthering the state’s efforts to clean the air and slow global warming, we discuss what’s next for the movement to impact man-made climate change. We try to […]
Eyes on the Street: Santa Monica Gets Creative with Its Crosswalks
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Last night, the City of Santa Monica painted the first of its “creative crosswalks” designed to improve both safety and fun for people walking across the street. Last night’s painting was at the intersection of Ocean and Broadway. A second installation is planned for Arizona and Second Street tonight. “Creative crosswalks can create a sense […]
DamienTalks 40 – Michael Manville on Automatic Road Widenings
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It’s been a while since we recorded a #DamienTalks specifically for the California website, but now we’re back with a good one. In this week’s edition, Damien Talks with Michael Manville, a professor and researcher at UCLA. Manville has hit a bit of Livable Streets fame with an article he wrote for the Journal of […]
Who Is Lining Up to Fight L.A.’s Measure M
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So far, most of Streetsblog L.A.’s coverage of Measure M, Metro’s sales tax proposal that will be on the fall ballot, has been positive. With our eyes fixed on graphics showing the growth of our rail and rapid bus network, a robust active transportation funding program, and some flexibility in the language allocating highway funding; […]
LACBC’s Tamika Butler Honored by Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
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On Friday, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) announced that Executive Director Tamika Butler will receive the 2016 Professional of the Year – Nonprofit Sector award from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP). A statement from APBP noted Butler’s growing role as a national leader in the movement to create safer, more […]
#DamienTalks: Claremont Mayor Sam Pedroza and Bike SGV’s Jose Jimenez
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This week, #DamienTalks with Claremont Mayor and Foothill Transit Board Member Sam Pedroza and Bike SGV Education Director Jose Jimenez. The conversation with Mayor Pedroza is pretty wide-ranging, covering three major areas: the expansion of Livable Streets in Claremont, the flexibility of Foothill Transit as it seeks to maximize the value of its service and […]
With Legal Challenges Completed, What’s Next in Beverly Hills Subway Drama
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Late Friday afternoon, I was already at a dinner meeting when I heard the news. Metro announced that the most recent, and likely last, lawsuit against the Purple Line Subway Extension under Beverly Hills has been completed. Despite some testy language against the transit agency and the Federal Transit Agency which approved the project, the […]
#DamienTalksSGV 15 – Wes Reutimann and a Big Update on Bikes and Open Streets
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This week, #DamienTalks with Wes Reutimann, the executive director of Bike SGV. The nearly 20 minute interview covers a wide range of topics, from the Union Street protected bikeways plan, to an update on the 626 to, of course, Pokémon Go. Union Street in Pasadena runs parallel to that city’s more famous Colorado Avenue. The city decided […]
Open Thread: Share Your Open Streets Posters
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With the end of the summer around the corner, LAUSD school’s re-open two weeks from Monday, there’s going to be a splash of Open Streets events throughout the state over the next couple of months. Of course I’m looking forward to the next CicLAvia, but having missed Long Beach’s event this spring, I want a […]
California Brings Home Four TIGER Grants, Three for Passenger Rail
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The State of California earned four federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants to improve transportation from the federal government totaling $40 million, Senator Diane Feinstein announced earlier today. “Upgrading our transportation infrastructure is key for economic growth and improving the quality of life for Californians,” said Feinstein in a press release. “Our state is […]
New CA Law Requires Temporary Plates for Newly Purchased Cars
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Via Ted Rogers at Biking in L.A. comes news that the State of California will be joining dozens of other states in requiring all new cars to have temporary 90-day license plates. The goal of the law, A.B. 516, is to make it easier to identify drivers breaking the law, be they toll-lane scofflaws or […]