Transportation Nation

New York: What do we need? Better, faster runways. Britain : What do we need? No more runways! Brits take first move to curb air travel: (NY Times)

Questions about DC Metro not put to rest, as train gets misrouted, bewildering riders. (Washington Post)

Brooklyn's Prospect Park West Bike Lane, now installed, inspires dueling facebook groups, con and pro, a meeting in U.S. Senator Charles Schumers' Prospect Park West building, opposition from both his daughters, and his wife, Iris Weinshall, the former NYC DOT Commissioner. (Streetsblog and NY Daily News.) But the Brooklyn Paper does a 180, and decides the lane is a good thing. Schumer's office isn't talking.

Auto industry says its misses incentives, starting at sales down almost 11 percent. (LA Times)

BART chooses route into downtown Livermore over more tracks near freeway. Density, transit-oriented development-backers rejoice. (Contra Costa Times)

A tour of Delhi's dazzling new airport terminal, set to open tomorrow (BBC News)

Writers love road trips.  From Homer to Kerouac, travel is work and grist for their mill.  It was the same for David Foster Wallace, who chronicled everything from the ugliness of luxury cruises to getting car sick on rides at the Illinois State Fair.  The tables are turned in the new book, "Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace."  David Lipsky, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, got to ride with Foster Wallace, as he went on book tour with his hit "Infinite Jest" in 1996.  The best part is, Lipsky never got to write a story about it, and the recordings he made of the trip were never aired.  Until now.  This morning, Lipsky, his tape and Foster Wallace's sister appeared on The Takeaway.

State bans on texting and driving start today in Michigan, Georgia and Kentucky.

Ford stock hits seven-month low, as company funds pension, pays off $4B debt.  (Free Press)

Commuter-airline that serves United, US Airways faces $2.5 million penalty for maintenance lapses.  (WSJ)

Sappy, wet kiss from Washington Post to Secretary LaHood.

Kids are better off riding the subway than driving. A report by New York's health department shows that children are about half as likely to die as a result of injury in New York City as they are in the rest of America, mostly because they use public transportation. Traffic accidents are the leading cause fatal injuries in American children one to twelve years old.  The report also called attention to disparities within city groups.  Children in the highest income neighborhoods are less than half as likely to die from injuries as children in areas with the lowest incomes.  - TN

(Washington, DC - Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation)  Nearly a quarter of the United States Senate is expected at the White House this morning to meet with President Obama on energy and climate legislation, though the form that legislation will take--and whether it will have the votes to pass--is very much in doubt.

Twenty-three senators from both parties, as well as Independents, are due to meet with Obama shortly before 11 AM. While broad energy legislation is the main topic, the fate of global warming legislation in the form of carbon regulation hangs in the balance. That balance may include no direct attempts to control carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

The proposed Park-and-Ride site, near Manvel, Texas

(Houston, TX - Wendy Siegle, KUHF News Lab) Houston's traffic has been ranked sixth-worse in the nation this year.  So residents getting a park & ride, say in the Pearland area, may be pretty happy to know that cars could be coming off roads.  But if you live near the 12-acre parcel of land where that park and ride may go, there's another debate around you.  One concerned with more traffic on your main street, crime and  property values.

Great benefactor to West Virginia leaves behind Robert C. Byrd Freeway, Robert C. Byrd Highway, Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System, Byrd Locks (Charleston Gazette)

Tony Tesla Motors increases number of IPO shares by 20 percent.  Will be first by a U.S. automaker in a half-century.  (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

VP Biden in Louisville today, looking for "green publicity" at appliance plant, political distractions for White House. (Wave3)

71-year old subway newspaper vendor explains himself.  (SF Chronicle)

1940s-era video game-like LA freeway gets redesign, new name.  (LA Times)

Virgin pilot says U.S. Customs threatened to arrest passengers if he let them get off in Hartford.  Diverted Trans-Atlantic flight spent four hours on tarmac, with passengers fainting.  (AP)

Say hello to "AT&T Station" in South Philly.  Transit agency will make more than $3 million for naming rights deal, which wipes name of former governor Pattison off the SEPTA map. (Philadelphia Enquirer)

U.S. DOT dropping proposed ban on peanuts on airplanes.  Turns out they don't have the authority to do it.  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Hey, where’s MY bike share?  Minneapolis’ program has been up and running less than two weeks.   But people who don't have bike share stations in their neighborhood are already feeling left out.   (MPR News)

The perils of drinking and floating laid bare, as man rescued one mile out into Gulf, on pool float.  (St. Petersburg Times)

"Is mass transit good for the Jews?"  L.A. publication wonders, debates.

(Washington, DC - Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation)  The nation's truckers aren’t likely to start pumping biodiesel any time soon, by the looks of the United States Senate.  That’s because the resurrection of a big biodiesel tax credit is poised to fall victim to a larger tax and jobs bill, which failed tonight on the Senate floor.

The credit is worth $868 million over ten years to refiners who blend biofuel from soybeans, animal fats, restaurant waste oil and other sources into traditional, petroleum-based diesel.  Refiners get a one-dollar tax credit for every gallon they blend, and the savings generally go to making biodiesel more competitive with standard diesel at the pump.

Congress has extended the credit for the last few years, and it still enjoys strong support from both parties. But partisan disagreement over a broader package of tax provisions and unemployment benefits ended the credit.  At least for the time being.

(Houston, TX - Melissa Galvez, KUHF NewsLab)  Regional transportation planners here are looking at less money for road projects in the coming years.  Knowing that commuters will face crowded highways and bumpy roads longer, they're connecting with motorists to ask where the money should go.  To where the people are?  Where the congestion is?  Here's more: read, listen:

(David Schultz, WAMU News) Metro, Washington D.C.'s embattled transit authority, has changed drastically in the past 12 months - ever since two of its trains crashed into each other a year ago this week, killing eight passengers and a train operator.

The change felt most viscerally by passengers has to do with how Metro's trains operate. Because its automatic train control system was thought to be at fault, Metro switched its trains to manual control. This has not only hurt the trains' on-time performance, it's made them more herky jerky - especially when coming to a stop at a platform. As a result, motion sickness has become a real hazard for many Metro riders.

But the legacy of the Metro train crash goes beyond some queasy train passengers.

(Washington, DC - Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation) Lawmakers are hoping for a chance to give the electric car a jolt in the Senate’s upcoming energy bill.

A bipartisan group of senators are pushing a new round of incentives and cash designed to speed development of long-range batteries and plug-in stations that could finally start to push the US transportation fleet away from fossil fuels.

No one expects it to happen quickly. Most lawmakers and experts expect it will take decades before a significant proportion of Americans are driving plug-in hybrids or electric cars.

The Promoting Electric Vehicles Act of 2010 throws $1.5 billion in research and development grants to high-tech battery firms.

Rescue workers respond to the site of two Red Line Metrorail trains that collided with one another last June in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Washington, DC - David Schultz, WAMU News)  One year ago today, a Washington, DC Metro train slammed into the back of a stopped train.  Nine people died and dozens were injured in the deadliest crash in the capital system's history.  Since then, Metro has made changes, but it's not clear what is making the ride for passengers safer.  In a series of reports on the year since the crash, David Schultz looks at whether Metro is safer than it was one year ago.  Earlier, WAMU News reported on the debate over federal regulation of transit started by this crash and the feelings of Capital residents, some of whom see little signs of change.

(Collin Campbell, Transportation Nation) We've tried to keep up with the federal government's push to get drivers off of their cell phones.  The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has added a few data points to that debate now.  Among the new survey's findings:

• Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.
• Adults are just as likely as teens to have texted while driving and are substantially more likely to have talked on the phone while driving.
• Almost half of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone.

The survey is a short and interesting read.  But there's a nugget inside it that may be the most foreboding:

Automakers, airlines among big winners as China lets its currency appreciate (Reuters)

Pew survey finds adult drivers text, talk on phone as much as teens.  (Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project)

Less parking, more parks as Baltimore rewrites zoning for first time since Nixon era.  (WAMU News)

Everything from Governor's future to state's finances ride on Boston commuter rail extension.  (Globe)

New York's MTA considering more cuts to subway, buses even as service cuts come down this week.  (NYTimes)

Lakers victory parade promises traffic nightmare in downtown LA.  Will Angelenos take transit to get there?  (Southern California Public Radio/KPCC)

(St. Paul, Minnesota - Dan Olson, MPR News)  The Winona Bridge underscores Minnesota's aging transportation infrastructure.  State bridge inspectors on a routine inspection last week spotted  spreading corrosion, made a repair and slapped on some weight restrictions. The rust illustrates the problems associated with that 69-year-old structure and dozens of other spans around the state.

The 2007 collapse of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis put bridge safety at the top of the state's transportation agenda. In 2008, a report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor found problems with the Minnesota Department of Transportation bridge inspection system.  The Auditor's report cited untimely bridge inspections, with only 85 percent of bridges inspected within the federal 24-month standard. MnDoT had too few inspectors and documentation of maintenance performed following bridge inspections was inadequate.  State officials say they're making progress responding to bridge inspection shortcomings.

(New York, NY - Kate Hinds, WNYC)  Food trucks are a fixture of New York City's corners.  From halal chicken and rice to fancy desserts, they offer a curbside piece of the city's culinary fabric.

But they also take up parking spots.  And they get used to the streets they serve.  “There is a vendor on 86th and Lex. who thinks that he owns the northeast corner," says New York City Councilmember Jessica Lappin.  "I don’t think it’s right.”

Lappin has introduced a bill that would keep truck operators from getting too attached to their turf.  It would also penalize those who get multiple parking tickets by taking away their permits.

Shaban Azab runs the food truck that drew Lappin's ire.  "This is going to happen to every car, or only me? Only the food truck? What do you want me to do?” he said.  More.

Obama, LaHood to Ohio to mark start of the 10,000th road project launched under recovery act.  (Columbus Dispatch)

Boston commuter rail link to South Coast takes step forward with purchase of frieght tracks.  (Boston Globe)

Toyota resumes building Mississippi facility, promising 2,000 jobs.  UAW accuses company of skirting union shops.  (AP)

Seattle jaywalking spot becomes YouTube sensation, police concern.  (Seattle Times)

(New York, NY - Charlie Herman, WNYC)  For the first time in a nearly a quarter of a century, the U.S. auto industry beat out its foreign competitors in the quality of new cars and trucks.

The Initial Quality Study conducted by J. D. Power & Associates measures problems with new vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership.   It finds that significant improvements from Ford and General Motors led domestic manufacturers to the first place finish.  In particular, Ford received the highest initial quality rating for all non-luxury brands, and rose to fifth place in overall rankings.  Last year, the Detroit automaker was eighth.

“Domestic automakers have made impressive strides in steadily improving vehicle quality, particularly since 2007,” said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates.

(Washington, DC - Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation)  Gasoline prices are likely to rise under the energy and climate change bill the Senate is planning to tee up in July, according to an Environmental Protection Agency Analysis released today.

EPA predicts gas prices will hover around $5 per gallon in 2050 under the American Power Act (APA), the main legislative vehicle getting set for Senate debate. That’s about 20% higher than the $4-per-gallon estimate predicted if Congress does nothing.

The agency says gas prices would rise slightly under the APA starting in 2015, with about a 25-cent per-gallon premium on fuel by 2030. Prices will continue to accelerate under the act until reaching the roughly dollar-per-gallon increase by 2050, according EPA’s analysis.