MoveNews #128 for the week of November 28, 2010

Regional

North County projects get piece of larger transit grant pie
North County Times, October 25, 2010

A $24 million grant to help pay for safety improvements to local trains, plus millions more for preliminary work on replacing several rail bridges in coastal North County, were part of $902 million in federal transportation grants that will be coming to California ... The North County Transit district's biggest score was a grant that will pay part of the cost of adding "positive train control" devices to the trains that travel north and south on the section of coastal rail between San Onofre and San Diego. ... Monday's grant announcement also included $7 million to pay for initial engineering studies that would replace the rail bridge over the San Dieguito River mouth just west of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and $4 million for engineering studies and permitting for replacement of the rail bridge over the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside.

SOLANA BEACH: City report blasts I-5 studies
North County Times, November 16, 2010

State and federal studies examining the environmental effects of the Interstate 5 expansion project are "so fundamentally inadequate" and "woefully" incomplete that they should be sent back for extensive revisions, a recently released Solana Beach city staff report concluded. The city report .. is perhaps the strongest attack yet from a government agency on the multibillion-dollar freeway widening project. ...

The 27-mile drive from La Jolla to Camp Pendleton takes I-5 commuters an average of about 34 minutes today. That would more than double to 70 minutes by 2030 if nothing is built, according to Caltrans. The largest expansion, at a cost of between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion, would force the relocation of between 53 and 112 homes and businesses, the agency has said. Building only four new lanes - as recently supported by the region's influential transportation planning agency - would cost between $3.3 billion and $4.1 billion.

Solana Beach's report is at: http://solanabeach.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=5&event_id=48

The state and federal studies are at www.keepsandiegomoving.com

Submit your comments to: I-5_NCC_EIR_EIS@dot.ca.gov.

National

2009 American Community Survey show major declines in carpooling, significant increases in biking
The Transport Politic, October 13, 2010

Just how effective have new investments in transit been in promoting a shift of Americans towards public transportation? Has the recent livable communities movement resulted in increased commuting by bike or by foot? The Census' American Community Survey, released at the end of September with the most recent 2009 data, provides a glimpse of what can change over nine years. ... the data demonstrate a number of interesting trends. Most notable are the huge declines in carpooling and large increases in biking noted over the largest cities. ... over the past nine years, carpooling's mode share decreased on average by 25.9% and biking's share increased by 58.5% (note that these are percent changes, not point changes, ...). The declines in carpooling were matched with a slight uptick in single-person driving, a 1.5% increase, and a decrease in transit share of 6.4%. These mode shares are not the same as total modal use; it is possible for transit ridership to increase even as modal share goes down (for instance, if city population increases), and vice-versa.

American Community Survey website: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

As boomers age, 1 in 5 drivers will be oldsters
San Diego Union Tribune, November 9, 2010

Remember "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena"? Baby boomers who first danced to that 1964 pop hit about a granny burning up the road in her hot rod will begin turning 65 in January. Experts say keeping those drivers safe and mobile is a challenge with profound implications. ... "For many, our homes will not be just a place to age, it will also be house arrest," ... Fatal crash rates for older drivers compared with other age groups begin to increase starting at about age 75, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers over age 85 have a worse fatality rate than teenagers and drivers in their early 20s. ... "You cannot address safety issues independent from how people live their lives and where they live them..."

Innovation

Walking now may give you a brain boost later
Los Angeles Times, October 13 2010

Walking promotes good physical health, but it may also help maintain memory and cognitive function for years, a study finds.

Fast Facts

Fifty-two percent of drivers said they feel less safe on the roads now than they did five years ago, according to the third-annual 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index.
      Source: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety