If the choices in the neighborhood, unaware that you know move coconut shell. The streets are lined with flags and improvised mini political party offices, although the Parliament is not dissolved. Ang pow packets, free food, gifts, money, and keep, distributed almost daily.
You have a cell phone has a few questions WINS, votes, or I receive a text message (SMS). Not only a local politician (which I don't know) has a generic to me, I have even a birthday greetings for mother's day, though I do not come into consideration.
In any case, this tactic similarities in ancient Roman letters to advise "How to win an election"?
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Transportation Tips: Transit Advocacy and Combating Gang Violence
View California Gang Territories in a larger map
A Better Inland Empire needs to make this point once more. Supporting policies that keep our youth and children out of the criminal world, drug abuse, and gangs is vital for a first rate and robust transportation system. We've called for officials to put out public messages to discourage parents, especially fathers, from abandoning their children so our future leaders will not be at risk or inclined to enter into the gang or drug cultures when they grow up. Earlier this summer, during a field study, we ran into an 18 year old young adult living on the streets who was improperly raised, dropped out of high school and was at grave risk of entering into this dangerous culture since he had appeared to have nowhere else to go. It has a heartbreaking experience as this man had the will to work and be in the American marketplace. Thankfully, we found out later that his grandparents took him in and plans are he will acquire a GED, become a high school graduate and move forward in becoming a productive laborer.
Child discipline and good parenting cannot be legislated, but can be encouraged through the public message system which includes public speeches from elected officials. The evidence between good parenting by having a father in the house and combating crime is overwhelming with near universal agreement according to those who work in this field. This all applies to children and families of all races.
Children must be raised properly so that they will have the motivation necessary to work and compete in the marketplace and not join gangs. Our work to improve the Inland Empire's mass transportation systems will mean nothing if the cities they serve are mired in disgraceful crime. What good will our transit systems be if they are not filled with a productive and robust labor workforce which helps pay for the system? Who would want to ride a public transit bus or drive through a gang-filled neighborhood? The connection between the proper raising of children and transit advocacy is vital.
We encourage you to take a look at this map put together by a Google Maps user by the name of Kevin. This map illustrates where known gangs exist in the Inland Empire. Check out what programs are out there in your neighborhood to help stop these dangerous criminal groups and to prevent vulnerable youth at risk from joining them. Research is showing that careless parenting and undisciplined youths getting involved in the criminal culture are closely tied together, but there are ways to offset this. Many schools will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week during the course of this month, bringing an awareness of alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence abuse to attention. Get active in one of these programs, especially if you are in a position of raising children. They are our future to a Better Inland Empire.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Carpool Lane Congestion and RCTC's Interstate 15 Corridor Improvement Project
The law states that the carpool lane is used "to stimulate and encourage the development of ways and means of relieving traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air pollutants."
Dedicated lanes for high occupancy vehicles is a viable alternative, according to the state government. In many cases, such lanes are the only alternative, in meeting federal air quality conformity standards for capacity-increasing improvement projects in metropolitan areas in conjunction with improving options for alternative high occupancy vehicle travel such as expanded bus and train services and marketing campaigns to form carpools. Carpool lanes represent one approach being used in regions throughout the state to respond to growing traffic congestion, declining mobility level, air quality and environmental concerns.
Yes, there are some corridors where the carpool lane may be lightly used during some hours. We've brought our views into the court of public opinion earlier this week on this one.
Those principles and benefits of carpool lanes are all good, and many commuters were sold on that notion. Guess what? Combined with the Inland Empire population growth, the carpool lanes are now jammed too during the rush hour. Under the federal law, carpool lanes are officially congested when the high occupancy vehicles in these lanes fail to maintain a minimum average operating speed of 45 miles per hour 90 percent of the time over a 180-day period during the morning or afternoon peak hours.
There have been claims that solo hybrids and electric cars are contributing to the chaos. There are some who are demanding that the exemption be abolished. Caltrans believes the state's rising population–and not solo clean vehicle access–is the primary reason for congestion in the carpool lanes. “More people are driving more cars longer distances. Our research shows that vehicle miles traveled increased faster than population growth," according to Caltrans' Chief of Traffic Operations Robert Copp. "So, with population increases, we get more traffic, more congestion." That may be true, but placing solo hybrid restrictions could be one solution to explore given that they are not really high occupancy vehicles. Restricting such access in congested areas is not the cure-all solution, but it would certainly help. The reality is that it probably won't be much longer until the majority of cars would be considered clean as more hybrids and electrics are introduced in the marketplace and prices come down.
Speaking of solo's, the other exempted vehicles are motorcycles. Should they too be restricted? Positively not. Motorcycles are considered a high occupancy vehicle simply due to safety and their small size. If a motorcycle is stuck in the general purpose lanes, that makes the roadway more hazardous. One corridor does restrict motorcycle access to its high occupancy vehicle lanes, the 91 Express Lanes. They must have a FasTrak transponder and hop into the 3+ lane. Motorcycles should be exempted from needing to register for a FasTrak transponder and pay tolls during the PM rush hour, period. There is no excuse to motorcycle safety. Automated enforcement systems can certainly detect these high occupancy vehicles.
Combating Carpool Lane Congestion
Moving forward, Caltrans will explore several strategies to reduce carpool lane congestion, including:
- Adjusting hours of HOV operation
- Modifying vehicle entrance and exit points in HOV lanes
- Increasing enforcement by the California Highway Patrol, and
- Limiting hybrid access in congested areas.
There have also been local discussions of changing the occupancy requirement for carpool from 2 to 3 during congested periods. That should be looked at on a corridor-by-corridor basis by traffic engineers. We understand that such a change will be a bit chaotic at first as 2-person carpools are displaced, but strong marketing campaigns to form 3+ carpools and plans implement all day transit service should be able to offset this issue. Long term plans may include doubling the capacity so that there are two carpool lanes in each direction. The I-15 Express Lane facility in San Diego County is a prime example.
Model high occupancy vehicle infrastructure: San Diego County I-15 Express Lanes
- Dual 2+ carpool lanes in each direction with the option of solo drivers to buy their way in with a FasTrak under real-time marketplace tolls. Much of the corridor also features a movable barrier where the number of carpool lanes in each direction can be adjusted easily. Under special circumstances, the barrier could be moved where one direction of the corridor would have 3 carpool lanes, the other would have 1.
- More than 20 access points that give travelers a wide range of options of where to enter or exit the lanes.
- Direct access ramps that allow travelers to enter the Express Lanes from surface streets. New and improved transit stations are located less than a few blocks from these ramps, thus providing the bus transit infrastructure for high speed express bus services both from public agencies and the private sector.
- Robust bus transit stations less than a few blocks from the corridor: Unlike LA's I-110 Harbor Transitway where the transit stations were placed in the freeway median, the stations are placed on either side of the freeway, thus making non vehicular access more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Speaking of the notion of placing transit stations within the median of the freeway, such proposals generally must be discouraged. Getting to stops is hard enough. Patrons are often required to bridge over or under several lanes of rushing traffic. Once they are finally on the platform, the environment is chaotic. Cars may be whizzing by at high speeds in both directions, producing noise and unhealthful air around the station. That's why it's better to place the transit hubs on either side of the freeway.
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| Concept: What a direct access ramp with supporting bus infrastructure from San Diego's I-15 Express Lanes may look like if replicated in Temecula. An extension of Bedford Court serves as the direct access ramp. Numerous casino buses, private carpools and future public express buses would utilize it. A transit station on the opposite side of the freeway would cater to connecting RTA buses and potential local high speed rail toward Los Angeles to the north and San Diego to the south. A gateway into the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve would also support the transit station and serve as a tourist stop. View map. |
The Riverside County Transportation Commission's Interstate 15 Corridor Improvement Project was recently reevaluated, right-sized, and re-prioritized as it emerges from its original plan of a 43.5 mile corridor improvement, to a more focused 14.6 mile stretch of tolled express lanes running North from Cajalco Road in Corona to State Route 60 (SR-60). The original proposal was to run the HOT lanes between SR-60 and SR-74 in Lake Elsinore and to build carpool lanes between SR-74 and the I-215 in Murrieta. Because of predicted growth in Temecula, we've advocated for the carpool lanes to be dual and to run through to San Diego County where it would seamlessly link with the I-15 Express Lanes. Under the current political and economic climate, that will not happen anytime soon; so prepare for more bottleneck shifting.
According to RCTC, the project has undergone the reevaluation of its project limits in order to deliver a project that could be constructed in this economic recovery period. The project originally was relying, in part, on local Measure A funding, the half-cent sales tax dedicated to County Transportation, for a large portion of its funding source.
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| Concept: Dual high occupancy express lanes along the I-15 freeway just north of Cajalco Road which supports free non-transponder carpooling complete with infrastructure to support future rapid express buses and private sector intercity coaches like Greyhound. The access point pictured is actually officially proposed by the Riverside County Transportation Commission as part of a scaled-down version of the I-15 tolled express lane project. Also pictured to the right is infill marketplace job growth at the Corona Crossings area. |
No more excuse making
We will continue to hold the state accountable for supporting policies that would entice the local marketplace to grow and for getting our transportation infrastructure to a point of where it needs to be and county officials should think likewise and pass resolutions to demand the state to stop misspending our money. Wasteful government spending of our transportation money positively should not be tolerated. With carpool demands high and growth on the way for the corridor, the I-15 needs robust infrastructure to support the high occupancy vehicle traffic so it does not become the next 91 Freeway Corona Crawl. The corridor needs to mimic San Diego County's I-15 Express Lane system with bus transit infrastructure and usage policies that support free non-transponder carpooling. Charging mandatory tolls and transponder preregistration on carpoolers which drives non-registered HOV's out of the express lanes should not be a substitute. The state simply has no excuse for this downsizing.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Getting around the "Braided" Blockade at the Riverside Downtown Metrolink station outside of the car
Issue #1 - The 91 freeway acts as a barrier preventing pedestrian and vehicular access from the Metrolink station to Downtown. The suggested opportunity was to construct a pedestrian and bus access bridge over the freeway linking the Metrolink station to Downtown. We envisioned a non motor vehicular multi-use pathway connecting the station to Riverside's 11th Street pedestrian corridor which seamlessly links to the Main Street pedestrian plaza and numerous government buildings and courthouses. The second opportunity suggested was to provide a bus shuttle with frequent service connecting the Metrolink station to Downtown. It turned out that existing through bus routes would fare better in terms of productivity under the current demographics with combined frequent service, but a dedicated shuttle may be feasible later down the road.
Issue #2 - The linkage between bus transit and Metrolink service is limited. RTA and the City of Riverside at one point were planning a bus transit center adjacent to the Metrolink station offering bus riders easier access to Metrolink. That wise proposal is still mired in fiscal chaos. Additional through bus routes will serve the new bus transfer center offering better bus transit choices
for riders, productively addressing the bus feeder opportunity in Issue #1. Secondly, officials suggested any new development should provide a pedestrian plaza linking the bus transit center and the Metrolink station.
The SR-91 Carpool Lane project and the braided freeway interchanges
The Compass Blueprint plan ran into another problem. According to a recent field study covering the construction of the SR-91 Freeway carpool lane extension into Downtown Riverside and as shown in this satellite picture, we're back to the drawing board in regards to getting a pedestrian bridge over the freeway and finding spots for private sector intercity bus outlets. As you may tell, part of the carpool lane extension project included plans to braid the University Avenue and 14th Street interchange ramps, pretty much exacerbating Issue #1 and making the cost to build this bridge more expensive. Also, the idea of linking the transit center to the extended carpool lanes via a direct access ramp would almost certainly need to be done a few blocks away since the freeway right-of-way width is already maxed out in this area. We believe such a grade-separated connection would allow express buses, intercity coaches, and private carpools productive seamless connections between the Downtown Riverside transit station and the high occupancy lanes without the need to weave across the freeway's general purpose lanes.
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| Concept: Grade-separated direct access ramps would seamlessly link 91 Freeway carpool lanes with RTA and Omnitrans transit hubs, allowing express buses and other high occupancy vehicle traffic access to the carpool lane without the need to weave across the freeway. |
Monday, October 7, 2013
Carpool Lanes: Debating the "Open to All" option outside of rush hours
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| Proposed: SANDAG proposes high occupancy toll lanes along the I-15 from Eastvale through the Cajon Pass. During times of extraordinary traffic incidents like accidents, temporarily opening the HOT lanes to all for free with continuous access would be justifiable. In this concept, the I-15 HOT lanes are open to all with continuous access due to an accident 5 miles ahead while the I-10 HOT lanes remain open to carpools or FasTrak traffic only |
To be fair, traffic patterns on some freeways may dispute Brown's statement even though opening the carpool lanes for single-occupant vehicles on SR-134 and I-210, even if only during off-peak hours, is very questionable. The Transit Coalition does not support opening up the carpool lanes to all road users in such a fashion. A better idea is allowing local Los Angeles officials, even if it be the local Caltrans district, to have the authority to manage the carpool occupancy requirements and enforcement periods on a corridor-by-corridor basis, since local users and traffic engineers are the ones most familiar with the traffic flow of these freeways, not Sacramento. We all remember what happened with the El Monte Busway. Some basic statewide regulations will be required, especially to prevent political abuse at the local level, but basic carpool lane management certainly should certainly be done locally. For what it's worth, Assemblymember Gatto does represent the region, where SR-134 and a small portion of I-210 pass through.
This is a debatable and complicated topic. That's why we cannot support AB 405 or any other similar proposal right off the bat. As mentioned, history shows the I-10 El Monte Busway cannot be managed from Sacramento; it has to be done in LA. Another issue: How many high occupancy vehicles are choosing to drive in the general purpose lanes and why so? What is the just and right thing to do in cases where an accident or emergency crews are blocking the general purpose lanes? It's time for some straight talk.
Allow local law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open carpool lane access during a road incident
Both of Riverside County's major local newspapers, Press Enterprise and the Union Tribune, supported opening carpool lanes outside of rush hours as fewer cars use the lanes during free-flow hours, but it was the UT that hit the nail on the head. Here's a valid point that the editorial made:
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| Example: Opening up a HOT lane system to allow all traffic to bypass blocked lanes caused by a brush fire 5 miles ahead. Vehicles would also be granted continuous access. |
Most everyone in San Diego who commutes by freeway has no doubt encountered an accident or road work that clogs the regular lanes during the middle of the day or at night while the carpool lanes are practically vacant. The whole idea of carpool lanes is to encourage ride-sharing, but sometimes that just isn’t feasible.
And that's true. If there's a sigalert, traffic collision, construction, maintenance work, hazard, or any other acute road incident that is tying up traffic in the general purpose lanes, allowing law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open up the high occupancy vehicle lane to allow such traffic to pass through would absolutely be justified. This includes relaxing access restrictions by allowing drivers to cross over the double white/yellow lines. Digital freeway signs would announce such permissions.
The PE mentioned in its editorial that "letting the carpool lanes sit empty while drivers struggle with heavy traffic on the rest of the freeway does not cut pollution or ease congestion; it merely angers motorists." In the case of a road incident, that is absolutely true. State law should also allow such cases to be applied to high occupancy toll lanes including the 91 Express Lanes. Both Caltrans and law enforcement should have the authority to open dedicated lanes to allow traffic to pass through in these extraordinary circumstances which includes permitting vehicles to cross over the double white/yellow lines. There is no reason whatsoever to suggest otherwise.
Outside of traffic incidents, the notion of opening up carpool lanes to all during off-peak hours is debatable. Therefore, The Transit Coalition does not support this notion. Debates and decisions should take place locally on a corridor-by-corridor basis with all political bias set aside and with professional engineers writing up formulas based on fact-based data to aid local leaders in managing such lanes. The same holds true of determining whether such facilities should allow for continuous access or have dedicated access points. There are some freeways that experience very few vehicles in the carpool lane outside of peak hours, but certainly not all. Generally speaking, policies need to ensure the carpool lane remains moving at all times outside of acute traffic incidents. A firm valid objection is creating a circumstance where opening up the carpool lane to all would fill it beyond capacity during off-peak hours with solo drivers. That could be a concern for freeways in the Los Angeles area where high occupancy vehicle travel demand is high. The facts, history and various traffic patterns on different freeways are overwhelming. Here are some examples:
I-10 El Monte Busway: The El Monte Busway is an 11 mile shared-use bus corridor and high occupancy toll lane running along I-10 between downtown Los Angeles and the El Monte Bus Station. It has a long history, but in 1999, a state bill lowered the carpool occupancy requirement from three occupants to two to take place on January 1, 2000. This was intended to be a 2 year experiment but it was cancelled after only 6 months in which it congested the busway. Local transit agencies opposed the state measure, demonstrating why local officials need some decision making power to manage their high occupancy vehicle lanes. Emergency state legislation was needed and passed in July 2000 to terminate the experiment during peak hours. Currently, 3's a carpool during rush hours in both directions, 2 at other times along the El Monte Busway. All carpools must also have a switchable FasTrak transponder to travel for free in the current HOT lane system.
91 Freeway into Orange County: As many are aware, the 91 Freeway into Orange County consistently reaches unpredictable "rush hour" states well beyond the traditional peak commute hours. Right off the bat, we can safely say that the freeway's general purpose lanes and the 2+ carpool lane through Corona start to slow shortly after the lunch hour on Friday's and is congested pretty much all day and through the evening on many weekends and holidays, especially in the eastbound direction. The freeway gets worse on hot days as people headed to coastal areas and the beach to cool off fill the 91, most have at least 2 people in the car. The 91 Express Lanes is a 24/7 transponder-mandated 3+ high occupancy toll lane facility. Given the high demands for high occupancy vehicle travel in the corridor to the point where even 2+ carpool lanes are insufficient during rush hours, hot summer days and weekends, the 3+ HOT/FasTrak lanes positively cannot be opened to all outside of traditional commute hours. That would be chaotic for the entire corridor. Probably the only feasible times to regularly open the 91 Express Lanes to all would be during the late night hours.
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| Proposed: SANDAG proposes high occupancy toll lanes along the I-15 through the Cajon Pass. This Caltrans photo shows the existing freeway at a free-flowing state during the middle of a weekday. Opening the HOT lanes to all for free is certainly debatable and questionable. How many of the cars passing through do you think are high occupancy vehicles? |
- SR-60 Carpool lanes between Moreno Valley and the Badlands hills
- Proposed I-215 Carpool lanes between Moreno Valley and Perris
- Proposed I-15 Carpool lanes between Murrieta and Lake Elsinore
- Proposed I-15 High Occupancy Toll Lanes through the Cajon Pass
- Proposed I-15 High Occupancy Toll Lanes between Temecula and Escondido
Here's an interesting reality of such free-flowing freeways. Some HOV's won't even bother to weave across the freeway lanes to use the carpool lane during free-flow hours simply because there is no need to. That of course drives down the number of vehicles in the lane. Whenever an extraordinary circumstance such as an accident comes up unannounced, more folks including carpools are stuck in the regular lanes, especially if the carpool lane has restricted access points. This creates the problem of empty carpool lanes and congested general purpose lanes. One solution, as mentioned, is to allow law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open the carpool lane to all during extraordinary circumstances and to permit vehicles to cross over the double lines if there are restrictions.
Long term solutions would include finding ways to integrate the lanes better with dense activity centers. This would include the development of direct access ramps and transit infrastructure. HOV's may therefore be inclined to take the carpool lane during off-peak hours.
I-215 Carpool Lanes under construction between Riverside and San Bernardino: The mainline is heavily used all throughout the day, and the two county seats move many people all day long with the presence of an all day Omnitrans express bus route. Should the private sector invest in the city centers, high occupancy vehicle demand may be high enough where night owl transit service may be feasible. The carpool lane should therefore remain 24/7 with long term plans to link the lane directly to the transit centers.
I-215 Carpool Lanes between Riverside and Moreno Valley: This segment of the I-215 is consistently high in volume due to the merge of SR-60 from Moreno Valley and I-215 from Perris. Carpool demands are consistently high. A recent Coalition field study through this area showed the eastbound 2+ carpool lane between Riverside and Moreno Valley filled to near capacity on a Friday night at 9 PM as the general purpose lanes were heavy, well past the traditional rush hour. With the growth of logistics jobs in the area, this corridor certainly should maintain its 24/7 enforcement with long term plans for a dual HOV express lane system with bus transit infrastructure and upgraded corridor-based passenger rail service. More on that at later time.
Other freeway corridors with regular slowing in the general purpose lanes outside of rush hour: The long term solution needs to be exploring additional high occupancy vehicle travel options. This includes improving mass transit services and carpool marketing outside the traditional commute hour.
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| The carpool lane system through Interstate 10 in Ontario certainly should remain at 24/7 operations. This midday Caltrans photo shows the freeway and the carpool lane at a heavy, but stable state. Seven high occupancy vehicles are pictured in the carpool lane. There may be more in the general purpose lanes. |
What about AB 405?
How do the SR-134 and I-210 freeways in Los Angeles County fit into this category in relationship with the vetoed bill? Would AB 405 work specifically for these corridors? We'll let the experts working in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena make that judgement. If engineers conclude that these freeways have a high volume of high occupancy vehicles traveling in the general purpose lanes, keep the carpool lane open 24/7 and find ways to integrate the lanes better with direct access ramps and transit infrastructure. The greater Los Angeles area has very high occupancy vehicle travel rates as demonstrated by transit routes with high ridership figures, especially along the El Monte Busway.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Transportation Tips: Take Charge of Your Commute
Rideshare
October has traditionally been the month where local transportation agencies market ridesharing to area commuters to cut down on traffic congestion. Getting yourself into a carpool is not easy and takes some time and firm commitments. Be willing to sacrifice a few hours to learn what your commute options are. Stop making excuses and take charge of your drive, even if it's just one day per week. Ridesharing involves heading to work or your destination using any means except driving solo in a car. Your fuel bill will be significantly cut. Form a carpool and hop into the carpool lane for free including the I-15 Express Lanes in San Diego County. Team up with 3 or more and enjoy huge toll discounts aboard the 91 Express Lanes with any FasTrak account including toll free travel in the westbound lanes. Explore your RTA, Omnitrans, and Metrolink options and see if the bus or train fits into your work schedule. Check out the guaranteed ride home programs that are offered. Even if your route is totally car-centric, see if the park-and-walk model works for you by parking offsite and walking the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile of the trip.
And it's not just going work. If you're headed to a social function, a meeting, company convention, or anything else, see if anybody else living in your area is headed to the same event and organize a casual carpool. By choosing to rideshare, you can reduce traffic congestion. For everyday commuters, RCTC and SANBAG have set up this system through the IE511 commuter website:
Use the calculator on this page and see how much money you can save.
Step 2: Find a carpool or vanpool.
IE 511 Commuter Services can help you find a carpool or vanpool arrangement that matches your route and schedule. Also get information about Carpool Lanes and Park and Ride lots to streamline your commute.
Step 3: See if you are eligible for any commuter incentives.
Want a tax break? IE 511Commuter Incentives to try ridesharing are available to employees at participating employers. You could be eligible for a $2/day incentive, a $400 a month ongoing vanpool subsidy, an incentive to start a vanpool, and the Rideshare Plus Rewards Program that offers coupons for dining and shopping discounts if you are already ridesharing. Just call 1-866-RIDESHARE (1-866-743-3742) for more information.
In addition to the 511 service, check out the vast ridesharing options all throughout the marketplace. You may be surprised to learn what you're options may be.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Public continues to question the state HSR project
There are other good reasons why concerned citizens are questioning the project. Here are some facts.
As mentioned, the CHSRA business plan estimates a $68 billion price tag for the Phase 1 project, connecting San Francisco with Los Angeles via the Central Valley and Palmdale regions. The agency has calculated the travel distance to be 432 miles which includes the Palmdale segment. Do the math and that adds up to an astounding $157 million per mile. The public has every right to question the inflated costs.
According to a Reuters blog post, the LGV Sud-Est bullet train which links Paris to Lyon was completed in seven years in 1983 and cost $5 billion in today’s U.S. dollars. The distance is 254 miles which adds up to about $20 million per mile. The Shinkansen high speed rail system in Japan was completed in six years for $20 billion in 2010 dollars. The per-mile cost added up to $63 million, a bit on the high side which earned the line some bitter criticism. China's Wuhan-Guangzhou line cost $17 billion, or $28 million per mile. These are facts that must be put into the high speed rail debate. To be fair, the Chunnel HSR system under the English Channel linking England to France cost nearly US $500 million per mile in today's currency and 80% over budget. Tunnel boring remains expensive and serious problems like fires, illegal immigrants and asylum seekers obstructed the Chunnel's construction progress.
If state and federal officials can solve these bureaucratic problems, stop pandering to union leaders, truly close CEQA loopholes to reduce the per-mile cost to at least match the Shinkansen system of $63 million per mile, getting high speed transportation infrastructure built would be a reality without the questionable price tag opposed by concerned Californians. Under cost effective policies, the approved state start-up money combined with the awarded federal funds totaling $12.7 billion would allow for more than 200 miles of high speed rail infrastructure, even through the hilly terrains.
Retrofitting conventional steel-wheel rail lines with linear synchronous motors, most likely mounted to the railroad ties between the rails, would cut down the cost of traversing through steep graded areas and provide an affordable alternative to tunneling. 200 miles of rail lines would be more than enough to close the LA-to-Bakersfield rail gap through the Newhall Pass and possibly link the Metrolink Perris Valley Line rail corridor to the LOSSAN rail corridor near La Jolla via Temecula and Escondido. That would better entice the private sector to finish the remainder of the project for a statewide high speed rail system done right.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Moreno Valley: Right of Way at Crosswalks and Safety
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| A controlled pedestrian crosswalk in Los Angeles |
A 7-foot-tall Gingerbread Man who crossed back and forth was the star of this sting. According to the Press Enterprise and the reader comments that followed, there has been much debate of this operation. Several argued the police resources should be spent on combating crimes and homicides. They have valid points and we'll get to that in just a moment.
Pedestrian Crossing Sting Operation in Moreno Valley
Here are some of the facts of the pedestrian crossing sting. This is the location of where the crosswalk sting took place. It is a designated school crossing, clearly marked. The police operation was held for just under an hour during the morning student drop-off hour right in front of Rainbow Springs Elementary School and less than 200 yards west of Sunnymead Middle School. With the presence of children and middle school youth in the area, the speed limit on Eucalyptus Avenue was 25 MPH. The reasons for these laws is safety for our children and youth. Therefore, it was perfectly justified for the police to strictly enforce the state's pedestrian crossing and speeding laws.
VC Section 21950, the state law regarding the obligation to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, was clearly written in the name of safety. Section C reads, "The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian."
The PE reported that numerous concerned parents and citizens called the police several times complaining that drivers are disregarding the crosswalk and speeding laws in this area. That's why Mr. Gingerbread Man and the cops showed up. It's quite evident that many pedestrian crossing laws throughout the state are often ignored, both by drivers and pedestrians. Many drivers fail to yield, some pedestrians continue to jaywalk. This exposes a safety hazard and that's why such stings are necessary to combat such disregard to the law.
Point Made by PE Readers: Police need to combat crime in Moreno Valley
Lastly, several PE readers posted comments that the police needs to better combat crime. We're not giving Moreno Valley officials a pass because crime and homicides are indeed a serious problem in the place "where dreams soar." On September 23 just after 1:30 AM, the PE reported that a man was shot dead in the area of Perris Boulevard and Alessandro. On September 7, the murder of 6-year-old Tiana Ricks took place; that story has surfaced all over the media. The accused murderer, Keandre Narkie Johnson, a documented member of the Edgemont Criminals, a Moreno Valley-based street gang, was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and participation in a criminal street gang. These acts are a complete disgrace to the dignity of life. We don't want Moreno Valley becoming Chicago of today or South Los Angeles of the 1990's. Solving violent criminal problems, combating gang activity, and stopping the sale of illegal drugs is a complex issue. Some of the violence could be controlled by increasing law enforcement presence in the dangerous neighborhoods and known places of gang activity with regular marked and undercover patrols. We understand that with more police comes the perception of government intrusion. If an innocent high school youth walking along Sunnymead Boulevard was stopped by the police on the way to the Moreno Valley Mall to get Grandma a gift, there will be a degree of insult. Perhaps the fair way to handle this is to require law enforcement to document under oath the reason why an officer stops an individual on the streets. However, that's no excuse not to increase police presence.
Lastly, officials need to put out public messages to discourage parents, especially fathers, from abandoning their children so our future leaders will not enter into the gang or drug cultures when they grow up. Keandre Narkie Johnson was likely not raised properly in a traditional family setting which led him into the violent street gang. Faced with a long prison term or even the death penalty and probably raised without proper discipline, Johnson will not be able to constructively contribute his skills nor compete in the marketplace of the Inland Empire here in this life if convicted. Good parenting cannot be legislated, but the government on every level can put up a powerful peaceful fight by encouraging parents to do their part in properly raising their children, engaging in constructive activities through their childhood, so they can grow up and become productive and selfless leaders of America.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Speeding up the slow progress of building true RTA RapidLink service
The Riverside Transit Agency has been exploring this alternative for a number of years now. The hold-up of getting BRT or even limited stop runs of existing services onto Riverside's streets has long been funding. We really cannot fault either RTA or the Riverside County Transportation Commission on this. Both local agencies are at the mercy of a stubbornly soft Inland Empire economy which provides the local resources. The misspending of transportation dollars at the state level which we pay into also contributes to this madness.
The fact that the cost of public transportation infrastructure is artificially inflated certainly does not help. The State of Indiana, for example estimates that upgrading a railroad crossing with automatic warning devices and gates is about $250,000. Fair enough. Ohio estimates $200,000 per upgrade. In contrast, according the Press Enterprise, Riverside County officials estimate the cost to upgrade a Perris Valley Line rail crossing in Box Springs to be anywhere from $3-$4 million. Even if the surrounding streets required upgrades, that is more than 10 times the cost of a single family home, which requires far more construction labor. We'll take a closer look at the Box Springs railroad crossing drama before making any judgement, but the inflated cost to upgrade the grade crossing is absolutely questionable to say the least.
Also, the City of Riverside must coordinate RTA's RapidLink plans into its Riverside Reconnects project, even if that means using articulated buses as the selected technology in lieu of the streetcar. By the way, here's our take and position on the city's streetcar proposal.
RTA RapidLink funding and proposed phases
Back to BRT. In June, RCTC issued the 2013 Multi-funding Call for Projects (Call) in order to acquire transportation funding from the federal government. RTA reports that available funds from the feds under Call adds up to around $116 million:
• Congestion Management and Air Quality Program (CMAQ): $61 million
• Surface Transportation Program (STP): $52 million
• Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP): $3 million
Money for BRT falls within the CMAQ program. Specifically, the CMAQ program is geared toward transportation projects or programs that are air quality beneficial and provide congestion relief. Hey, shouldn't any major transportation project not contribute toward dirty air and actually address traffic congestion? Anyway, under CMAQ, eligible transportation projects generally include construction activities on highway and arterial capacity enhancements, signal synchronizations, intersection channelization, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and transit enhancements. BRT is one of these.
RTA staff applied for funding to implement Phase 1 of the RapidLink BRT service...Well, it's not quite BRT just yet, but limited stop service will certainly provide a speedy alternative to slow local bus rides to get across town by bus. The Phase 1 service involves launching peak hour limited-stop bus runs that would operate concurrently with Route 1 between UCR and the Galleria at Tyler bus transfer hub. Here's a map of the proposed route and stop locations.
Under Phase 1, the limited-stop service would serve 15 stops in each direction during peak rush hours as compared to 55 stops in each direction on the local Route 1 between UCR and the Galleria at Tyler. Service will start at 5:30 a.m. and continue through 8:30 for the morning rush hour and from 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon. The interval between limited stop buses would be 15 minutes. RTA predicts Phase 1 will start in January 2015 pending a public comment period. The agency reports that Route 1 records 7,586 weekday daily boardings, far above the system-wide weekday average of 822 weekday daily boardings among 40 routes which excludes the trolley circulator routes.
Phase 2 extends the limited stop services west to the Corona Transit Center with additional runs during off-peak hours.
Phase 3 would involve all day service implementation on weekdays from downtown Riverside to the Corona Transit Center with additional transit stop amenities, similar to OCTA's Bravo! limited stop runs of Route 43 along the Harbor Boulevard corridor.
Speeding up and getting true BRT onto Riverside's streets
As we've mentioned, a priority for both local elected officials and the state is to encourage the private sector marketplace to invest back into the Magnolia and University Avenue corridors with the jobs that go with it. The state must also stop bowing to the will of labor unions which inflates infrastructure costs. Voters need to hold those in power accountable. These solutions are absolutely necessary to help speed up the slow process of getting true BRT into the dense areas of Riverside County which would transport a productive labor workforce.
RTA and the City of Riverside would then be able to quickly upgrade high density transportation corridors like Route 1 complete with true BRT stop amenities, dedicated transit lanes through dense areas, traffic signal priority, and frequent 10-15 minute service from early morning to late night including weekends by 2015. RapidLink would not just be peak-hour limited stop runs Route 1. That's a rapid reality.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Transportation Tips: Check the facts twice!
On Wednesday, we've posted a blog commentary on protecting public school children in comparison to the flurry of bills passed by the state legislature. It took several hours of volunteer man hours to research the stories, piece together the facts and state our thesis which we believed to be fair policy. When the post was first published in the morning, we've mentioned that one bill, SB 131, which would increase the statute of limitations for young adults abused as children to file lawsuits against private organizations would not apply to claims filed against actual criminals. Wrong.
Thanks to a tip a few hours later, just before we were to share the post on Twitter and Facebook, we digged deeper into the actual legal analysis of SB 131 as volunteer laymen and found that our original research was based on faulty news data. The California Council of Nonprofit Organizations for example said the bill "gives civil immunity from prosecution to the actual perpetrators of child sex abuse." and this similar opinion piece reported likewise. We therefore assumed that this was correct. However, the official bill analysis suggests otherwise. Under the comments of the need to revive time-barred claims, the document states this:
This bill would extend the statute of limitations for bringing
an action based on childhood sex abuse to 43 years of age, and
also allow a victim to bring a action within five years from the
day a mental health practitioner communicates the causal
connection between the injury occuring as an adult and the
sexual abuse experienced as a child, whichever occurs later.
This bill would apply these time limits retroactively, and
create a one year window in which victims who are over the age
of 43 but made the required causal connection after 2004, may
bring a claim. This one year window should allow individuals,
like the Quarry brothers, who are over the maximum age allowed
by the statute of limitations, but who made the causal
connection after the one year window created by SB 1779 (Burton
and Escutia, Ch. 149, Stats. 2002), to bring a case against an
abuser or third party (see Background).
It should be noted that the revival of actions against
perpetrators or third parties only assures that a claim would be
heard on its merits. Any other applicable defense would not be
affected, and plaintiffs would still have to prove all elements
of their case.
So, according to the state government, SB 131 would extend the time limits for a victim to file a suit against a specific criminal. So here's the lesson for all of us. Always double check the facts before making a statement, and correct and admit whenever a fact is stated in error. As human beings, we all make mistakes, even the folks who report the news. Heck, even the official analysis stated above had a typo with the word "occurring" spelled with one "r".
We know such mistakes are embarrassing and annoying because many concerned citizens and top leaders who follow The Transit Coalition depend on our fact-based positions to be accurate.
By the way, we've got a big reaction from our analysis of SB 131 from readers and it appears there is a strong debate flowing in from both sides; so please continue to post comments directly to this blog or provide us tips to sources. For the record, we did not take a formal yes/no position on this bill as a transit advocacy group, but we are doing what we can to expose both its merits and its issues into the court of public opinion as the outcome will affect all of us. The response has been tremendous and the debate productive. Please continue to post constructive comments on this topic and any other policy matters you may run across.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Tale of an old Christmas tree farm in the Badlands
The Transit Coalition ran across a very minor, but interesting piece of recent history during a study. We were looking at the satellite aerial imagery of the 60 Freeway corridor through the Badland hills in between Moreno Valley and Beaumont and checking out what kinds of rail and highway work would need to be done to prevent this freeway from being congested or bottlenecking at either end of the wildlife corridor should the World Logistics Center warehouse hub proposal in Moreno Valley become real. During the study, we ran across something that appeared natural but was actually planted by man not too long ago.
On the south side of the expressway portion of Highway 60 just east of the Jack Rabbit Trail intersection, there are some rural properties with sections of naturally growing pine trees. These pines are actually not part of the natural ecosystem nor simple landscaping, but are healthy trees that were left to grow from an old Christmas tree farm. In the late 1980's through the 90's, one of our volunteers who was a child back then passed through the Badlands regularly and remembered when the farm was in its robust state. A 2011 Google Street View snapshot currently shows an old Christmas tree farm entry sign posted at the property gate. Today, the farm is out of business, but the pine trees themselves continue to grow, mature and have become adapted to the natural ecosystem given the presence of a nearby creek and plenty of groundwater.
The groves are on private property and cannot be visited without permission from the owners, but if you ride along through this area regularly or take bus Route 35, 210 or 220, take a peak over on the south side of the 60 just east of Jack Rabbit Trail and take note of a small, but growing Inland Empire pine tree ecosystem several years in the making with each tree originally destined to end up in the living rooms of the Inland Empire.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Protecting the Inland Empire's school children from abuse
It is becoming evident that many in the state legislature and several public labor union leaders are supporting policies that harm public school children. They have backed several examples of state legislation which do not hold public sector employees who commit child abuse crimes fully accountable. As a transit advocate, that is absolutely unacceptable. As illustrated in the A Better Inland Empire logo, we advocate for policies that will bring the Inland Empire to economic prosperity free from corruption with a first-rate transportation system in a pollution-free environment, not only for ourselves but also for our children who will be our future leaders. That means getting behind legislation that hold child abuse criminals accountable and protecting innocent kids.
A disgraceful act and trivial regulatory obstructions in the public schools
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| In January, 2011, this man, former Miramonte Elementary teacher Mark Berndt, was accused of abusing his students. |
The disgraceful evidence of this crime is overwhelming. According to an LA Weekly blog post, investigators confiscated over 400 photos of the in-class lewd acts, which authorities believed to have recurred over a two-year period between 2008 and 2010.
When presented with such evidence like that, both the school district's human resource office and the principal should have been able to immediately fire Berndt and hold him criminally liable for such actions. That would have been the just and right thing to do. Unfortunately, LAUSD was politically strapped from doing so.
According the LA Weekly, Berndt was immediately removed from the classroom, but the LAUSD didn't officially fire him until March no thanks to a mandatory 45-day notice period. Also under trivial rules, the accused criminal appealed the termination. In the end, the school district was forced to give Berndt a $40,000 payout just to convince him to drop the appeal and accept resignation. These trivial obstructions to remove an accused offender can be blamed on a complex teacher discipline system put together by the teacher unions. To be fair, investigators did instruct LAUSD not to conduct a duplicate investigation which may have contributed to the termination chaos, but that is no excuse to strip LAUSD or the school principal of the authority to immediately suspend Berndt without pay pending the results of such a serious investigation involving 23 children. Right now, the accused teacher is being held in jail. He has pleaded not guilty in court and his bail is set at $23 million.
The situation gets worse. This week the LAUSD was forced to hand out $27 million in settlements to victims to settle dozens of court claims. News reports indicate that the money will actually go to victims. Without question, victims should certainly be compensated for such crimes. However, this dole out came out of LAUSD's general fund, which means the good people of Los Angeles are forced to pay for Berndt's alleged crimes. LAUSD is trying to recoup some of the money from insurance, but why does it not have the power to work with law enforcement and file restitution charges in court against Berndt?
A disturbing response from the legislature
The defeat of SB 1059 was a disgrace which caused public backlash; so the legislature passed AB 375 this year which awaits the Governor's signature. The bill reforms some teacher dismissal procedures but still falls well short of what SB 1059 would have done to protect school children from predators. According the San Diego Union Tribune, the bill would actually grant more job protections which led its editorial board to oppose the legislation.
The final bill, if signed into law, does nothing to protect innocent children in our public schools who are our future of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. That is absolutely disgraceful.
Discriminatory public-sector exemptions of SB 131
For the record we do not oppose this bill outright, but feel both its merits and issues need to be exposed. To be fair, according to the official legislative analysis report, SB 131 also extends the time limits for victims to sue against the actual individual abuser, but in 1998 and 2002, similar time limit extension laws were passed. It was AB 1651 in 2002 that targeted private organizations as a whole which created a furry of lawsuits. The law allowed victims to sue a whole organization for damages beyond age 26 with a one year window whenever some corrupt leader inside was covering up child abuse crime. The 2002 law didn't target the necessarily target criminals nor those who abusively covered up, but the private organizations as a whole. That means, victims can sue for damage restitution, but innocent donors and sponsors may end up paying the bill, not those who committed the crime.
Last decade, these child abuse lawsuits filed against organizations flooded the courtrooms of California. Today, many of these court cases have been settled between victims and the offender--Correction--the offender's organization and its donors. Billions have been paid out by the non-profit sector to the suing parties, a significant portion of which didn't even go to the victims, but to the lawyers. The situation allowed for attorneys to profit from private organizations' treasuries funded by donors who played no roll in this disgraceful criminal activity. Do we really need a repeat of this entire fiasco?
Because of these flaws, many private groups are opposing the bill and have strong and legit reasons to back up their position. The California Council of Nonprofit Organizations poured $258,000 into fighting the bill. However, some in the media are not reporting all of the facts, causing the public to brand such organizations as child-haters for opposing SB 131. Here's how the Los Angeles Times and the Huffington Post spun it; click on the links to read how these outlets reported the story and how the readers responded. On the other side, this Sacramento Bee opinion piece shows that SB 131 won’t allow lawsuits to be revived against the actual perpetrator of abuse – just his or her employer. Upon further review, that is incorrect. The bill would extend the statute of limitations for suits against actual criminals with the information buried in the official legal analysis.
It's without question that the offending criminals, pedophiles and those who willfully cover up such acts must be held accountable. Corrupt leaders in many organizations have gravely messed up, especially those in the Roman Catholic Church. The offenders must be ousted from their jobs, serve mandatory jail time and pay restitution to the victims out of their own pockets. That's fair legislation. However there is no reason to throw out a whole organization with the flawed leaders; Judas was an apostle. Today, many organizations take responsibility for such criminal activity. Most churches have implemented child protection policies such as banning Sunday school classes and clergy appointments in private homes. Volunteers and employees who work with children are subject to criminal background checks. Some organizations go as far to train such people to be mandated reporters. Do we really need to penalize such entities for that?
Is SB 131 really about protecting children by bringing those who commit or cover up such horrible crimes to justice, or are the union leaders and lawyers looking to make even more money by putting a financial strain on the non-profit sector? You be the judge.
Again, for the record, we do not outright oppose this bill, but its legal loopholes need to be brought up for discussion in the court of public opinion.
Protecting our children from the political fiscal fiasco
Take Action!
The madness taking place in Sacramento is a disgrace to democracy. It's time for the people of the State of California follow the example of the what the good folks in Moreno Valley are doing to reclaim their republic. It's now time to rise up against this political corruption that is harming innocent children and their future.
For the record: A previous version of the blog post incorrectly mentioned SB 131 would not extend the statute of limitations for suits against actual criminals based on faulty resource data. Upon further review of the official legislative analysis, the time limits do apply.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The RTA route maps have become easier to understand
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| Photo: Riverside Transit Agency |
Including the freeways and major streets on the individual bus route maps certainly would make them more clearer to understand. We've noted that the bus agency adopted some of the suggestions we made back in 2009 for the September 2013 bus service change. See for yourself in the Ride Guide.
Other basic ideas that we've suggested to RTA in order to make the bus system more understandable includes the renumbering of the bus routes based on the type of route it is. Such a move won't break the bank and such a proposal was recommended back in 2007 through a comprehensive operational analysis study. Here's a potential route classification system with some example routes:
Conceptual RTA Bus Route numbering system with example routes:
Some of the example routes listed include lines that are conceptual or are RTA COA-recommended in 2007, but not in service. Do not use for RTA trip planning!
Local/Trunk Routes: 1-99
Route 1 - Corona - Downtown Riverside - UCR local
Route 16 - Downtown Riverside - Moreno Valley local
Community shuttles and circulators: 100-199
Route 133 - Hemet Ladybug circulator
Route 108 - Lake Elsinore Grand Avenue connector
Express Routes: 200-299
Route 202 - Murrieta - Oceanside CommuterLink
Route 206 - Temecula - Lake Elsinore - Corona CommuterLink
Inter-regional Connectors and Local+Express Hybrid Routes: 400-499
Route 403 - Lake Elsinore - Corona - Eastvale
Route 431 - Pass Area - Moreno Valley - Downtown Riverside
Route 479 - Temecula - Hemet
Metrolink Station Rail Feeders and Special Routes: 600-699
Route 650 - Downtown Riverside Jury Shuttle
Route 651 - UC Riverside Crest Cruiser
Route 655 - Harveston Trolley Shuttle
Limited Stop / Rapid: 700-799
Route 701 - Corona - Downtown Riverside - UCR
Route 716 - Downtown Riverside - UCR - Moreno Valley
Route 719 - Moreno Valley - Perris
Route 723 - Lake Elsinore - Temecula - Pechanga Resort
Rapid Express Service: 900-999
via 91 Express Lanes, San Diego County I-15 Express Lanes, and future RCTC I-15 High Occupancy Tolled Express Lanes
Route 915 - Lake Elsinore - Corona - Fullerton
Route 917 - Murrieta - Escondido - La Jolla
Route 991 - Riverside Downtown - Corona - Anaheim ARTIC
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