SGV Connect

Where do we go from here?

That question has been on the minds of a lot of people since the election results came rolling in last Tuesday night. Now that a little time has passed, #DamienTalks checks in with CalBike, the largest transportation reform organization in the state and second largesT bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group in the country. Joining myself is Jeanie Ward-Waller.

Ward-Waller and I try to dig through the election results across California to see if there were any statewide trends that we could trace, and to touch on what is, and isn't, going on in the state legislature's Special Session on Transportation. Spoiler: not much is gong on in the state legislature's Special Session on Transportation.

But things get a little more interesting when we talk about what CalBike, and by extension pretty much every bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group, can and should do to be more inclusive. CalBike is ahead of the game when compared to many of its peer organizations, but as we discuss, it's far from perfect and still has some work to do.

We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at [email protected], at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.

Today, #DamienTalks with a bunch of people who claim that they have witnessed paranormal activity in the Foothill Transit executive offices.

That's right, we're reporting that the major sponsor of this podcast is haunted.

Happy Halloween!

And thanks to Felicia Friesema for all her work on this podcast as well as our interviewees for being such good sports : Sabrina Muhne, Roland Cordero, Roberto Estrella, Ruben Cevantes, Miguel Rodriguez, Chris Pieper and London Lee.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

I know it seems as though this election has been going on forever, but the end is in site. A week from Tuesday, America will vote on a new president, California will vote on a new Senator and Los Angeles County will decide the fate of Measure M.

But today, #DamienTalks with South Pasadena Mayor Diana Mahmud about the proposal. South Pasadena, its newspapers and many of its loudest activists either opposed or stayed neutral on Metro sales tax proposals in 2008 and 2012. But this time, the newspapers and City Council are unanimous in their support for Measure M.

I'll be honest with you, the conversation took a turn I didn't expect. Mahmud talked openly about the privilege South Pasadena has with being one of Southern California's first cities to have a rail station. She then pivoted to the need for the city to "pay it forward" by supporting a tax to help other cities in Los Angeles County experience the benefits of having a rail station at the center of town.

Maybe I've been covering the ugly fight over development in Santa Monica for too long, but to hear someone argue that it was their duty to help everyone achieve the privilege that they have was refreshing.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

This week, #DamienTalks with Doran Barnes, the executive director of Foothill Transit and the Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Our conversation touches on a wide-range of subjects including integrating Foothill Transit with the new Gold Line Extension, Measure M and Foothill Transit's ground-breaking electric bus program.

We also talk about both APTA and Barnes' agenda as chair of this national advocacy organization for transit providers. Barnes lists three things he would like APTA to accomplish in the next year, one of which is assuring that the infrastructure needs of the country remain a priority for the incoming administration in the White House once it takes office.

If you want to hear the other two, you're going to have to listen in.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

Today, #DamienTalks with Olga Arroyo and Jean Marie Hance with Community and Construction Relations for the Regional Connector Project in Downtown Los Angeles. With the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) going in the ground next week, it seemed the perfect time to connect with the Regional Connector.

The conversation is wide ranging and goes on for over twenty minutes, a rarity for this podcast. We cover a lot of ground, including:

• Where are we in the construction timeframe?
• The naming project for the Tunnel Boring Machine (to be announced next week)
• Outreach projects such as Go Little Tokyo
• The station naming contest

Despite my best efforts, they would not tell me the names of the stations or the TBM. Even more disappointingly, no matter how many twitter accounts I create and spam them, I will not be able to get a station named after me.

But there is other exciting new. The TBM will be lowered into the ground next week at a special ceremony at the station at 1st and Central. Because it is an active construction zone, attendance is limited. You can get more details for the event in the podcast and can RSVP (if there's space) by emailing [email protected].

Today, #DamienTalks with Steve Jones, the Mayor Pro Tem of Garden Grove.

While Garden Grove is not one of the most famous cities in California, it is home to 180,000 residents and is something of a bell weather for the efforts to create a healthier Orange County. Garden Grove is working on a Bike Master Plan, with a greater buffet of clean transportation options for residents, workers and visitors.

I'm going to be honest. The entire interview is great of course; but there are two really fantastic and unique answers towards the end of the interview. At about the ten and a half minute mark, I ask a question about Open Streets. The follow-up is a question about what kind of city his kids will live in when they grow up.

The answers to these questions are unique and interesting. If you sort of half-listen to these podcasts, make sure to tune completely in at the end. Jones is running unopposed for Mayor of Garden Grove this fall. It seems as though the city will be in god hands.

We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at [email protected], at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.

This week, #DamienTalks with Wesley Reutimann about the new plans for the postponed 626. Spoiler, prepare yourself for an open streets party in the SGV next March.

It's no surprise to anyone that listens to this podcast, or reads this website, that we were super excited for The 626. The mammoth Open Streets party that spanned the entire Gold Line Foothill Extension that opened this spring would have been a unique event, spanning many municipalities and nearly-doubling the route of the "Heart of L.A." CicLAvia.

Yeah, the 626 was going to be AMAZING. And then it was postponed because of the fires that were going happening the week of June 26.

But the 626 is back on the calendar! March 5, 2017! It's going to be awesome. See you there!

Find out how the 626 is returning and what to expect in this gigantic and unique Open Streets party.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of Downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

Welcome back to #DamienTalks. Today, #DamienTalks with Chanell Fletcher, the associate director with Climate Plan. With the Californiawith the legislature passing and the governor signing new legislation this year, we discuss what's next for the movement to impact man-made global warming.

We try to cover both bases: what should be done from a policy perspective and what impact will existing laws have on people's day to day lives. Last we discuss what you and me can do to improve the environment and fight climate change in our own lives.

Good news! Smart transportation choices are a big part of the solution, both in terms of policy and in terms of what we, as individuals, can do.

We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at [email protected], at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.

Today, #DamienTalks with Marisa Creter, the Assistant Executive Director of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. Our discussion mostly covers the excitement Creter, the Cog and other government officials and advocates have for the over 200-mile greenway plan.

Both BikeSGV and Creter refer to the plan as a "bike super highway" that criss-crosses the entire SGV with separated bike trails connecting residents to schools, businesses and the growing transit system.

BikeSGV has a google map of the proposal on their Greenway webpage. Creter notes that a large section of the Greenway Network, the Emerald Necklace, is already constructed and there are several smaller projects underway. There is also funding for the network in Measure R, should voters pass the initiative at the polls this November.

Creter is also one of the award winners at this year's Noche de las Luminarias, an awards program presented by BikeSGV. For more information, visit the event webpage.

We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at [email protected], at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.

Thanks for listening. You can download the episode at the #DamienTalks homepage on Libsyn.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of Downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

It's been awhile 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 Transportation and Land Use outlining how laws requiring developers to invest in road widening to "mitigate" traffic created by their development. Almost nobody who understands transportation planning believes that these requirements do anything to improve traffic flow, yet these laws persist?

Manville doesn't only debunk the theory behind the laws, but also offers a solution...should policy makers heed his call.

You can read "Automatic street widening: Evidence from a highway dedication law" at the Journal of Transportation and Land Use here, and a summary of the article from Streetsblog USA here.

We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at [email protected], at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.