Roger Rudick
Recent Posts
Appeals Court Lifts Bond Restrictions on CAHSR, Funding Picture Clears
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A California Court of Appeals has removed the most significant legal impediment threatening California’s High Speed Rail project. The unanimous decision of the three-judge panel, rendered on Thursday, reversed Judge Michael Kenny’s Nov. 25, 2013 ruling, which had blocked the state from issuing bonds under Prop. 1A, the High Speed Rail Act of 2008. Justice Vance Ray, […]
The Los Angeles Times and its Disgraceful Reporting on High Speed Rail
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On the morning of March 24, I was in the café car on the Eurostar high-speed train, on my way from Paris to London. I glanced out the window as we zoomed at nearly 200 mph past a stopped train, a concrete platform and some parked cars. I asked the barista if that was Haute-Picardie […]
The Myth of the Magic Bus: The Weird Politics and Persistently Strange Logic Behind the Orange Line
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The other day I was reading about New York City’s proposal to build a north-south busway on Woodhaven Blvd., starting in my old ‘hood of Jackson Heights. It’s a great plan—by making the center lanes bus-only and providing train-like amenities, such as pre-paid, multi-door boarding, New York will have an improved north-south bus route. It’ll take a predicted 45 minutes […]
Did Metro Build a Perpetual Motion Machine?
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Even if you’ve never seen “The Seven Year Itch,” you probably know the bit where Marilyn Monroe’s skirt is blown by a subway train. Her skirt lifts because subway trains generate wind–lots of wind. Metro has a “Sustainable Rail Plan” under which its staff looks for ways to reduce power consumption. Cris Liban is Deputy Executive Officer for Environmental […]
Connecting the Dots: VerdeXchange/FutureBuild Conference Looks at the Sustainable Los Angeles of Tomorrow
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Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke during a lunchtime plenary at the VerdeXchange/FutureBuild, a conference on sustainability, business and public policy, on Tuesday at the L.A. Hotel Downtown on Figueroa. He urged all departments in the city to look at everything through a lens of environmentalism. “Los Angeles had a sustainable past, going all the way back […]
LAPD Crackdowns and Complete Streets: City’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee Puts its Foot Down
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Thursday afternoon, in a fluorescent-lit conference room on the third floor of the east building of City Hall, Sean Karmody, a police sergeant, addressed over 20 people at the Los Angeles City Pedestrian Advisory Committee about jaywalking tickets. He stressed that police traffic enforcement’s “biggest priority is to reduce hit and runs.” He also said […]
Wendy in a Wheelchair: Awakening to the State of LA’s Sidewalks
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Wendy, my girlfriend, is a skilled rock climber with eight years experience. Unfortunately, sometimes rocks just break. On July 6, she was climbing Mount Emerson, near Bishop, when an anchor ripped free–she fell nearly 100 feet onto a granite ledge. She’s spent much of her recuperation at my home in downtown Los Angeles. And that’s […]
California High Speed Rail: Media Piling-on Continues, as Does the Project
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Last week, the media reported, once again, that the California High Speed Rail (HSR) project is in its death throes. The latest batch of articles are based on a Nov. 25 decision by Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny. The judge ordered the California HSR Authority to revise a 2011 funding plan before it issues state […]
Denver’s East Corridor Rail Line: Colorado’s Airport Train to Leave Crenshaw-to-Near-LAX Project in its Prairie Dust
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(Everyone remembers Roger Rudick, right? Good. – DN) A half-mile from the front entrance of Denver International Airport, two prairie dogs popped up from their dusty burrows. They saw concrete ties, rails, and construction equipment for the East Corridor Rail Line, a commuter train project that will provide a one-seat ride from Denver’s Union Station […]
A National Infrastructure Bank: Can the U.S. Learn From Europe?
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On Labor Day, President Barack Obama gave a speech in which he pushed for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank. Legislation that would establish the bank was introduced over the summer in Senate Bill 1926, authored by Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. But the idea of an independent financing entity […]