Climate change increasing massive wildfires in West

reuters

usatoday: "Overall, the number of large wildfires increased by a rate of seven fires a year from 1984 to 2011, while the total area damaged by fire increased at a rate of nearly 90,000 acres per year, according to the study, published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

The study comes against the backdrop of what could to be a disastrous year for fires in the West, especially drought-plagued California, which even saw fires in the normally quiet month of January."

$433,000 for one crosswalk. This is a car cost, not a pedestrian cost.

Major upgrade for Hillcrest crosswalk | San Diego Reader: "The contractor for the project — “Park Boulevard and Cypress Avenue pop-outs and lighted crosswalk” — is Atlas Development of Solana Beach. Their winning bid was $230,869. Completion is slated for July, with a total project cost of $433,000, according to the city's capital-improvements program web page."

Much of what people call pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is actually necessary only because of the dominance of the private auto. Why do the autos own the streets, and everyone else forced to work around that? Most of the money spent on pedestrian overpasses and bike lanes could be saved if we could reduce or eliminate cars from cities. Your town would be better off investing in free buses instead of bike/walk infrastructure.

The drought hitting 40 percent of the entire country, in 5 maps

washington post: "With a hot summer and wildfire season right around the corner, huge chunks of the western United States are experiencing record droughts. Parts of California, Nevada and Arizona are drier than they have been in 1,200 years, putting at risk millions of acres of farm and forest lands."

Cars choking Orange County

Voice of OC : "“The roads are just going to become at some point … unpassable at rush hour,” said OCTA Director Jeff Lalloway, who is also an Irvine city councilman."

For better health, we need better #publictransit

Taking Cycling And Public Transit Mainstream With Maria Sipin | Neon Tommy: "“People used to bring their bikes into the clinics,” Sipin says, which was a hassle for everybody. Her patients inspired her to advocate for more accessible and reliable public transportation, as well as bike safety and awareness in Los Angeles.

“I see people coming in and out of the hospital every day, some of whom are trying to stay off drugs, but have a hard time even getting to their doctor appointments on time because L.A. has such a complicated public transit system,” Sipin says.

It may not seem obvious, she says, “but public health and public transportation are very much intertwined.”"

A Nightmare in San Diego: The I-805 Project

BikeSD: "One of the projects listed in the 2050 RTP is the I-805 project and we’re going to take a good look at the northern section of this project: all 11 miles of it that is expected to cost $587 million. That is a cost of $53.36 million dollars per mile. This cost includes design and construction of the project (but not maintenance).
But what is the project going to deliver?"

CSUN needs to improve public transportation options

Daily Sundial: "With tens of thousands of commuters traveling to CSUN, it is hard to believe that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) does not have direct service from LA to campus."

The National Transit Coalition : CSUN Tiger Team: "Named for our passion for transit, the California State University Northridge student-intern chapter of the Transit Coalition tackles pressing mass-transit and mobility issues in the San Fernando Valley with never before seen ferocity. Utilizing community integration, technological prowess, and tiger-like strength  - the team is currently undertaking an ambitious study of Sylmar Metrolink,  Metro Lines 230 and 236 and its connectivity to surrounding regional centers for the people of Los Angeles. By May, a report detailing our recommendations  will be published for all future students, community leaders, advocacy groups, and the online community.  It is our belief that this report will spark an active, on-going discussion, ultimately leading to well-planned action."