Irina Bokova
                   10.10.15
This Week's Items of Interest
November 12, 2015
Partnering for Sustainable Transportation

2015 California Transportation Planning Conference  
(12.2-4.2015)

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is pleased to host the 2015 California Transportation Planning Conference, in partnership with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Please join us this December for an interactive, three-day session where transportation stakeholders and decision-makers will exchange ideas and learn about the latest developments in transportation planning from a national, state, and local perspective. The conference is open to anyone involved and interested in the transportation planning process. This year's theme, Partnering for Sustainable Transportation.
Prosperity - Fuel Tax - Road User Charge

Analysis : Which costs more for drivers - a fuel tax or a road user charge? 
(11.10.2015)

With government agencies trying to figure out how to pay for building and repairing highways as gas taxes plateau because of more fuel-efficient cars, they are considering various means to raise revenue.
Two of those are a vehicle fuel tax and a road user charge. But which one will cost more per household?
Researchers at the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University conducted a comparative analysis.
 Read More 
People - Mode - Legislation

Study: Law expanding HOV access to plug-in cars drives higher sales. (11.10.2015)

Smaller carbon footprints, generous tax rebates and lowering or eliminating fuel costs aren't the only reasons people buy the plug-in versions of electric and hybrid cars in California.
In the first study of its type, UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation has found another major incentive: state legislation that opened up hundreds of miles of carpool lanes to solo motorists who drive plug-in vehicles.
The research linking automobile sales and thousands of census tracts in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco concluded that the ability to use potentially time-saving HOV lanes prompted the purchase of more than 24,000 plug-in electric cars and hybrids in the four urban areas from 2010 to 2013, or about 40% of the total of such vehicles.
People - Mode - Health

A Peek Into Metro Bike-Share's Proposed Fare Structure   
(11.09.2015)
 
A Metro staff report available this week gives a peek into the proposed fare structure for the transit agency's bike-share system, coming to downtown Los Angeles in 2016. Metro has contracted with Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS) to open a 60+ station, 1000+ bicycle system extending from Union Station to USC. The new report recommends that the Metro board approve bike-share fees and an interoperability plan.
People - Transportation - Fees 
Everyone's heard of the gas tax-and with Congress debating  how to pay for  a big highway bill, you'll be hearing a lot more in the coming weeks-but it's far from the only transportation fee that Americans pay on a regular basis. Others, such as local sales taxes and vehicle fees, tend to pile up for people living in a large metro area. Even if you cared to take a strict accounting of them all, you'd be hard-pressed to track down every last one down.
People - Sustainability - Smart App
My Milk Crate Sustainable Living

My MilkCrate is here to simplify sustainable living. Discover thousands of sustainable, local listings in 20+ lifestyle categories - everything from farm-to-table restaurants to renewable energy providers. Connecting your wallet to your values just got easy.
Planet - Resiliency 

Giant segments replacing dirt in project at Fairview Avenue are lightweight and expected to last hundreds of years. White blocks can be seen by drivers on Highway 101 near Fairview Avenue in Goleta, and the polystyrene segments will be used to support a new highway offramp being built in the area.
The expanded polystyrene blocks, which weigh 70 pounds a piece, are stronger and more dense than Styrofoam,  Caltrans engineers say.
The blocks will be used to support the roadway over the ramp and slope in a place where a large amount of dirt would be normally.
Planet - Science
Science stands at heart of sustainable future, UNESCO says on World Science Day  (11.10.2015)

In a message on the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development 2015, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova reminded the world just two months after the UN agreed on a new sustainable development agenda that "science stands at its heart as a force for positive transformation and a development multiplier.".
Planet - Precipitation and the Water Cycle Quiz

Earth's water is stored in ice and snow, lakes and rivers, the atmosphere and the oceans. How much do you know about how water is cycled around our planet and the crucial role it plays in our climate?
People - Mode - Bike Share

Santa Monica Becomes First SoCal City With Bike Sharing Services  (11.11.2015)

"The Breeze Bike Share system, 500 bikes and 75 hubs strong, will provide the Santa Monica community with an active,  affordable , and sustainable way to get around town," said Rick Cole, City Manager for the City of Santa Monica. "Incorporating Breeze into your commute is one of the easiest ways to lower your overall carbon footprint."
Read More 
Prosperity- Sustainable Freight


Logistics can be a sustainability manager's "secret weapon," because this theater of operations often gets passed over. It's easy to think addressing logistics will be too complicated, given that most of the emissions are from equipment owned and operated by suppliers. But freight operations often sit in the top five contributors of greenhouse gas emissions at any given corporation, so there are  rich pickings to be had here .
Prosperity - Freight - Stakeholders Meeting

Freight Stakeholders Working Group / Regular Session  
 

Meeting Date: 11/12/15    Time: 10 a.m.
Agenda Highlights Include:
  • San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan: Update
  • 2015 Freight Gateway Study Update
  • California Air Resources Board: Sustainable Freight Strategy Update
  • California Trucking Association: Overview of the California Trucking Industry
Prosperity - Innovation - Video

Flying Drones Build Rope Bridge Strong Enough for People to Cross

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Any reference, information, articles,or photos contained in this email to a specific product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by Caltrans, State of California or its' employees.