Along with other cities in California, Sacramento is joining the Vision Zero movement to eliminate bicycle and pedestrian fatalities on city streets. These cooperative movements combine government, advocacy groups, residents and others to make streets safer for all users. In Sacramento approximately 130 people died in crashes between 2010-2014, including 48 pedestrians and 13 cyclists. The city will set up a Vision Zero task force including police and fire representatives to determine trouble spots to increase officers in certain locations. City traffic chief Hector Barron told the Sacramento Bee that it is an "opportunity to shine a light on who is most at risk. Disproportionately, it's low income people in the suburbs." The city has begun by improving bike lanes, slowing traffic, separating sidewalks from traffic, flashing beacons at crosswalks and pedestrian traffic signals. (See prior CP&DR coverage.)

Los Angeles Approves Controversial High Rises in Hollywood
Los Angeles City Council approved, 12-0, a plan for the Palladium Residences, one of the city's most controversial residential projects. The council backed a zoning and height district change as well as other approvals for two 30-story towers advanced to the Hollywood Palladium theater. Opponents of the $324-million project, primarily the AIDS Healthcare Foundation next door, argue the complex is too tall and dense for the location, which has notorious vehicular traffic. The foundation's executives plan to sue to stop the construction and they have begun gathering signatures to ban other "mega-developments." The apartments will add hundreds of much needed apartment units to a city that has experienced serious housing shortages. Approximately 37 units will be set aside for lower-income families. Protests against Palladium Residences spawned the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, a ballot measure that would significantly impact planning and development in Los Angeles (see prior CP&DR coverage).
 
SCAG Nears Approval of $556 Billion SCS/RTP
The Southern California Association of Governments Regional Council is expected to adopt the 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy in early April. The plan is a long-range vision that includes future transportation mobility and housing needs with economic, environmental and health goals. The RTP lists over $556.5 billion in projects and investments for transportation systems across the region. They include projects to optimize existing roadways, promote active transportation, ease goods movement, implement new technologies, improve airport access, and focus growth around "high-quality transit areas" and other urban centers, improve air quality, and preserve natural lands.

San Francisco Applies Hotel Tax to Household Items
In another move to regulate short-term rentals, San Francisco is asking Airbnb and other STR hosts to pay taxes on "furniture, appliances, supplies, equipment and fixtures" used in the roughly 5,500 Airbnb listings in the city. Through these calculations there will be around one percent tax on the value, similar to most other businesses such as offices, restaurants, and hotels. A new law in the city requires all short-term rental hosts to register with the city as of February 2015. San Francisco already requires STR guests to pay the 14 percent hotel tax.
 
Mountain View Considers Pod Car System
Mountain View has agreed to $200,000 to study a pod car system connecting the downtown transit center with the North Bayshore tech hub. The city is considering an automated-guideway transit (AGT) that uses driverless a system that runs so frequently that consulting a schedule is not required. The city may seek funding from private companies that currently participate in a Transportation Management Association through which they fund a shuttle system for employees. Compare to a light-rail extension that could cost around $100 million per mile, a pod system is estimated to run around $8 million per mile.
 
Federal Legislation Could Speed Rail to Las Vegas
U.S. Senators and Congressman from Nevada introduced legislation to promote the proposed high-speed rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California. The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act of 2016 would remove some federal restrictions and promote the most efficient and cost effective route for the XpressWest. The initiative would transfer 520 acres from the National Parks Service to the Bureau of Land Management, which would allow construction on the land without tunneling under hills. This preferred route is more direct and would, backers say, prevent unnecessary impacts on wildlife and habitat.
 
Group Calls for Downsized Redondo Beach Harbor Development
A grassroots organization in Redondo Beach plans to file a ballot initiative to scale down the proposed development along the city's harbor and pier. Rescue Our Waterfront's slogan is "revitalize don't supersize." The group claims the design doubles the amount of development but increases parking spaces by eight percent, thus risking parking shortages. Supporters say there is plenty of available parking in the area. Another major concern is the lack of adequate boat ramps for fishers and boaters. The Sierra Club sent Redondo Beach city staff a letter claiming the public is not properly informed about the Waterfront project's scale. There have been multiple meetings but this will continue to be discussed at the next Harbor Commission meeting. 
 
Water District Approves $200 Million Purchase of Delta Islands
The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has voted to purchase 20,000 acres of farm islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for around $200 million. While a private company had previously used this area for water storage, Met says it will use the acreage for fish and wildlife habitat or storing materials for emergency levee repairs or access for construction of delta tunnel system. To close the deal, Delta Wetlands Properties must clear from the title various agreements it made in connection with the water storage proposal. The islands are located in the path of the Metropolitan backed, proposed $15-billion tunnel system to channel water under the delta. The tunnel project is vehemently opposed by delta farmers who call the Met's ownership of the delta "an existential threat".

 LAO: High Speed Rail Has Funds for First Segment
A recent review of the business plan for High Speed Rail by the Legislative Analysts Office finds that the state has enough money to build the initial segment of the high-speed rail from San Jose to the Central Valley. While $21 billion is identified for the first section, the project is still $43.5 billion short for the entire 500-mile route. Under the 2016 business plan, the state would use existing federal grants, sale of bonds approved by voters in 2008 and greenhouse gas fees. However CA legislative analysts are concerned about the funding gap for the remaining segment but understand the rail authority's choice in beginning in Silicon Valley instead of Los Angeles. The authority said in a statement, "we remain committed to moving forward with this project to create job, improve air quality and better connect California's communities."
 
California Planning Schools Among �Most Influential'
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs has been named the most influential planning school in Northern America from a study at Virginia Tech. The study measures citations of planning scholarship by using the median number of Google Scholar citations per faculty member. Professor Michael Storper was the second-most-cited, of the 900 faculty members, with more than 28,000 citations. Other top ten programs are at Harvard, UC Berkeley, New York University, USC, Tufts University, University of Minnesota, MIT, University of Maryland and Rutgers. (CP&DR Publisher Bill Fulton sits on the advisory board of the Lewis Center, Housed at the Luskin School.)
 
California Ranks Fourth in Bicycle Use
The Alliance for Biking and Walking published a 2016 Benchmarking Report, which ranks various cities and states on statistics including percentage of people commuting by bike. California ranks fourth among the 50 states for bike commute, with 1.1 percent of all commuters biking. The report finds connections between biking and poverty, gender, and race. Other major conclusions in the report are show positive correlations between active transportation and health indicators. The study has shortcomings because it uses U.S. Census data, which asks only for commute trips and not other types of trips and majority of the data is self-reported.