By Daily Press staff
Interested in how Santa Monica Boulevard will be rebuilt for mass transit, or how light rail might affect the entire city?
A national audience of transportation professionals, urban planners, community activists and others will be coming to Los Angeles Sept. 18-22 to highlight regional efforts to create more livable communities with transit.
The 10th annual national Rail-Volution Conference, hosted this year by Metro, has become the nation’s premier industry gathering for public and private sector groups committed to working together to create more livable communities through mass transit, officials said.
Conference planners have organized 20 “mobile workshops” that will allow attendees to tour new transit-oriented developments and other urban centers in downtown and East Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Pasadena, Fullerton, Brea, Claremont and Long Beach.
On Sept. 18, a tour will be given along Santa Monica Boulevard from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Another tour throughout Santa Monica is scheduled for Sept. 19 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The conference also will serve as a forum for local officials, business and environmental leaders, developers and architects interested in making cooperative land use and transportation decisions.
Transit is reshaping the way more Los Angeles County residents live, work and play. The region was first built around the world’s largest inter-urban electric rail system in the early part of the 20th century. It is returning to those roots with a growing transit infrastructure that is helping improve the region’s urban, social and economic environment, officials said.
“Los Angeles has long been one of the primary trendsetters in American culture,” said Congressman Earl Blumenauer (3rd District, Ore.), founder of Rail-Volution. “As it faces changes in population and demographics, increasing sprawl and traffic congestion, a lack of affordable housing and economic uncertainties, it is becoming one of the most important laboratories for livability in this decade. Los Angeles is where America is headed.”
More than 60 workshops are planned covering a wide range of topics, including smart growth, urbanism, economic development, schools, community building, advocacy, health and environmental protection.
A nationwide panel of speakers also is planned. Key speakers include: FTA Administrator Jenna Dorn; Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer; Reid Ewing, Rutgers University Center for Urban Policy Research; David Goldberg, Smart Growth America; Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute; Stephanos Polyzoides, Moule & Polyzoides; Roger Snoble, Los Angeles Metro; Shelly Poticha, Center for Transit-Oriented Development; Robert Puentes, Brookings Institution; and Molly White, Nike USA.
Conference fees are $400. The mobile workshops are an additional $35. To register or to obtain additional information, visit the Rail-Volution Web site at www.railvolution.com.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2004. Read the original PDF.