According to King5, cameras set up to catch "red-light runners" in Puyallup, WA, are working quite well. "Perhaps a little too well," says city manager Gary McLean. Even though each camera-equipped intersection has warning signs, McLean says the number of drivers caught by the cameras has been a revelation. "I think everyone's been surprised at the number of people getting the warning notices." After the cameras went into operation on March 1st, more than 2.5k "red light runners" were caught; an average of more than 100 per day. However, no drivers have received the $124 ticket slated to go along with the offense. City leaders are extending the ticket-free "warning period" through the end of April so drivers "can get used to where the cameras are." And it's not about the money: "It's about correcting behavior and public safety," says McLean. "It's not about revenue. Because, trust me, plenty of people are still going to violate the law and those fines will be imposed, but for the public listening to us now, we hope they hear this and correct it." Meanwhile, the city of Bellevue, WA will soon be adding cameras at six intersections, along with three new speed cameras, The expected annual take? $827k.

Just before 8 A.M. yesterday a Concord, CA police officer responding to an emergency call was driving on the 3600 block Willow Pass road with lights flashing and siren blaring. A box truck yielded to the right. In doing so, the truck driver "clipped the bottom of a wooden PG&E power pole" at the intersection of Ashdale and Willow Pass roads, shearing it off near ground level. The pole, replete with streetlight and attached electrical cables fell across the top of the truck. The wires ended-up draped across both lanes of the roadway. The Contra Costa Times reports that a motorcyclist then drove into the low-hanging wires, which knocked him clean off his bike. Thankfully, he wasn't electrocuted on the spot (or, as far as we know, later). Oh, and the name of the company that's boldly printed in large black letters on the side of the pole-clipping white box truck? "Clean & Sober Hauling" of course!

Jessica Morgan enjoys riding the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) to work in San Francisco, and she wants to take her mind and her car off the road. Problem: she can't find parking at the BART station. On weekdays, more than half of BART's 46k-plus parking spaces are filled by 8 A.M.. Some 45 minutes later, some 73 percent of the spaces are taken, according to data analyzed by the Contra Costa Times. "Lately, there are times when I've just given up and got on the freeway," says Morgan. Yet building parking lots is a costly and planning permission intensive proposition. The Dublin-Pleasanton station is finally unveiling a 1.2k car garage that cost the city $42m. (That's $28k per parking space.) Meanwhile and elsewhere, aspiring mass transit users are– gasp!–  parking illegally. So BART's Board of Supervisors voted to raise fines for permit violations from $25 to $40. "We're hoping the higher fines will eliminate some parking poachers." But, for revenue sake, not all. 

According to Contra Costa Times, tonight's public hearing at the Richmond, CA city council chamber is likely to be "packed and emotionally charged." Before Chevron can upgrade its local refinery, the Planning Commission must decide whether an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) issued in January is complete. The oil company wants to use new equipment to refine a wider range of crude into gasoline. Refinery reps say the upgrades would make the refinery more reliable and efficient, and create about 1.2k (temporary) construction jobs. Critics want an EIR do-over; they fear Chevron would process crude oil that's "more contaminated," increasing pollution for residents and wildlife. Chevron says uh-uh, and points out the refined refinery will make the "cleanest fuel in the world." Even if Richmond approves the deal, Chevron must then secure permits from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Energy Commission. Year three of Chevron's effort continues.

Okay, we're a couple of days late with this story, but we think chuckgoolsbee would approve anyway. Finally, a high-school class with real-world implications from KPRC: the students in a chemistry class at Dobie High School in Houston, TX are spending their spare time turning donated vegetable oil into biodiesel. Sure, the students could have purchased a biodiesel reactor (processor). But as reporter Courtney Zavala points out "that wouldn't be very much fun." So, they built their own, "piece by piece." Senior Russell Zuber says it's, like, pretty cool stuff: "It's fun. It's interesting. We're working with our hands, learning a lot of advanced science and a lot of like, getting ahead." And according to junior Jennifer Linares, "you get to learn a lot and it also helps you for future careers if you're interested in engineering or the oil industry." The students' goal is to operate a diesel car for one year with the biodiesel they're making in class. Of course not everyone "gets it" when it comes to home-brewing biodiesel. Near the end of TV's station's story, one of the female news anchors turns to her colleague and says: "It strikes me a lot like the airplane, Dominique: over my head." Why are we not surprised?

News of someone stealing a car and leading police on a wild-ass chase is fairly common. However, KPRC in Houston, TX reports that just such an incident in southeast Texas has an unusual twist: reporter Mariza Reyesthe says the driver of this stolen car was "barely old enough to see a PG-13 movie, much less have a drivers' license."  Montgomery County sheriff's deputies say a 13-year-old boy stole a car from his girlfriend's parents' home in Willis, TX, at about 2 A.M. Police chased him on the North Freeway southbound, with Harris County deputies joining the chase at about 3:45 A.M. The Houston police joined the fray when the chase entered that city. The pursuit ended on I-45 (Gulf Freeway) when the teen sideswiped another vehicle and crashed into a concrete barrier. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured. The teenager was arrested and could face charges of reckless driving, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving without a license. I wonder what Caitlin Flanagan would say about this young man's "dangerous night" out?

Yesterday, we reported that Dallas, TX is having problems with its red-light camera revenues. Apparently, Orlando, Florida's town fathers don't read TTAC. WFTV reports that city commissioners have approved a contract to pay a Georgia company $500k a year to install and maintain red-light revenue raisers at ten different intersections. "We're really doing this as a means of public safety," Mayor Buddy Dyer insists. "And most of the statistics show many accidents are caused by running red lights." Really? I don't think so. Anyway, if it's all about the children, why does the deal hinge on whether or not cities will be allowed to issue tickets to those caught by the cameras? In fact, if the laws aren't changed, the cameras won't be installed. Perish the thought.

Yesterday, we reported that California roads suck, linking to KGTV. The station used The Road Information Project (TRIP) as their source. Bozzie wanted to know more about this "non-profit organization that promotes transportation policies that relieve traffic congestion, improve road and bridge conditions, improve air quality, make highway travel safer and enhance economic productivity." Yes, well, The Sierra Club's 1999 Sprawl-Watch.org newsletter described TRIP as “a non-profit highway research organization sponsored by equipment manufacturers and distributors, material suppliers and businesses involved in highway engineering, construction and financing.” True dat. Back in ‘04, TRIP named Keith Harlan, then president of the general contracting firm A.M. Cohron & Son in IA, to their board. They also elected Paul Diederich, then president of Industrial Builders Inc. in Fargo, N.D., to their executive committee. TRIP’s list of state-by-state “news releases” shows that the org. plays the “INSERT STATE NAME HERE roads suck” game around the country. And, as yankinwaoz pointed out, TRIP reckons the financial “cost” of bad roads includes fuel “wasted” by sitting in jams. California's roads still suck, but next time, we promise we'll be more cynical about media manipulation– if such a thing is possible.

Yesterday, we told you about the U.K.’s fleets of unmarked, speed camera-equipped vans (a.k.a. Talivans); including one they’ve pimped-out in the name of "youth education." Concurrent with our news, Britain’s Motorcycle News (MCN) reports that the North Wales police have installed a speed camera in a horse trailer. The heddlu are refusing to deny reports it has converted said horse box into a Welsh speeder's most recent worst nightmare “We never comment on speculation about police enforcement,” says a police spokesperson, commenting on speculation about police enforcement. “That’s all the comment we’re making.” The silence and stealth should come as no surprise. We've heard of speed cameras hidden in rubbish bins (trash containers). The U.K.s anti-speeding (pro-revenue collection?) jihad continues.

A new report concludes that California's rough roads are "creating additional operating costs for drivers due accelerated vehicle deterioration, additional maintenance needs and increased fuel consumption." The Road Information Program (TRIP) pegs the financial damage at more than $650 per driver per year– compared with $413 nationally. San Diego's "street-maintenance failings" cost the average motorist some $684 a year. It's even worse in the City of Angels; bad roads in LA cost automobilists a whopping $778 per year. TRIP says 23 percent of America's major metropolitan roads "feature pavement in poor condition." In California, it's as high as 65 percent. To help the media fulfill its "this sucks and it's getting worse" meta meme, TRIP claims that "Travel on urban roads is increasing, and travel by large commercial trucks is growing even faster than travel by cars." No word when California will go for a double whammy– fix the roads and save the planet– by raising gas taxes.

WTLV reports that Georgia state inspectors discovered that all three gas stations at the Camden County Cisco Travel Plazas (off of I-95) have been shortchanging their customers for the last eight years. A superior court judge ordered an attorney (yes, a lawyer) to take over the stations' management and seize any profits. District Attorney Stephen Kelley says the dramatic steps were taken "without warning- so no one could spend it away or hide it." While Kelley admits that "juries might have to decide who's innocent and who's not," he points out that one of the former station owners has a history of rolling back odometers. Another former owner, yet to be located, "missed a court appearance in Missouri this week." If the state finds that the stations cheated customers, Kelley hopes the seized assets can be converted into "massive" refunds. And if not?

According to KHOU, police in Colleyville have printed up "Stop Thief!" signs to battle car thieves. The signs, designed to hang from a cars' rear view mirror, tell would-be thieves there are no "valuables, money, computers, purses or briefcases in this vehicle." (Ah, but are there?) Chief Tommy Ingram admits the signs won't actually discourage thieves; they'll remind drivers to hide their valuables. KHOU also reports that back in Washington D.C., Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is urging Congress to allow Mexican trucks to continue driving into the U.S., 'cause halting the trucks would hurt agribusiness. (Opponents fear U.S. job losses and safety issues.) And good news if you're a Texas car dealer. The state's Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program (VRARAVRP) is a hit! The Star-Telegram reports that The North Central Texas Council of Governments, which administers the program locally, is adding extra phone lines and personnel to deal with the flood of interest since the state kicked-in additional money (up to $3500 towards a new car). Texas taxes hard at work.

According to The New York Times, San Franciscans have been shocked (shocked I tell you) by vicious assaults "related to finding places to park, including an attack in which a young man was killed trying to defend a spot he had found." Victims (other than the English language) include SF parking control officers (PCO). The don't call them meter maids say the public abuse is insoportable.For example, a motorist [allegedly] punched a parking control officer straight through the window of his Geo Metro. "Just driving down the street, you get yelled at," claims Lawanna Preston. The staff director for the union representing the PCOs says her co-workers "can't even eat lunch with that uniform on, because people approach them and curse at them." Blogger John Van Horn reports that paranoia strikes deep in the heart of the city. "I've noticed lately watching some of the citation writers; they don't get very far away from their vehicles. They want to be able to get away." Rather than mounting some kind of charm offensive, SF officials are looking at mounting cameras on parking officers' vehicles to catch and prosecute anyone who dares challenge the PCO's authority commits an assault.

According to a new study revealed in The Washington Post [via MSNBC], the world needs to cease carbon emissions altogether, within a matter of decades, to avert global warming. And in case you’re wondering who’s the bad guy in this incipient environmental catastrophe, the lead photo shows a [choose one] jet contrail, a coal-burning plant, a ship at sea, traffic on the smog-filled streets of Beijing. Correct! So pull over and take Lord Humongous' advice: just walk away. “The world must bring carbon emissions down to near zero to keep temperatures from rising further,” Gavin A. Schmidt, of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies warns. "The idea of shifting to a carbon-free society appears to be technically feasible. The question is whether it's politically feasible or economically feasible." I’d blog the rest of this story but what’s the point, really? If all of these conclusions bear out, Hell will freeze over the oceans will come to a boil long before our entire planet reduces carbon emissions to near zero. Party on?

Earlier, we brought you news about a toll plaza protest in Maine. Now from Florida we hear that "tens of thousands drivers on the 408 might find themselves a bit confused." So says a female TV news co-anchor; to which her male counterpart helpfully adds (for the hard of thinking) "and [there's] fear that confusion could cause accidents." That's how the duo introduces a story for WKMG warning viewers about the opening of a new toll plaza that forces drivers to pass through two plazas– but only pay at one of them. Motorists must motor through the Holland East Plaza and the new toll plaza while workers build E-Pass lanes. Even with signs displaying "No toll, do not stop" in English, Spanish, Lithuanian and Farsi, officials say the presence of two plazas could cause motorists to slow down or stop. One worker described the project as "like changing the carpet in your house– with the furniture still inside." The project should be completed by 2009– barring any natural disasters such as hurricanes, union interference or scheduling inefficiency. Expressway Authority spokesman Brian Hutchings says: "We do know that it's going to be potentially confusing so we want people to stay on their game." God knows the personal injury lawyers will be.