Transportation across the nation: Hot chicks edition

“Hot chicks” the canaries in the BRT coal mine: We’ll know if Minneapolis’ BRT is a success if it draws “attractive young females,” claims one project consultant. I’d guess it’s really about the young and the female, and talking about looks generates articles and mentions on blogs but really has less to do with it. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune via The Overhead Wire)

Bus riders opposing LA rail expansion: A proposed Los Angeles sales tax to pay for transit will mostly go toward subway extensions through the Westside and to LAX, causing anti-taxers in the San Fernando Valley to join with low-income advocates of the Bus Riders’ Union to oppose the plan. But wouldn’t reducing vehicle traffic in those central areas make transportation easier for farther-out drivers, too? (LA Weekly)

San Jose plans density along light-rail: The city wants to transform a low-density area of mostly office parks, with a fairly underutilized light rail line, into a denser, more urban, mixed-use community. If there’s a place where a new city would make some sense and not rile up too much NIMBYism, this is probably the spot. (SF Chronicle)

Creative living arrangements in Vancouver: With sky-high housing prices, Vancouver residents are breaking the traditional single-family home mold: buying houses in groups, moving in next to friends to share backyards, and raising families in small, urban spaces. (Vancouver Magazine)

Many of these links via Planetizen.