Transportation
How a Law to Save the Sacramento Kings Will Make All California Cities More Livable
An antiquated car-centric planning metric called "level of service" must be reformed by 2014.
Late last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill designed to expedite construction of a new sports arena in downtown Sacramento. That's great news if you're a Kings fan (or new minority owner Shaquille O'Neal). It's even better news, oddly enough, if you're a fan of livable cities.
That's because the new law carries a provision to reform a pernicious and antiquated planning metric called "level of service." A highway-era relic, LOS encourages planners to favor cars over all other travel modes when it comes to urban street design. The law will replace the metric with one more inclined to encourage smart growth in all "transit priority areas" (read: metro areas) across the state.