L.A. Traffic Strangulation
On Nov. 12 your Metro section carried a story explaining that the expected increase in population by the year 2000 would erase the efforts to improve air quality in the Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Three days later you reported Police Chief Daryl F. Gates’ proposals for traffic-control measures to decrease the slow strangulation taking place on our freeways. This story quoted a Caltrans spokesperson, “Traffic is heavy because of the increase in population.”
Both of these stories are inextricably related. Our population will continue to mushroom inexorably and these short-term measures to improve our quality of life are not the fundamental solutions that are needed. Take Metro Rail for example. Does anyone suppose that Mayor Tom Bradley and his RTD cohorts seriously believe that the billions of dollars spent on a tunnel will relieve our traffic congestion? Ten Metro Rails wouldn’t keep up with projected population growth. Actually, more tunnels and freeways will only encourage greater immigration!
The only way to achieve a viable impact on our traffic congestion is by a stiff tax on gasoline. One dollar a gallon to start, and, if that doesn’t do the trick, increase it to $1.25, $1.50, or whatever it takes to break our gridlock.
We cannot wait for a federal gas tax. There isn’t time and we cannot expect such an emotional issue to be supported by the many parts of the country that do not share our congestion or our projected growth. No, California must go it alone.
Here in the Golden State we in Los Angeles do not suffer alone as San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego are all experiencing problems similar to ours. There must be a few intelligent and concerned politicians around who may want to join in a bipartisan effort to pass a California gas tax law that will keep our population down and improve our living enjoyment. Less people, less care, less driving will unclog the roads and improve our air quality.
Really, folks, a gas tax will accomplish all of this. Let’s get smart!
BERNARD G. RAMOS
Los Angeles
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