Taking Sides on Growth Measure

The Times found flaws in the slow-growth initiative, which apparently would limit growth to present highway system capacity, or at least tie auto speed to traffic load. This limits growth, as I understand it. For it’s well known by now that growth clogs traffic. And new freeways can never catch up with traffic jams produced by unbridled growth.

But The Times’ complaints, it seems to me, are unjustified despite its bow to the initiative process. I suggest, seeing the voters’ massive slow-growth disposition all over the place, that they’ll tumble over themselves getting to the polls to support it.

A second flaw is The Times’ question: “Where will the money (the initiative mandates for road improvements) come from?” Easy. Look at the developer-supervisorial team. Sure. They’ve failed. The people rebuffed them. But they never quit. Toll roads, and more federal help, lie in wait over the horizon (not for the initiative, but for more freeways).

Orange County voters, I think, now realize that overbuilding in open spaces not only destroys the environment, it also clogs traffic. So money will be found to fund initiative goals. They know that when you slow growth, you accelerate traffic. Speed up growth, you jam highways. They know, too, that you can’t have both, unless you go for mass transit.

TOM ALEXANDER

Laguna Beach