Taking Sides on Growth Measure

Your editorial “Go Slow on Growth Initiative” (June 21) is poorly researched in its attempt to discredit a much needed, and long overdue, initiative in Orange County. You failed to mention the process by which city and county governments plan for traffic control.

That process, creation of a general plan, which includes a transportation/traffic element, clearly specifies the levels of service for which roads and intersections must be designed. In hundreds of cases throughout the county, continued development has seriously impacted these service levels, with little or no improvement to the roads.

This initiative only asks the county and local governments to give us what they originally planned--no more, no less. Years of irresponsible planning and administration has led to this condition. It is time to demand that county and local governments make decisions for the benefit of the residents, not to promote economic gain for developers.

If this initiative forces greater building in Riverside County, so be it. I am not aware that Orange County is responsible for housing an unlimited number of people, without the infrastructure to handle these numbers.

Traffic is a concern of all residents who drive or ride in a car in Orange County. Over-development in one part of the county impacts all of us. This is not a south vs. north issue. This is not an environmental vs. economy issue, nor is it a Democrat vs. Republican issue. This is a quality of life issue, and one on which the county as a whole is united.

IRENE C. BRIGGS

Huntington Beach