Smog
I am continually amazed at the attitude taken by some local authorities in regard to the smog problem in Los Angeles. I refer specifically to the recent report of the Transportation Commission’s Transit Committee (Metro Digest, May 17), which pooh-poohs proposals for a light-rail network and freeway car-pool lanes.
The “forced changes in behavior” the committee finds so repugnant--including the rather mild suggestion that business hours be staggered--are nothing in comparison to the “forced changes in behavior” that will occur if this region continues its lemming-like rush into the 21st Century. There will indeed be many “forced changes in behavior” among the hundreds of thousands who will suffer severe respiratory ailments--and among the millions who will spend four or more hours a day sitting in freeway traffic.
The committee’s report smacks of a 1950s’ mind-set. The automobile, despite its quasi-religious place in California culture, can no longer be allowed to dictate the future.
STEVEN VICKERY
Los Angeles
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