P.V. Estates Should Keep Van Service

When the voters of Los Angeles County endorsed Proposition A several years ago, they voted to tax themselves to provide funding not only for mass transit but also for local public transportation. Subsequently the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates joined together to use this local funding for P.V. Transit, an innovative, flexible van system which, from the beginning, has had heavy use.

Presently, the city of Palos Verdes Estates is considering withdrawing from the P.V. Transit agreement, which, if it comes to pass, will make its citizens ineligible to use the service. It is legitimate for any city to trade away its transportation funds to another city; however, in that trade it gets only 50 cents on every dollar and thus the city is trading away its own citizens’ tax dollars.

The League of Women Voters supported Proposition A and has consistently supported cooperative arrangements among the peninsula’s local jurisdictions. Usage shows that the need for transportation is there. Local tax dollars are paying for it, which implies a responsibility for local government to provide the service. The league urges Palos Verdes Estates to continue to provide its residents with transportation service and we urge the three cities to work together to resolve any perceived problems.

JANET V. KELBLEY,

vice president

SUSAN SEAMANS, president

League of Women Voters

of Palos Verdes Peninsula