Support Is Sought for Light Rail Plan

I want to thank those of your readers who were so supportive and helpful to me in convincing the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to adopt a plan that places the North Coast line at the top of the county’s transportation priority list.

While some doubters proclaimed the line “dead” just a few months ago, the rest of us kept working hard to make sure that the LACTC accepted the obvious fact that the North Coast line, built to a station at the Westchester Central Business District, makes good sense and deserves their support.

It is clear from the priorities established by the LACTC’s March 28 vote that funding for the remainder of the North Coast line, wherever it is ultimately directed, will have to wait until some time in the next century. But the first 2 1/2-mile segment will link LAX and the Westchester business district into a regional transportation network that has the potential to reduce traffic on our streets, to help clean some of the smog out of our air and to pump some badly needed revenue into local businesses.

It is important to remember that funding for the project may depend on the passage of two statewide ballot measures, Proposition 108 and Proposition 111. The passage of both is required if we are to raise the money necessary for construction, as well as the right to spend that money. I hope everyone who wants a light rail for West Los Angeles will actively support these two vital measures.

RUTH GALANTER

Councilwoman, 6th District