A Monorail and Rail Alternatives
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Your May 28, 1990, article, “Voters Get a Chance at Rail Plans, but It May Not Matter,” was misleading and inaccurate. The Times’ evaluation of the pros and cons of the monorail, Metro Rail and light-rail alternatives for the San Fernando Valley, as defined in Proposition A, falsely claims the construction cost for the monorail ranges from $90 million to $110 million per mile, which is roughly twice the actual cost.
The cost estimates for construction of the proposed monorail projects in Orange County, Honolulu and Houston are all in the range of $35 million to $45 million per mile.
The bottom line for the residents of the Valley is that monorail provides at least three times more mileage for service for our tax dollars, is far less disruptive during a much shorter construction period and is a true 21st-Century solution to our congestion and air quality problems.
Monorail is more cost-effective than the $250 million to $350 million per mile downtown subway Metro Rail system, which continues to be grossly over-budget and behind schedule.
A monorail will help to clean our air and unclog our streets and freeways and will be completed in a shorter time frame.
MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH
Antonovich is a Los Angeles County supervisor who was chief sponsor of the San Fernando
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