Paving Over the Problem

Madeline DeAntonio cries out for the safety of the people who live along the narrow streets that wind up the Encino hills from Ventura Boulevard to Mulholland Drive, and I am empathetic.

She is right. There is a major problem caused by the rush-hour traffic that takes the alternative route through the hills. But she is wrong when she endorses a project that will cause other families to endure the same havoc.

We cannot solve her problem by making other people suffer the same fate as those who live on the Hayvenhurst corridor.

As DeAntonio points out, the West Valley is developing, and this is taxing our existing roads. If Mulholland Drive is paved, the current development in that area will increase, meaning more cars will be using both the newly paved Mulholland and the existing streets.

If Mulholland was not paved, the existing roads could not handle the current flow of traffic. We will be forced to develop commercial and industrial sites in the West Valley, close to the residential areas. Traffic will stay at home, where the work is, with less pollution.

In the meantime, we can make it more difficult for outsiders to use the Hayvenhurst-to-Mulholland alternative route. There could be restrictions on right and left turns from Ventura Boulevard and Tarzana Avenue to Hayvenhurst and Louise Avenue, as well at Mulholland and Calneva Drive. A more drastic measure would be to put a gate at the intersection of Mulholland and Calneva.

LAWRENCE MITCHELL, Tarzana