Caltrans Invited Dumping Problem

It came as a surprise to me that dirt dumping on the end of the Glendale Freeway (Glendale Section, Feb. 7) was perpetrated by a renegade rather than Caltrans officials exercising their resentment against the Silver Lake neighborhood for rejecting the extension of that highway through our community.

My first thought at this realization was to soften my resentment toward Caltrans for failing to landscape the freeway terminus as though it were the end rather than some interim measure until they can resurrect a new extension project. But I became piqued anew when Caltrans official Le Morgan indicated that the phantom’s dirt pile served a safety function in separating opposing traffic. Caltrans invited this problem. If they really accepted this site as the freeway terminus, I expect Caltrans would have not only provided for appropriate safety barriers but would have landscaped as well.

I bet the incidence of phantom dumpers on landscaped areas of the freeways is very close to zero.

James Bonar

Bonar is president of the Silver Lake Residents Assn.