Direction of Monorail

As a proponent of a monorail for the Ventura Freeway corridor, I take great offense at the amount of misinformation that makes its way to your readers.

The July 27 letter to the editor seems to have been misguided. Monorail is not just another mode of rail transportation, it is the system of choice for cities internationally who want affordable, safe transportation through corridors where today’s gridlock and smog have snarled the daily commute.

The proposed monorail from Universal City to Warner Center will bring transit to thousands of commuters years sooner than a subway, without costing the additional 20% of a subway, saving taxpayers over $500 million.

In 1990, San Fernando Valley voters were given the opportunity to voice their opinion in an advisory vote which showed a nearly 5-to-1 preference for monorail as the common sense choice for the Valley.

As far as passenger convenience, monorail travelers wishing to travel south from the Universal City station will find a convenient transfer point located only steps from the monorail station; this would be similar to the transfer platform that exists when commuters travel north into downtown via the Blue Line Light Rail and transfer to Red Line subway cars on a different platform.

The Ventura Freeway provides an exceptional right-of-way opportunity for commuters by using an existing transit corridor and introducing a virtually noiseless, aesthetically pleasing monorail that will leave little footprint on the environment, compared to the high environmental costs associated with digging a subway tunnel through much of the San Fernando Valley.

WILLIAM J. KOREK

Van Nuys

Korek wrote as co-chairman of the Citizens Committee for Monorail .