Antonovich Doesn’t Back His Transit Rebuttal
* County Supervisor Michael Antonovich claims that my Feb. 6 letter criticizing his monorail proposal contained several glaring misstatements. However, his Feb. 27 rebuttal fails to indicate what these misstatements were.
He wrote: “Your reader incorrectly states that monorails are used exclusively as transportation to airports or through amusement parks. . . . In Orlando, Fla., a monorail serves more than 150,000 people daily. In Japan, more than 211,000 . . . “ The Orlando system is in Disney World (and was not operating the entire week I visited last). The Japanese system is an airport feeder.
I was perfectly aware of the intense community opposition to a surface line. However, as I pointed out, the legitimate concerns of the surface-line opponents have been successfully mitigated in other West Coast cities. It won’t be easy, due to the mishandling of the issue over the years, however it is possible to build a line that will enhance the community it serves. Since we are talking between $1 billion to $1.5 billion in savings, the hard work needed to satisfy community concerns is worth the effort.
What really amazes me is why a fiscal conservative like Supervisor Antonovich supports such an expensive transit option that we simply cannot afford.
JOE CARDOZA
Santa Clarita
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