Hayden on MTA Subway Project

Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) is at it again (Commentary, July 14). He has written a fiery political piece that makes for good melodrama, attempts to inflame the public’s imagination and destroy the MTA. His words make for good campaign trail rhetoric, but not good, thoughtful or responsible public policy.

Making unsubstantiated accusations and unfounded character assassinations does not serve the public; it only divides us. I believe the senator would serve himself and the public better by sitting down with me and the MTA Board to address his issues of concern, and to find ways to fulfill our work of building a system that will get people out of their cars, alleviate gridlock and clean our air.

Los Angeles County does not need one of its elected representatives to work continually from the outside with minimal facts. This undermines the credibility and all of the good work that the MTA has accomplished, i.e. the Blue Line, the Green Line, and the bus service we provide to more than 1 million daily passengers. Our buses are cleaner, safer and better today than at any time in the past.

Stopping rail construction today serves no one but those who are looking for temporary headlines. I am inviting our elected and appointed leaders to work with our CEO and board members to build a transportation system for the future. A system that is safe and cost-efficient. A system that serves the Los Angeles region.

LARRY ZARIAN

MTA Board Chair

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I don’t as a rule agree with everything Hayden says, but “Stop the Train Before We Crash” is something with which I do agree. We are starting to hear the argument that because so much has been invested in the project, it would be fiscally unwise to abandon it. I think that’s a lot of baloney, and Hayden has got it right about cutting our losses by finishing the subway where it is.

While his suggestion as to the use of the Red Line by the “Downtown elite” to ride over to Hollywood and back to Langer’s for lunch may have been tongue-in-cheek, it wasn’t any more bizarre than one I made after riding the subway from the Civic Center to MacArthur Park, that it be turned over to Disney as a ride to a “Fantasyland” theme park built around the lake.

Why anyone would want to travel underground in Los Angeles, where the scenery is grand from the mountains to the sea, the weather is mild, mostly, and the earth shakes occasionally, is a question someone should have asked before starting this “grand scheme.” With all the trouble this project has had, I hope that more people with political clout will see the light, and stop this foolishness.

FRANK J. WRIGHT

North Hollywood