Times Poll on Red Line

* Re “L.A. Residents Divided on Subway Completion,” Feb. 7

Regarding The Times poll about the Red Line subway, I’d like to point out some misconceptions about earthquake safety. (I ride the Red Line every day.)

After the Northridge earthquake, sections of the Santa Monica, Golden State, and Simi Valley freeways were out of service due to collapses. The Metro Red Line, which was open, was undamaged, as was the Blue Line.

The MetroLink commuter rail system was intact, and the system quickly expanded to Lancaster and Oxnard to provide an alternate way for motorists to commute.

The Red, Green and Blue lines are among the safest places in Los Angeles County. The trains and stations are monitored by TV cameras, are graffiti-free and are patrolled by transit police.

Let’s use our common sense and not be guided by fears not based on facts.

BOB SAUNDERS

North Hollywood

* It appears that the reason so many people were negative about rail transit is simple ignorance. Most people had not even been on the Red Line. If one of the questions on the survey mentioned the millions of people killed in auto accidents versus the very few injured in subways, the outcome might have been different. Proof that people have no working knowledge of the topic is found in the continued belief that freeways are safe during earthquakes, but subways are not. This is untrue.

Local television and newspapers continue to fail to inform us as to the fact that subways are good, but politicians and contractors are bad . . . There’s a big difference, and we have a right to know the truth. Perhaps we need another artificial oil crisis to remind us that we are too dependent on asphalt.

JON HARTMANN

Los Angeles