MTA and Regional Transportation Needs

Re “Only the Vision Thing Can Save the MTA From Itself,” Opinion, Dec. 14: Rick Cole notes that the Southern California Assn. of Governments recently released CommunityLink 21, a draft regional transportation plan that assesses Southern California’s transportation needs, goals and projects between now and 2020, yet he dismisses the plan by saying that “the number of people with input into the plan wouldn’t fill a modest junior high auditorium.”

SCAG has sought public input on the plan. Before it was even released, SCAG spent nearly two years working with cities, counties and transportation agencies as well as business and community leaders throughout Southern California to identify the region’s transportation needs, priorities and goals. A preliminary draft of the plan was released last spring, which has been on the SCAG Web page for nearly six months and has been a topic of discussion at both community workshops and an electronic town forum. Since the draft plan’s release last month, SCAG has held more than a dozen community workshops to present CommunityLink 21. SCAG will continue to seek additional public input between now and next March.

If you would like additional information about CommunityLink 21, please call (213) 236-1800.

JUDY MIKELS

President, SCAG

* The MTA has squandered so much money on construction of the subway that MTA chief executive Julian Burke now proposes completing no more than the line to North Hollywood (Dec. 12). When’s the last time you took public transportation to any destination across town?

Our local officials should stop fooling themselves into patchwork public works projects. The federal government had good reason to cut its funding. Sure, L.A. traffic is bad and getting worse, but people won’t give up their cars before a) it’s really uncomfortable to drive and b) they’re actually offered a better alternative. Smart highways, toll roads, higher gas taxes, light rail on or above our streets, tickets for driving alone on odd days, whatever. Just not a subway near the San Andreas fault.

L.A.’s transportation network won’t change much soon, but the MTA must. It’s time the city found some new transit officials. Ones with a sense of direction.

STUART DREXLER

Santa Monica