Transportation in the Valley

* Kudos to Scott Harris (“Old Whine About Transit Is Sour Grapes,” Sept. 28) for putting San Fernando Valley mass transit into perspective.

When the Red Line subway between North Hollywood and Union Station opens in a few short years, I’ll bet Zev Yaroslavsky, Richard Close and the other Cassandras will be riding in the first car of the first train, beaming for the photographers--even the paparazzi will be welcome to this event--and TV news crews.

As MTA alternate board member Nick Patsaouras pointed out in a Times Opinion section interview (Sept. 21), once the subway has been completed, and its benefits redound to commuters and neighborhood business people alike, few will remember the sinkholes or construction delays, any more than the citizens of New York, Chicago or Tokyo can recall the travails they faced in building their mass transit systems long ago.

HAROLD N. BASS, M.D.

Northridge

* It is refreshing to read that Los Angeles is catching up to the rest of the world with respect to one aspect of traffic on city streets, as reported in “Traffic Lights Will Change for Better Under MTA Plan” (Sept. 24). The main focus of the plan is to synchronize traffic signals at 109 intersections in the San Fernando Valley.

Might I suggest that the closed-circuit television cameras planned to be at many intersections to monitor traffic conditions could also be used to obtain the license plate numbers of those who speed up to beat red lights. Los Angeles could also learn from [New York City’s] experience and make certain main arteries one-way, which improves flow of traffic and facilitates synchronization of traffic lights. Add to the wish list efficient public transportation and dedicated bicycle lanes. But this is LaLa Land, not paradise, so I guess we’ll have to proceed slowly over the future decades.

SYLVAIN FRIBOURG

West Hills