MTA’s Fiscal Problems
The fiscal problems of the MTA may have resulted in a temporary suspension of rail construction (Jan. 15), but in the end the agency can’t afford to abandon its rail program. The population of the L.A. metropolitan area grew by 45% between 1970 and 1990 while the amount of developed land increased 300%! No region that has sprawled over such a large area can choose to not invest in the one transportation mode that best attracts and focuses development.
The bus vs. rail debate has always been a red herring. These two investments don’t just compete with each other but also with MTA funding for highway improvements and high-occupancy vehicle lanes. In the county with the nation’s worst air quality, do we really want to continue to promote driving? Or do we want to make transportation investments that make it easier to not drive--to walk, bike and take public transit instead--and that promote the redevelopment of and reinvestment in our existing communities?
GLORIA OHLAND
Surface Transportation Policy Project, Culver City
* I’m one who never thought the subway was a good idea, especially when the following ideas were scrapped or given low priority:
Rail lines and rights of way crisscross the city and most could easily have been adapted and been operational by now. Prefab pylons and track ways for a quiet, elevated monorail system could have been designed and built for a fraction of the cost of the tunneling (they would have been safer to construct as well), and could be used on main thoroughfares. More buses are not the answer, because great distances and heavy vehicular traffic are a recipe for poor dependability and long delays.
I have spent a lot of time in New York lately. It is rail transit that keeps that area moving. Trains to everywhere in the greater region, every five to 10 minutes, ought to be L.A.’s goal, too. It’s not too late to adapt the present plans. Shame on the local politicians for allowing the construction companies to corrupt the public trust with a self-serving plan that was doomed to cost too much and do too little from the start.
PETER RUTENBERG
Los Angeles
* Schedule: Oceanside to L.A. on Metrolink. Goof off on Olvera Street or downtown. Ride Metro to Wilshire and Western. Take Wilshire limited bus to Wilshire and Fairfax. Go to auto museum, eat at cafe on opposite corner, and attend LACMA when it opens at noon. Return home from Oceanside station in time for dinner.
I also attend opera and symphony performances via Amtrak. I am not rich. I spend what extra money I can manage on the arts the way some spend on sports, clothes, food, etc. I show others my methods of public transportation. I will not venture, or would not have, without the rail system. MTA may have dollar troubles now, but rails are the future. You cannot build enough roads to be as efficient people-movers.
MARILYN YANCEY
Fallbrook