Pasadena Blue Line

Re “Rail Supporters Giving a Push to Stalled Pasadena Project,” June 22: When will the MTA and the residents and politicians of Pasadena quit playing “Alice in Transit-land”? Why do the taxpayers have to have a light-rail system ramrodded down their throats when another alternative makes so much more sense? The proposed “North” Blue Line (the one to Pasadena) won’t even physically connect with the already-existing “South” Blue Line (the one to Long Beach). When it comes time for routine maintenance of the light-rail vehicles, are we going to truck them down to the repair shop in Carson?

Somewhere there must be a high-ranking politician with enough common sense to scrap the Pasadena Blue Line project. For about one-tenth of the cost, the heavy-rail track could be restored, the existing Arroyo Seco bridge could be used as it was originally built (for heavy-rail trains), and part of the abandoned Union Pacific Pasadena branch could be used to tie the line in with Metrolink’s route along the Los Angeles River. In a matter of months, not decades, we could have frequent, fast, efficient Metrolink service linking San Bernardino, Claremont, and the upper San Gabriel Valley (Azusa, Monrovia, Arcadia and yes, Pasadena) with downtown Los Angeles.

You wouldn’t have to erect expensive overhead electrical wires, and Metrolink could run a shuttle train to/from Pasadena at intervals similar to anything the trolley people could conjure up.

DAVID B. ARTHUR, Grand Terrace, Calif.