Transportation Alternatives

* Fifty or 60 years ago, the auto makers indoctrinated all of us into the “car culture” society. As soon after puberty as possible, the next sign of adulthood was getting the first driver’s license and--hopefully--a car. Hot diggity! The ultimate dream! We were “all growed up.”

That attitude has come back to bite us. Land is being gobbled up by wider, faster freeways, boulevards and parking lots to accommodate an ever-increasing influx of cars. Once a symbol of personal freedom, the car has become our captor in bumper-to-bumper gridlock.

Isn’t it time we seriously looked at alternative means of convenient transportation that is far less costly to land supply, air quality and the human psyche?

Our cities should embark now on a well-engineered system of convenient, accessible local transit accommodations to feed Metrolink stations, transportation centers and business centers for the good of all.

The age of the car culture has come and gone. A leisurely drive for pleasure is fine, but we can find a better way to commute than getting up each morning to face bumper-to-bumper traffic going into Los Angeles and the same thing at night--five days a week! Life is too short.

ARTHUR KINNE

Ventura