Pasadena Blue Line Is Critical to L.A.’s Future

Re “Hundreds Have Their Say About Blue Line Plan,” Nov. 6:

With regard to the controversy over rail crossings on the Pasadena Blue Line, I ask, when do activists transform into reactionaries? Perhaps when their professed concern over the safety of children disguises a desire to preserve their urban idyll or, more cynically, their property values. Marmion Way in Mt. Washington is not “densely packed” by any fair-minded city dweller’s account. Pedestrians are rare except for those who use the bus stops, the very people who will likely welcome the option of real rapid transit in a city bereft of decent transportation options.

I used to live in Tokyo, a city of truly high density, where trains run safely at grade within a few feet of residences. There, proximity to train stations is actually a boon to property values. Tokyo residents do not mind the rather mild electronic warning sounds of rail crossings or the occasional toot of an electronic horn. Some folks would like us to think that Blue Line trains will be equipped with air horns like those on trucks and that they will sound 200 times a day. I have spoken with Blue Line officials who have assured me that neither assertion is correct.

Sadly, the rhetoric of the Blue Line’s opponents has become melodramatic. What is really at stake is the future of mass transit in the L.A. region. I do hope that the NIMBYism of a minority within a single neighborhood does not obstruct a project that is critical to keeping Los Angeles viable.

Tom Halasz

Mt. Washington