Traffic Impact of Ahmanson Plans

Re “Ahmanson Ranch Mired in Political Tug of War,” April 4: The real problem with the Ahmanson Ranch development is the added traffic to the 101 Freeway. L.A. may have a housing shortage, but we have the worst traffic congestion in the world! Do we have the worst housing shortage in the world? Development after new housing development, there are no freeway expansions or new mass transit systems. The builders keep making record profits, the politicians keep getting new property tax revenues (added property taxes), and the residents keep getting the shaft--suffering through increasingly worse traffic.

Who is responsible for maintaining a balance between traffic and housing? Apparently no one in our government.

Dave Koepke

West Hills

*

A recent article about the 101 Freeway indicated that the San Fernando Valley population is going to grow by 35% in the next 20 years. That’s about 550,000 people. In view of this growth, tell me why the Ahmanson Ranch development is going to create a “traffic nightmare”?

I have done development. I have two engineering degrees and am a registered professional engineer in California.

Rob Reiner and Martin Sheen are absolutely wonderful actors. However, they are not knowledgeable on real estate development and have no place in the debate.

Greg Parks

Northridge

*

Are the neighbors of the proposed Ahmanson Ranch project truly committed to the environment? This is difficult to believe when observing the carpools at schools in the West Valley--each jammed with hundreds of “must have” SUVs.

When a 5,000-pound, 13-mile-per-gallon behemoth is used to transport 120 pounds worth of children and backpacks, one can’t help but wonder if motivations other than “concern for the environment” are at play here.

Marty Sayles

Chatsworth