Freeway Train Stations Provide Cold Comfort

On a few occasions recently I rode the Green Line from the Aviation/Imperial station and transferred to the Blue Line to go downtown and then returned home on the same route. After a few trips I have come to the conclusion that future mass transit routes should not be built down the center of a freeway. To stand in the middle of a freeway on a small, crowded platform (like the Rosa Parks station), waiting for the next light-rail carriages, subjects the rider to the literally deafening noise from the freeway traffic, choking exhaust from the cars and trucks and swirling debris created and stirred up by the whirling traffic.

The cumulative impact from standing on the freeway platforms for a daily commute must surely adversely affect one’s health. While the Green Line is needed--and a step toward weaning the public from cars--transit riders should never have to be subjected to the conditions found in the transit stations located in the middle of a freeway.

Matthew Hetz

Los Angeles