How to Resolve Our Traffic Woes

To break the gridlock in Southern California, local transportation officials must make some difficult--yet necessary--decisions, including those listed by Hugo Martin in “7 Ways in Search of a Will” (Aug. 29). We also need more political will in Congress. What the article did not mention is that since 1989, California has become more and more of a donor state. In 2002, for every tax dollar we sent to Washington, only 77 cents came back to our state in federal expenditures, costing Californians $58 billion--and a lot of headaches on the freeways--according to the California Institute for Federal Policy Research.

Meanwhile, 40% of the nation’s imports enter through Southern California, which means that our transportation infrastructure is accommodating much of America’s economic growth. Through the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s partnership with the Mobility 21 Coalition, we worked closely with our congressional delegation last spring to secure $492 million for the Gold Line extension into East L.A. But clearly, much more needs to be done at the federal level to secure our fair share of federal transportation dollars--and unclog our roads.

Rusty Hammer, President & CEO

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

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Martin’s article left out the best alternative for dealing with our traffic problems: Live within walking distance of where you work. That’s where we spend at least five days a week. That’s where all of those cars are going every morning and evening. Most folks think that you can’t set up such a lifestyle in L.A. But with the gentrification of downtown and plenty of residential property surrounding many of our studios as well as other major Southern California employers, the opportunity is here.

All it takes is a will when you buy your next home, not government funding or voter approval. It doesn’t even really have to be walking distance, just a shorter driving distance would help. Of course, this solution might just move our traffic to the weekends, when people would drive to recreational spots. But at least we’d have cut the number of bad traffic days from five to two.

Jay Jiudice

Marina del Rey