Valley projects portend problems

Re “Tensions rising on Ventura Blvd.,” March 30

Thank you for a thoughtful and informative report concerning residential development on Ventura Boulevard. However, The Times mentions but does not interpret a major problem facing neighborhoods. As attributed to city planner Tom Glick, projects are considered individually. That translates into a complete lack of accounting for the cumulative effect of development. Each project can be said to have slight if any impact, but small effects add up. One car does not create a traffic problem. Even 100 cars may not create a traffic problem. But we are talking about thousands more cars. We do not have the public transportation infrastructure to accommodate residents’ needs. Add to that the reality that residents will primarily approach and leave their homes in only three directions (east and west along the boulevard and north into the Valley) rather than the four directions available on more centrally located through streets, and you are looking at an impending traffic disaster.

Jane Drucker

Studio City

The writer is a former chair of the Studio City Neighborhood Council land-use committee.

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As a former elected representative of the Encino Neighborhood Council and an Encino homeowner, I too am concerned about the overdevelopment and entitlements granted to the three major projects in Encino, all built under the guise of “smart growth.” This catchall phrase is bringing urban blight to our community as well as to other parts of the Valley.

I support certain mixed-used developments, which, when done properly and in the proper location, can be an asset to a community. That is not the case with Avalon Bay. As constructed, the sidewalk can never be widened should the city or the community wish for a more pedestrian-friendly environment. At best, it is architecturally unattractive. It so overwhelms its environment as to be a hideous reminder of how poor planning can alter the entire nature of a community.

Francine Oschin

Encino