Letters to the Editor: Don’t blame NIMBYs for the crime and drug use on Metro trains

To the editor: In the wake of numerous reports on deteriorating Metro rail service in Los Angeles, UC Berkeley climate policy researcher Ethan Elkind weighs in with strong convictions and weak logic.

Ignoring the deplorable conditions that plague the trains and the challenges of a retrofitting public transit onto a sprawling city designed for cars, Elkind attributes sharp declines in ridership principally to a shortage of housing within walking distance of Metro rail stations.

Ignoring the market conditions and public policies that incentivize high-end developments rather than affordable housing, Elkind then attributes that housing shortage to “well-heeled” homeowners who defend low-density neighborhoods.

The progressive reflex that attributes the deterioration of public transit to NIMBYism serves as a perfect complement to the right-wing reflex that attributes the failure of Silicon Valley Bank to “woke” culture. Whether on the political left or right, “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

Shelley Wagers, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: I just returned from a trip to New York City. On a system that is twice the route length of our rail system in L.A., I encountered clean cars, respectful riders and no visible drug use. Somehow, New York manages to provide decent public transit across its city.

Why are our trains filthy? Why do they attract drug use and empower people to verbally threaten riders? Why are our public spaces magnets for dangerous behavior?

Has our mayor rode the Metro system much? I predict that if she does, we will have a second state of emergency in the city.

Esther Margulies, Venice