Readers React: The 405 (and much of L.A.) is a mess. Clean it up.

To the editor: Los Angeles has some architecture and infrastructure worthy of being viewed and enjoyed, but alas, Christopher Hawthorne is correct in stating that the 405 Freeway between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside is not among them. (“$1.14 billion later, expanded 405 Freeway is a hodgepodge of design,” July 30)

While stuck recently for three hours in almost stagnant traffic, my visiting cousin commented on the lack of continuity of design. But it is what it is, and that didn’t bother me as much as the trash strewn on the center divider throughout the trip.

I notice when other cities are dirty and usually try to eliminate them from my list of return visits. Other people obviously do as well, based on my cousin’s comments. I was actually embarrassed to say that this pigpen of a freeway cluttered with tires, hard hats, fragments of other cars and various and sundry other schmutz had just been recently widened. Los Angeles is hosting the 2015 Special Olympics, and we may want to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. I hope one of our current or future mayors gets our porch swept by then.

I’d like to think my cousin loves me enough to want to come back to L.A. Still, I’d like to see us clean up our act, or at least our freeways.

Hal Horowitz, West Hills

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To the editor: I found Hawthorne’s disparaging article on the aesthetics of the expanded 405 Freeway to be curious.

I drive at least 50,000 miles a year on L.A. freeways and find most of the city to be a sewer. I think the retaining walls on the 405 are quite attractive. Perhaps Hawthorne was simply flexing his creative writing muscles.

Ken Grow, Newbury Park

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To the editor: With all due respect to Hawthorne, I don’t care if the design styles of the widened 405 are a mishmash.

For me, the real issue about the 405 widening project is why a light-rail line wasn’t installed to ease traffic and encourage public transit rather than spending more than $1 billion to a add one lane to accommodate more vehicles.

Mitchell Blake, Culver City

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