Los Angeles River and Mass Transit

Katz’s Korridor, the plan by assemblyman from Sylmar to convert the Los Angeles River into a freeway, is not a solution to the transportation problem but a sidestep. We have added, expanded and stacked our freeways, and yet we’re closer to gridlock now more than we have ever been. Adding another freeway further encourages car use, increases air and noise pollution and spends money foolishly (a mere “$30 million a mile” according to Katz).

Los Angeles’ governing agencies for nearly 30 years (that’s as far as my memory goes) have been debating the need for an efficient means of mass transportation. They moan and groan about the exorbitant price of one. And while they complain, thousands of new Angelenos flow into this city every week looking for their fortunes. But you can’t find your fortune without transportation, and the only transportation in this city is the car. So, everybody buys a car, but everybody can’t afford car insurance. The insured get hit by the uninsured and the insured’s premiums go up and the uninsured lose their transportation to their jobs. The poor ride the various bus systems, but they’re inefficient at best: It can take as long as 2 hours to get from the Valley to Mid-Wilshire. And try getting an RTD operator to recommend a better route using the Culver City bus service: They don’t even know it exists.

No, a good mass transit system isn’t the answer to all of our city’s woes, but it is the answer to a major problem. Nickel-and-diming schemes like Assemblyman Katz’s waste money, time and energy. Let’s take the $100,000 the County’s Transportation Committee is going to spend on a feasibility study and plant more of those “big, fluffy bushes” that have already gotten in Katz’s way.

MICHAEL N. KNUE

Los Angeles