Readers React: To address big traffic problems, think small

To the editor: Several articles over the last week have made clear that sometimes smaller, practical approaches to the ever-present traffic issues in Los Angeles work better than costly bureaucratic solutions. (“Lack of parking drives many away from mass transit,” Oct. 21)

The article on Metro rail stations not having enough parking spaces for all the people who want to commute via train, and the adjacent graphic on a proposed

$5.4-billion tunnel to close the five-mile 710 Freeway gap, were astounding. By contrast, Wednesday’s front-page piece on the city of Glendale working with local businesses to provide van pools as a business perk was inspiring.

Finding ways to reduce traffic and pollution instead of creating more freeways is the direction we should all be heading, and the state should get on board.

Kathryn Jaeger, South Pasadena

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To the editor: The article notes the lack of free parking at transit stations that keeps many commuters on the freeways. The “obvious solution” is taken to be spending millions to expand parking facilities. “More bike racks” gets passing mention.

And passing mention is all it deserves as long as the roadways approaching stations remain hostile to cyclists.

A solution better than the obvious one is to stripe bike lanes on the streets to and from transit stations. We could fill a lot of bike racks this way at much lower cost than it takes to build storage for cars.

Calla Wiemer, Los Angeles

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