TRAINS ARE THE NEW CARS

Michael Balter’s bold suggestion to “turn Wilshire Boulevard into a car-free, rapid-transit, bicycle-friendly transportation artery” is, if anything, not bold enough. We should be thinking in terms of the entire city.

Individual transportation vehicles (cars), as interesting, fun, and profitable as they have been in the past, have outlived their usefulness. I suppose we could keep them for side trips and NASCAR races, but beyond that they’re more trouble than they’re worth: They kill 50,000 people a year, they pollute the air, and they cause us to grovel at the feet of brutal, oil-rich dictators. Mass transiti - clean, fast, and comfortable - is definitely where it's at.

As for digging a subway to the sea, if it weren’t for the invasion of Iraq I would say this idea was in a class by itself. It gives morons a bad name. It is ill-conceived, budgeted by cock-eyed optimists, and will benefit its builders far more than any potential riders.

This is a golden opportunity for Los Angeles public officials to shape the future by serving the many people who elected them rather than the few who paid for the campaign.

a foot on either side

FOR WHOM THE ROAD TOLLS

Wealth brings privilege. It’s the American way. So if you can afford a better seat at the Ahmanson, mazeltov, enjoy the show. But there is a point at which we must draw a line, not in the sand but in the road.

MTA plans for “congestion pricing”, a euphemism if ever there was one, will offer special access to carpool lanes for single occupancy drivers in exchange for costly tolls. The distance between upper and lower classes, already large, is about to get larger.

“It’s just like flying first class,” MTA board member, David Fleming, suggested cheerfully. Apparently suffering from delusions of adequacy, Mr. Fleming’s analogy is seriously flawed. Driving a luxury car instead of a compact is like flying first class. Paying a toll for exclusive use of public freeway lanes is more like taxiing to the head of the line in your private jet and taking off, while all the little people are trapped on the tarmac in crowded planes, unable to travel. See the difference, Dave?

Exactly how far is the MTA willing to take this butt-in-line principle? Will surface streets have special “W” lanes for the wealthy? Will supermarkets have “R” lines for the rich? Will public rest rooms have “P” lines for the privileged? When the ship starts to sink, will we abandon the principle of women and children first, in favor of selling lifeboat seats to the highest bidders? We are selling our souls.

The auto and oil industries have had southern California by the throat (to put it politely) for 75 years. The solution to traffic congestion is not special access for the privileged few. The solution is less traffic via a world class, public transportation system aimed at the entire public: clean, fast, quiet, comfortable, and affordable. Can you say, monorail? That’s the real American way.

a foot on either side