TRAFFIC

As a veteran driver of Los Angeles streets, I find it difficult to believe L. A. Times writer Sharon Bernstein’s description of our traffic signal system as “the envy of traffic planners around the world (with) a state-of-the-art traffic control center that looks like something out of a science fiction movie.” I find it difficult to believe that L. A. has a traffic control center at all, because it doesn’t seem to have any control over its traffic.

According to Ms. Bernstein, “engineers are struggling to determine how development is affecting traffic, (and trying) to plan for the city’s growing transportation needs.” Duh! More development means more traffic, and what the city needs is a unified mass transit system – a monorail is what comes to mind - efficient enough and attractive enough to induce the majority of drivers in and around Los Angeles to leave their cars at home. The way to reduce traffic is simply to reduce traffic. If these guys don’t know that, they are criminally incompetent, which seems to be a trend in government at the moment.

And on that note, enter Rita Robinson, former sanitation director and newly appointed head of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. I admit, sanitation and transportation sound somewhat alike, but moving traffic is not quite the same as collecting garbage. I’d put some good tunes on your ipods if I were you, ‘cause I think we’re in for some serious traffic jams.

a foot on either side