Parks, Homes, Bikes, Trains? Debating RR Rights of Way
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Re “Transit? Or a Bike Path Fit For a King?” by Laura Lake, Op-Ed, Aug. 20:
Los Angeles, one of the largest cities in the world, lacks a decent public transportation system. The Los Angeles City Council and the County Transportation Commission should be congratulated for having the foresight to consider light-rail systems along the Ventura Freeway and Exposition Boulevard.
Lake faults the press for portraying the debate over light rail as a “Not in my back yard” phenomenon, and yet she goes on to say that the community would prefer turning the railroad right of way into single-family housing. At current Westside housing prices, such development would provide housing for the wealthy few, while overlooking the transportation needs of a gridlocked city.
Would Laura Lake, “Not Yet New York,” and the Friends of Westwood prefer enlarging the Santa Monica and Ventura Freeways? I live next to tracks carrying Santa Fe freight and Amtrak passenger trains, and have come to enjoy the sight and sound of passing trains. I would never want to live next to the choking fumes of some nightmarish super--freeway. Neither would I want to return to riding the inefficient and slow bus system that passes for mass transit in Los Angeles.
ERIK KNUTZEN
Cardiff-By-the-Sea
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