Learning the voting lesson

STEVE SMITH

It was over a recent lunch at Taka Sushi with nine folks from Crown

Hardware that the conversation turned to commuting. One diner, Liz

Smith (no relation), mentioned that the toll road on the Riverside

Freeway (91) is now up to $7.50 at peak times.

Years ago, I was using this and other important information to

prove to parents that the second income in the home is often not

needed. After deducting tolls, gas and other auto-related expenses,

many jobs were barely making any extra dough.

A few people even took my advice.

But now I’m listening to the same conversations eight years later

because the price of gasoline is out of sight and many commuters are

looking for options.

One option is taking a train, if possible, but that’s neither free

nor cheap.

Another option is to telecommute -- work from home. Millions of

people do it; millions more can. Businesses win, too, in the form of

lower rent, lower insurance and lower lots of things.

A third option is to carpool, but this option is less and less

appealing.

When you carpool, two or more people get to ride in a

high-occupancy-vehicle lane, also known as a carpool lane. My idea of

high occupancy is not two, but that’s another debate.

About a week ago, Caltrans opened the carpool flyover from the

southbound Costa Mesa Freeway (55) to the northbound San Diego

Freeway (405). The Costa Mesa Freeway is actually traveling south,

but that is also another discussion.

The opening of this carpool lane -- the one with a high occupancy

of two -- was delayed for many months due to construction defects.

When it finally opened, it merely proved a point that many have been

making for a long time. That is, that carpool lanes are a waste of

money and don’t reward anyone for anything. Most carpool lanes, in

fact, penalize drivers.

This is because our freeway system has failed to keep up with the

demand for lanes for many years. These days when a new freeway opens,

it is usually years behind the demand required for the road.

There are exceptions, such as the San Joaquin Hills Transportation

Corridor (73), which is far short of its capacity. There, the

build-it-and-they-will-come gamble didn’t work, and you and I will be

left to foot the bill.

The new flyover is nice if you have a passenger and are traveling

“south” on the Costa Mesa Freeway. But as I observed three days this

week, all it will do for you and your carpool buddies is hurry you up

to the carpool lane on the 405 Freeway that is packed with cars.

Carpool lanes are good when it’s not rush hour. But when it’s not

rush hour, we don’t need them.

No one asked us if we wanted this flyover or any of the other

carpool lanes. And we have little say in the debacle that is our toll

roads.

Those decisions were left to our elected representatives. Clearly,

some bad decisions are made now and then.

Besides a new, out-of-date flyover that dumps into Costa Mesa, the

other case in point is the recent decision by the Newport Beach City

Council to build a new city hall, despite the protestations of

Newporters for Responsible Government.

The responsible government people were pushing for a public vote

on the issue but lost. In the Daily Pilot, Newport Beach Mayor Steve

Bromberg repeated the valid point that no public vote was needed

since the council had assumed this decision-making authority when

each member was elected.

Public votes may work for a short period for people such as Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, for whom substance has given way to silliness.

In the governor’s case, he is using the ballot box to position

himself as an action person, someone who will get things done despite

the wishes of the people in the state Senate and state Assembly who

were elected to make these decisions.

That Sacramento is paralyzed and ineffective is important, but it

is a symptom, not the disease.

This is not to say that public votes have no place in our system

of government, but they must be used judiciously. In the case of the

City Hall vote, the City Council did the right thing by deciding this

itself.

Here’s the silver lining for folks who disagree: When it’s

election time for the five people who voted to proceed with the new

City Hall, you can campaign to see that they are not reelected.

That’s how it works.

I’m shaking my head at the colossal waste of money that is the new

Costa Mesa flyover, but I know I have recourse. Over in Newport

Beach, thanks to five people who aren’t afraid to make a decision,

work will begin immediately on a badly needed, new city hall.

The events in City Hall prove once again what I learned in school

many years ago -- that is that local elections are more important to

the daily life and pocketbook of the average citizen than the

presidential election held every four years. Sadly, few vote when

it’s time to pick a mayor or new city council.

There is a very good lesson here.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].