Anti-car policies failing in LA

Al Seib, LA Times

Hi Rob,

Hope this note finds you well. I am pasting in the URL of an article that might be of interest to you. The failure of “transit first” in LA and Orange counties, where transit boardings have declined for 3 straight years (Billions spent, but fewer people are using public transportation in Southern California).

If any people in California have incentive to adopt alternate (to cars) surface transportation it would be Angelenos, whose region is legendary for its traffic congestion. Yet driving continues to increase in popularity.

I admit that when I first moved to Orange County in 1984 and experienced the gawdawful slow traffic I was highly enthusiastic about the idea of freezing the road network and building out transit instead. It was a new theory back then but now all the major cities in California have been trying it for 30 years. 

I still like the idea, but only in theory. I am satisfied that the results prove that the idea is a practical failure. I wish the public authorities would simply go back to building the infrastructure that the people clearly want (actions speaking louder than words) and quit trying to coerce us into wanting something different.

Regards

Deane Hartley

See also Southern Californians prefer driving, not trains