Transportation

Monorails “Jeffers Dodge a Vote for the Future"

Make no mistake; lumbering buses congested motorist traffic, and dreary, depressive subways are not part of LA's progressive culture.

Monorails built above our major roadways will not only alleviate motorist traffic, but offer a modern environmental and passenger friendly solution, mobilizing our citizenry at a fraction of the cost of a new subway.

I support the new Wilshire Monorail plan, the "Expressway to the Future," to replace the proposed "Subway to the Sea" plan for West Los Angeles. At a cost of $350 million per mile for the "Subway to the Sea", the "Express Way to the Future" at a cost of less than $100 million per mile, is not only a sound financial investment, it is a sound traffic solution.

I also support a similar plan to be considered for implementation throughout all of Los Angeles.

It's important that this new monorail plan is not beholden to any political party, special interest group or business entity. It was conceived as a modern-day alternative to replace an outmoded transportation system that is counter-productive to LA's fast-paced lifestyle.

Click here to see the "Expressway to the Future" Monorail System.

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The Wilshire Bus Lane A Continued Failure

In far too many instances, politicians attempting to demonstrate leadership and creativity, embark on projects which in the end do not serve the public well.

For whatever reason, they attempt to protect their image by refusing to accept the failure of their project. The fanfare of the project gone, they only see labiality in accepting the truth and the truth is they were wrong!

The “Wilshire Bus Lane” is such a project. It must be corrected at once. Better to have no answer than the wrong one and force the community to suffer with your mistake.

The community is not only suffering from a transportation stand point but also from a business point. Too many small businesses have to endure the consequences of such a thoughtless decision.

As your representative in Sacramento I will immediately shut down this failed attempt at a transportation solution.

I am, not alone in this belief. For more information, click here.

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L.A.'s future is up in the air(click here for story)
By Ray Bradbury
RAY BRADBURY is the author of "The Martian Chronicles," "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes," among other books.
February 5, 2006

SOMETIME IN THE next five years, traffic all across L.A. will freeze.

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Traffic Relief May Be Brief on 405(click here for story)

Transportation experts say $570-million plan to complete carpool lanes will ease congestion only for a while, but also say it's still worth doing.

By Caitlin Liu Times Staff Writer January 15, 2006

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HOV lane report

Although generally accepted as a noble idea the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane system is a lot more controversial than most people know. The idea of blocking off what often amounts to a full twenty-five percent of a four -lane highway for cars with more than one passenger has often been shown to be far less effective than had been hoped and, in many cases, even counterproductive.

Meant to decrease traffic congestion and its subsequent pollution levels, from the inception of the HOV lanes in the 1980‚s, carpool usage has actually decreased from 18 percent of all cars on the road to a mere eight percent. This is likely a result of significant drops in gasoline prices following the difficult days of the Carter Administration as well as the general decentralization of business centers making the sharing of rides from point A to point B less convenient.

Though there are individual exceptions over short stretches of road, the overwhelming evidence is that the HOV lanes have actually increased congestion, made more difficult the delivery of goods and increased pollution -- exactly the opposite of its good intentions.

While opening up these extra lanes to all traffic is the preferred policy of a lot of people including highly respected California State Senator Tom McClintock and myself, other suggestions include the use the HOV lanes to encourage other policy ends such as the use of hybrid, alternative fuel vehicles and perhaps some commercial vehicles. Even then the goal would be simply to allow a logical twenty-five percent of all traffic access to the HOV lane -- the same figure achieved by opening the lane to all traffic, only with the extra burden of paying for enforcement.

The bottomline is that, while noble in its goals, the HOV lanes have repeatedly proved themselves not only costly but counterproductive. Once again the "market" is the best means to achieve efficiency, with each individual driver deciding which of the four open lanes best serves their purposes.