MTA Rail Program, Freeway Gridlock

Re “Rail Critics Are Right--and Wrong,” Commentary, Dec. 26:

Rick Cole, a former mayor of Pasadena, and Katherine Perez, a member of Pasadena’s Transportation Advisory Commission, apparently “forgot” to mention the prime reason why the Blue Line extension into their fair city is costing the taxpayers so much money. Could it possibly have something to do with Pasadena’s insistence that the former Santa Fe rail line linking Pasadena with Los Angeles be converted from a “heavy” rail line (one that could have easily accommodated MetroLink trains two or three years ago) to a “light” rail line that will accommodate trolleys (the same ones we see running down the middle of the I-105 Century Freeway)?

It’s very expensive building new bridges, widening the right of way to allow double track and erecting overhead electrical wires to power those cute little trolleys. All this to keep the NIMBY crowd (read: voters) happy. After all, no one wants a dirty, noisy, diesel-powered train running past their rose bushes.

It’s still probably not too late to scrap the light-rail boondoggle, and go back to Plan “A”--an intact heavy rail line linking the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles. MetroLink could start running trains on it in a matter of months, instead of years. It would provide commuter train service to communities that don’t presently have commuter trains; i.e., Azusa, Irwindale, Monrovia, Arcadia. It would take some of the pressure off MetroLink’s line via Baldwin Park and El Monte, which is already experiencing capacity constraints.

DAVID B. ARTHUR

Grand Terrace

* John C. Detwiler, in his Dec. 22, letter, complains about the increase in time for his commute. I empathize, but we must increasingly realize that each time we drive, our cars take up road space and become part of the traffic problem. He may try my solution: commute by bus. I take the bus from Westchester to Santa Monica. It takes longer, but on the bus I can look at the stopped San Diego Freeway, then go back to my reading, or sleep.

Detwiler could take the MTA 561 through the Sepulveda Pass to Westwood Village, and there transfer to a MTA, Santa Monica or Culver City bus to his work. He should call the bus companies for schedules, get comfortable walking shoes, take reading material and give it a try. I changed when I realized that clicking sound I heard while driving was not the car’s gears, but me grinding my teeth.

MATTHEW HETZ

Los Angeles