BUSWAY'S NOT REALLY WHAT VALLEY NEEDS ENCINO RESIDENTS WANTED LIGHT RAIL, WON'T EVEN GET EXPRESS VEHICLES.

Byline: Estheranne Billings Local View

THE MTA's recently announced busway from the North Hollywood Metro Red Line station to Warner Center is an inferior solution to the San Fernando Valley's decades-old need and pleas for rapid mass transit along the Burbank/Chandler/Oxnard (formerly Southern Pacific with its heavy rail intact) right of way on heavy, not light, rail.

In addition to its proposing buses, not preferable high-speed rail cars, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority-approved east-west route does not include a stop at Oxnard Street and White Oak Avenue, a main north-south artery that 1) directly feeds into the Ventura Freeway, 2) bisects our tract, Encino Park, at the center of which is the Encino Post Office, which makes a station at White Oak all the more important, and 3) amounts to final injury and insult to the needs of Encino Park since the Encino Park Improvement Committee first voiced them in 1980 and consistently thereafter to the MTA and all ``interested parties.''

Now, under the present MTA busway plan, Encino is the only community along the route that has no station despite Encino Park's being in the forefront of attempts to get rapid transit and our unique non-NIMBY stance welcoming the new electric and virtually silent Metro Red Line-type heavy rail cars along our northern border, Oxnard Street. We therefore repeat our demand for at least a station at White Oak Avenue and Oxnard Street.

In 1990, we reported our poll of Encino Park, which included explanation of the then-three rapid transit proposals - light rail and heavy rail along the Burbank/Chandler/Oxnard right of way, meaning trains along Encino Park's northern border, Oxnard Street, and monorail along Ventura Boulevard. Except for one monorail vote, voters chose electric Metro Red Line-like cars to connect at North Hollywood and proceed at ground level from there to Warner Center on dedicated heavy rail track, meaning overpasses and underpasses at major cross streets such as White Oak Avenue - with a station there, of course - and blocked crossings at streets between major cross streets.

Yet despite its non-NIMBY stance, and ironically being the only homeowner group that cared enough to strive for true rapid transit by safe and virtually silent electric trains, and without any attempts to kill it by demanding an impractical and financially impossible subway, we are left without a station as polluting and noisy buses will pass us by.

While it is true that a group in North Hollywood fought any transit improvement through its neighborhood, other NIMBY groups - some not even close to the proposed route - relished the obstructionism and now leave the rest of us to suffer from this busway, including that neighborhood with the low-grade transit and pollution they (and the other NIMBYs) helped achieve.

The Blue Line's light rail, from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach, is not dedicated track, therefore numerous deaths have occurred when drivers and pedestrians attempt to beat the cars. It is worth having the dedicated track, and having to drive a few extra blocks is hardly a sacrifice compared to life.

The advantage of Metro Red cars from downtown Los Angeles to North Hollywood is that having heavy rail cars continue to Warner Center means no need to transfer at North Hollywood to Blue Line rail cars, hence a time saver and big convenience.

Also of import is that in our struggle, we have received no support from 3rd District Councilman Dennis Zine, whom we helped elect based on his pre-election promises to us. He used our name in his ads but has not responded to us in any way since being elected.

Further, we read and appreciate ``Valley busway a good step in the wrong direction'' by Kenneth S. Alpern (March 8) and his view, ``Valley voters deserve the cleaner, higher-capacity and preferred rail system they were promised decades ago.''

But his opinion goes on to plead for light rail instead of heavy rail, possibly because he is a Westsider, hence out of range to hear us. But now he can and obviously wants what we want, rapid mass transit throughout the county without further waste of money and time. So we thank him for his persuasively written opinion and invite him to convert to heavy rail.

His opinion brought in former Sen. Alan Robbins who, due to NIMBY pressure from areas not directly affected by the possible transit systems, thought he was representing a majority of the San Fernando Valley by tying light rail to subway. The end result was that heavy rail was not tied to subway, but by then NIMBYs had derailed a truly worthy transit system from North Hollywood to Warner Center - temporarily because it was inevitable that something would have to be done.

So now we have ``Busway's a go'' that we and others decry except as a low-grade compromise.