HOW TO FIX OUR GRIDLOCK WE ASKED READERS FOR SOLUTIONS. HERE'S WHAT THEY SAID ... PLEAS FOR BETTER FREEWAYS, MORE TRANSIT SYSTEMS.Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer Build monorails. Forget monorails. Double-deck the freeways. Get rid of car-pool lanes. From Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, to Studio City, commuters around the region have resoundingly re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. spoken out about what drives them crazy getting around Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. -- and how to make it better. The ideas on how to ease the Southland's persistent bottlenecks come even as a recent state report projects California's population will balloon to 60 million by 2050, further straining already jammed freeways and roads. But while transit officials grapple with funding issues and dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. space, nearly 100 readers who outlined their transit visions to the Daily News were quick to target two key areas: public transportation and freeways. And the short of it is: More, more, more. And speed up the pace between designing projects and building them to save money and to get motorists moving sooner. "Think of the comprehensive benefits and savings on so many levels if we would get our act together, and do it in five to 10 years," said Steve Carrizosa of Los Angeles. "We could do it!" Fixes for the region's freeways -- many of which are transformed into virtual parking lots during rush hour -- drew a lot of readers' attention. From adding more lanes -- including at least one for just buses -- to double-decking, adding tolls and lowering speed limits, motorists assailed the Southland's current freeway system. "Should the FlyAway fly·a·way adj. 1. Made or worn loose or draped, as to allow or suggest fluttering in the wind: a flyaway coat; long, flyaway hair. 2. a. transit system, and other public transportation systems, have their own lane on the freeways, the majority of us would be delighted to use it and leave our cars parked," said Sylvia Aronica of Arleta. Others weighed in on double-decking some freeways, and more suggested charging tolls to use roadways to help cover construction and maintenance costs. Caltrans officials have previously said double-deck freeways would be massively expensive and difficult to engineer in earthquake country. But the concept of paying tolls to use certain freeway lanes -- known as high-occupancy toll A high-occupancy toll (HOT) is a toll enacted on single-occupant vehicles who wish to use lanes or entire roads that are designated for the use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs, also known as carpools). lanes -- has caught on well in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and Orange County and is an idea that Los Angeles should consider, said Robert Poole Robert Lindsay Poole (born 12 June 1948 in Loxton, South Australia) was a controversial Queensland Australian Labor Party politician from 2001 until his resignation in early 2006. , director of transportation studies at the Reason Foundation. Under the program, drivers pay a toll that's as high as it needs to be to keep the lanes moving. The lanes provide reliable and quick alternatives for motorists who don't have much time to be stuck in traffic. "Most people don't use the HOT lanes every day, but they have the security of knowing that if they really do need it, they have the option," Poole said. Bobbie DeNisi of Los Angeles took the concept of double-decking freeways in another direction with the idea of constructing a two-lane elevated roadway down the center of the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. to the airport. Public transportation The roadway would remove all the airport traffic from the regular freeway lanes and could be supported with money from tourism. It could stretch from Sherman Way to Rosecrans Avenue with no exits except the main one at the airport. "Let (tourists) support the roadways that locals need to use for everyday," DeNisi said. "And let the airport pay for the extra traffic it causes." Meanwhile, a hefty chunk of readers urged more motorists to get out of their cars and use public transportation. The result would free up the roads and money that would have been spent for expanding freeways could be spent on other things to improve the community. Retired engineer Frederick Frey said he uses the Orange and Red lines at least once a week to go downtown from his home in Canoga Park. But Frey wonders why there aren't more people on board. "People will spend thousands of dollars to take trips to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , London and Paris and use the subway to go all around the city," Frey said. "But if you suggest to them that they should try using the Orange or Red lines, they are offended." Mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a also could be expanded with more subways, light rail and busways, and some suggested raising the gas tax to $1 a gallon to help pay for it. Solo drivers also could be charged for the environmental and economic impact they cause, said Jay Ross of West Los Angeles
"The key is to understand that building new roads and widening freeways will not solve our traffic problems," Ross said. "You can't build out of traffic." Global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. A number of staunch supporters called for monorails, including one that would wrap around the city and run up to Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . Naturally, however, there are the critics. "Forget about monorails," said Matthew Hetz of Los Angeles. "At Disneyland, they are a toy and amusement ride ... and do not work for real-world scenarios." While a stronger mass-transit system with more people using it would help the region, Poole said that in the end, public transportation will play just a small role in solving the area's troubles. Coaxing people out of their cars to use a mass-transit system that doesn't always go directly where they need to go -- and can take longer -- is hard to do, Poole said. "The big problem is that most people want other people to use transit and not themselves," Poole said. At the same time, building more freeway lanes and other transportation projects that generate emissions are becoming more difficult because of the impact on air quality, people and communities. "There's a lot of concern about global warming," said Mark Pisano, executive director of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Association of Governments. "The public needs to understand that with transportation projects that generate capacity and emissions, we'll have a difficult time with them." Ultimately, amid all of the ideas on how to revamp the region's roads -- everything from making Victory Boulevard a one-way route and coordinating more traffic signals -- Jean Ross of Mission Hills had what could be the most valuable idea of all. "Courtesy should be an everyday occurrence for all of us," she said. "Especially on our overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. freeways and streets." sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3746 GIVING DIRECTIONS A few suggestions for going from here to there more efficiently. CHANGE UP THOSE STREETS Extend Reseda Boulevard from the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. into Brentwood at Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). Drive. Synchronize all the stop lights, starting with Sepulveda Boulevard, to help with traffic heading to and getting on the San Diego Freeway. Install electronic devices on roads to monitor speeds and issue more tickets to lead-foot drivers. Hire retirees and others to man major intersections during rush hour and pay them minimum wage. Police would be freed up for more crime-prevention work. STOP DRIVING Ride bikes. Combine errands into one trip. Make mass transit as fast as cars. Build the "Subway to the Sea." Finish the Red Line to the Westside. Limit parking and make it expensive so people will consider taking mass transit. Bring back the old street cars. MAKE ROOM FOR MORE BUSES Put dedicated 24-hour bus-only lanes on every major boulevard, even if it means converting parking or mixed lanes. Run the buses every 10 minutes, including express services. Build small pullout pull·out n. 1. A withdrawal, especially of troops. 2. Change from a dive to level flight. Used of an aircraft. 3. An object designed to be pulled out. Noun 1. lanes for all bus stops so buses are out of traffic. Convert the Orange Line to a monorail monorail, railway system that uses cars that run on a single rail. Typically the rail is run overhead and the cars are either suspended from it or run above it. or subway and give the land back to the community. Connect the west end of the Orange Line to Chatsworth. FREEWAYS, MAKE 'EM HIGHER AND SLOW THEM DOWN Build a special expressway from the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. and Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. to San Diego. Get rid of car-pool lanes. Straighten and widen the 2 Freeway, so people can get from Acton to Pasadena in 40 minutes. Allow trucks on freeways only at night. BUILD, BUILD, BUILD Build a tunnel from the San Fernando Valley to the Westside for cars, subways and light rail. Tunnel under the 2 Freeway in Echo Park to build a real freeway connecting the Golden State Freeway and Highway 1. GIVE MORE INCENTIVES TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Give tax incentives for people who work within a five-mile radius of home. Mandate that Metro and Caltrans workers must use public transportation. Make all freeway lanes car-pool lanes to promote car pools and mass transit. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) Try this on traffic: Among many suggestions, readers recommend adding a buses-only lane to the freeways, top; reducing the speed limit on freeways, middle; and making Victory Boulevard a one-way street, left. Photo illustrations by Michael Owen Baker (top) and John Lazar (middle and left) Staff Photographers Box: Giving directions (see text) |
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