ALPERN AT LARGE - LA has its problems, but also has its assets … there for us and/or our electeds to ignore or to heed. Inasmuch as we've got hurdles to overcome, we've also got the ability to actually overcome them once we're aware the hurdles exist.
HURDLE #1: For example, consider our parking shortfall. As Steve Lopez of the LA Times notes (link) things are so bad that abuse and fraudulent use of disabled placards to allow free parking is rampant.
Which begs the questions of why LA doesn't incentivize and/or demand more parking to be built in up to date zoning laws, create more parking structures, and police our parking more appropriately.
And which also begs the questions of why Metro requires transit station parking to be free, and whether we should realistically accommodate the needs of motorists with respect to parking. I'm a transit advocate, but I still advocate parking as the single best and most realistic way to get folks out of their cars (particularly when they want to jump on a train).
HURDLE #2: The state auditor reports that the California High Speed Rail (CAHSR) project is becoming increasingly risky. (Link) I suppose we can all file this under "tell us something we DON'T know", but it's interesting to note that more financial experts are raising the alarm of the CAHSR project.
And how does this hurt LA? Well, how many folks would love to spend a few billion of that $12 billion of the bond and federal money going to the CAHSR project on expediting the Measure R projects like the Wilshire Subway, passenger rail connections to LAX or a host of freeway and road projects instead?
LA mayoral contender Austin Beutner has come out opposing the CAHSR project, but equally important is for him and any other mayoral contender to either describe where that money should go instead ... or defend the CAHSR when so many Angelenos want their roads and sidewalks repaired and their Measure R projects expedited.
HURDLE #3: Our public sector pension problems remain unresolved, and whether it's in the City of the Angels or in Sacramento, (link) the problems aren't being aggressively addressed. Again, file this under "tell us something we DON'T know", but it's still pretty distressing, nevertheless.
It's easy for our electeds (particularly those who are the controlled marionettes of public sector unions) to complain that the voters "want their cake and eat it, too" by demanding more but not pay sufficient taxes, but no one--liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican--wants their taxes thrown into an unsustainable pension/benefit system when their tax money should be going to the roads, police/fire, education and other priorities that they prefer their taxes to go to in the first place.
I truly feel sorry for those now working for the City who will pay the price for what their union leadership has gained for recent retirees at the expense of everyone else. But here's a thought for all you LA mayoral contenders: demand every public budgetary forum and private negotiation meeting regarding taxpayer-financed public sector pay and benefits have as many seats open for neighborhood council-elected representatives and ombudsmen as there are seats available to public sector employees. We all want police and other officials to be represented, but it would be nice to have us taxpayers fit into the room as well.
HIT #1: LAX is truly America's Gateway to the World, particularly with respect to the West Coast of the United States and even the Western Hemisphere. The renovation and modernization projects going on at LAX (link) not only employ many private sector jobs but will also make Angelenos enjoy their airport experience after years of seeing LAX become old and dilapidated compared to other major airports.
Must we continue to demand that LA World Airports play a major role in planning and FUNDING the necessary Century Blvd./LAX People Mover, as well as a Green/Crenshaw/MetroRail connection? Must we continue to demand that Ontario Airport be equally renovated and made more attractive to our neighbors in Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties?
Of course, but (as with the Ports of LA) LAX is still a huge job center that is among our city's most powerful economic engines. Furthermore ...
HIT #2: LA's tourism industry is going UP! (Link) Simply put, the City and County of LA is becoming a place for people to go to, and not just through.
Much of this phenomenon might be in spite of, and not because of, our elected leadership, but I'm not so sure. I'm also not so sure that the timing of AEG's Downtown Convention Center project is so bad, considering that AEG claims they can make money even if a football team doesn't arrive in LA. I'm also not so sure we can dismiss the efforts of Metro and other transportation/planning agencies in this success, but it's clear that focusing on L.A.'s three major commercial corridors (Downtown, the Wilshire Blvd. Corridor and the Century Blvd./LAX Corridor) will help us accommodate more tourism.
And whether it's increased tourism or other facets of a reviving economy, something is causing our roads and freeways to suffer from worsening congestion over the past year. And with the price of gas being what it is right now, I don't think the increased traffic is from locals merely going out on a joyride in the City of the Angels.
(Ken Alpern is a former Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Vice Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] . He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.) –cw
Tags: Ken Alpern, Los Angeles, transportation, economy, LA Transportation, LA Economy, Austin Beutner, High-Speed Rail, California, parking, LA parking, lack of parking, LAX
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 8
Pub: Jan 27, 2012