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LA: New York West … Minus Subway |
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Voice in the Cheap Seats
By Charles Tarlow
Open Memo to the Mayor and City Council
Something is happening to our city. Something that has never happened before. Growth in Los Angeles is out of control.
 It is one thing to encourage growth and development that enhances the quality of life in our city and quite another to allow unbridled development that clogs our streets, drains our resources, and changes the character of Los Angeles from a unique appealing cultural center to “New York City West” without the subway.
I would like to tell you that we are at a crossroads, but the fact is we have already passed the fork in the road and we are traveling in the wrong direction.
Take a good hard look at where we are going. What kind of city do we want Los Angeles to be in 10 years? Are the decisions you are making today going to contribute to a better Los Angeles or something else entirely?
Apartments and condominiums are being built in unprecedented numbers with little regard for the impact locally or city wide. Do you have a population density goal? Are you following some plan? More people translates into more cars, more pollution, more noise, more congestion, and more strain on our resources ... none of which contribute to a better quality of life for the people of Los Angeles. Is there any point at which you will say no to unbridled growth? Something to think about.
You are in the process of selling our infrastructure to the wealthier citizens of Los Angeles. Reserving diamond lanes, parking and even highway access for the rich is morally corrupt. You have a responsibility to serve all the people of Los Angeles and not just the privileged. Please reconsider your decision to embrace the flawed scheme called “Congestion Pricing”.
The Department of Transportation has made recommendations to weaken if not eliminate parking requirements for new construction at a time when we are experiencing a parking crisis. Their recommendations are so foolish on their face that it is hard to believe you would take them seriously, but many of you do. Consider this: if we want to have a better city tomorrow, we have to fix the problems we have today. We need more parking, not less. We need to build parking structures in concert with parking provided by new development.
And lest you think the Department of Transportation is out of foolish ideas, they just issued a new report with another outrageous recommendation. They want you to reconsider residential parking permits. Instead of addressing the commercial parking problem, they want you to allow commercial parking on residential streets. It is clear that “quality of life” is not factored into their gerry-rigged solutions to our real problems. It is important that you, our elected officials, see through their short sighted recommendations and make decisions that actually address our problems and not exacerbate them.
Mass transit is at the heart of building a better Los Angeles. Planned growth will not succeed without a viable mass transit system. We have to recognize that there will always be a need for the private car, but a viable mass transit system will virtually eliminate the private commute to work and make most trips by car unnecessary or even undesirable. The horrific congestion and parking problems we are struggling with today can be solved once and for all with a practical alternative to the automobile. It is up to you to find a way to make this happen.
I believe an above ground rail system of individual computer controlled cars is the most cost effective and people friendly mass transit solution. Done right, it will offer a true alternative to the car with point to point non-stop travel with personal space. Subways are too expensive, inefficient, and provide no personal space. Whatever the chosen solution, mass transit is essential to a successful future Los Angeles.
Mr. Mayor; Council Members; you have the honor and responsibility of shaping the future Los Angeles. The decisions you make today will determine if Los Angeles will be a great city or a failed dream. The onus is on you to make the right decisions. If you sell out to the Federal Government's Congestion Pricing Scheme, if you embrace the Department of Transportation's “quick fixes”, Los Angeles will become a shadow of its former glory. But if you rise above the temptation of Federal money and quick fixes and consider “quality of life” with each decision you make, I am confident that we can look forward to a city that will live up to it's name; “City of Angels”. (Charles Tarlow is a community activist and a member of a neighborhood council in the mid-city area. You can reach Charles Tarlow at:
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