We asked readers, What do you want from Southern California’s mass-transit system?
Adding rail would relieve traffic on 210 and 405
Extending the Gold Line to Montclair is a must-do no-brainer. It’s shovel-ready and has overwhelming community support. Anyone who drives the 210 Freeway during morning rush hour west to Pasadena, or the afternoon rush hour back east from Pasadena to the San Gabriel Valley/Inland Empire ’burbs, knows how excruciating it is — one of Los Angeles County’s most under-reported traffic nightmares.
The Pasadena-Azusa extension will help quite a bit for starters, but to really make a dramatic impact in solving this traffic crisis we need to go all the way to Montclair with rail. It will make a huge difference.
Another future project that merits serious consideration is rail transit connecting West L.A. to the San Fernando Valley along the 405 Freeway. The 405 is the ultimate L.A. driving nightmare. Adding lanes clearly solved nothing. A rail alternative would make a truly epic change in reducing the severity of that traffic misery.
A rail alternative would be a true gift from God (or Garcetti). Just my 2 cents. This would be sales tax money very well spent, an investment reaping untold rewards for us, our children and our children’s children.
— Justin Slosky, Pasadena
Add security presence
As a former Blue Line passenger and current Metrolink passenger, I find the most important thing in riding public transportation is security. I would like to see an increase in police/security presence.
It would be nice to have Wi-Fi as an added amenity. My family and I look forward to riding the Gold Line from Claremont to Pasadena or downtown.
— Caroline Hernandez, Claremont
Go where we want to go
How about a mass-transit system designed by actual city planners? Forgive the sarcasm, but there are countless great models of useful and effective mass transit in this country to look at. And yet.
Let’s start with a system that actually goes somewhere and doesn’t stop just short of LAX, the beach, a mall, a major university (UCLA, CSUN, Cal State Los Angeles).
Second, let’s have a system that actually charges people to ride it. How many years later did they realize that by not (really) charging people to ride, the system might not make a profit?
I would love to use mass transit for my 35-mile commute from the Beach Cities (South Bay) to Northridge (where I work), but I would need a ride to/from each Metro stop on both ends. Oh, and I’d have to take three trains and a bus.
— Rachel Friedman Narr, Redondo Beach
Run buses later at night
I would like to see the Metro Gold Line extended to Whittier as has been proposed. I live in the area around PIH Health Hospital and have read about the plans to extend the Gold Line down Washington Boulevard and end near the hospital.
It would benefit seniors, those that rely on public transportation and millennials like myself who wish to ditch my car to avoid spending on gas and parking going to Los Angeles.
I have noticed that there are very few, if any, buses that run through Whittier after 8 p.m. and into the night, making trips to L.A. on public transportation almost impossible during the night if you travel to L.A. for sporting events, nightlife, dinner, etc.
— Orlando Llampallas, Whittier
More responses to this Question of the Week were published Tuesday.
