Sunday, July 6

Letters


Wednesday, October 22, 1997

Letters

The real source of traffic woes

The angle presented by Amy Collins in her Oct. 13 story "Traffic
stops as more women hit the road" entirely dismisses the true cause
of congestion problems in Los Angeles. The article portrays women’s
increasing roles as some of the base cause of increased congestion.
A Department of Transportation engineer is then quoted as saying,
"high costs, environmental restrictions … and opposition from
neighbors" are among the main factors contributing to congestion.
While congestion is a multifaceted problem, its roots lay not in
gender differences nor in road-building regulation but in the lack
of planning that prevents sprawl and the lack of effective use of
transit monies to offer comfortable, cost-effective public
transportation.

Congestion is a national problem that no major city has been
able to avoid. Further exacerbating the problem in Los Angeles is
the fact that the city was developed at a time when cars were
becoming common. This made it easy for those who wanted (and could
afford) to build settlements far from the city center, avoiding the
congestion, smells, and noises of the city. Because of the emphasis
on the auto and the unregulated growth of the area, public
transportation has not developed adequately.

Currently, less than 2 percent of the travelers in Los Angeles
use public transportation. It is time for a fundamental shift in
American thinking that balances the ideas of absolute freedom and
luxury with those of building sustainable communities that offer
adequate access to public transit. In short, a real solution to
congestion will not be achieved by taking women off our roads or by
building more freeways (studies show that traffic quickly outgrows
added freeway miles) but by restructuring our communities,
investing in cost-effective public-transportation strategies, and
providing incentives for people to adopt carpooling and
non-automobile-based methods of transportation.

Shipra Bansal

Staff researcher

Communities for a Better Environment


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