L.A. isn't dense enough for rail transit. Buses to the rescue

Letters to the Editor: L.A. isn’t dense enough for rail transit. Better bus service to the rescue

A neighborhood of mostly single-family homes in Woodland Hills is seen from above in June.

Aug. 31, 2023 3 AM PT

To the editor: As my graduate project in public administration at USC in 1967, I wrote the mass transit plan that the then-Rapid Transit District (predecessor to today’s Metro) eventually adopted. I worked directly with RTD General Manager Jack Gilstrap. (“How L.A. can build more housing without looking like New York,” Opinion, Aug. 27)

It is disappointing that after spending billions to build rail and subway lines, the system continues to be plagued by underutilization and onboard crime. The latter problem can be largely mitigated with more law enforcement presence.

However, as UCLA urban planning professor Michael Lens notes, Los Angeles remains too spread out to have a really effective rail transit system. Fixing this by building more housing near employment centers, while correct in theory, will take decades to accomplish.

Back in 1967, increasing local density seemed practical. But as the enormous increase in property values has taken hold, we have witnessed the workforce population spread to Orange County and the Inland Empire.

There are no easy solutions for increasing ridership. However, in the interim, Metro needs to supplement the rail system with convenient, frequent and dependable bus service, while society waits decades for what may be a cost-prohibitive neighborhood density plan to come to fruition.

Gary L. Wartik, Camarillo

To the editor: What we don’t need in L.A. are land-use changes and apartment buildings going up in the middle of single-family residential neighborhoods.

What we do need are corridors of housing all along the thoroughfares of Los Angeles: Venice, Washington, Pico, Olympic, Robertson, La Cienega, Fairfax and La Brea, where single-story, mom-and-pop storefront currently proliferate.

There, we need mixed-use buildings with apartments over retail establishments. We need this development in our urban center, near public transportation, very much in the image of New York, where residents will be within walking distance of markets, restaurants and other amenities.

Stephanie Kirschner, Agoura Hills

To the editor: More housing? As a UCLA graduate, all I can do is read this and gasp.

As a professor of urban planning, Lens should know that the California Department of Finance projects the population of L.A. County to decline by around 1.5 million people by 2060.

The population of L.A. County today is about 9.8 million. In 2060, the Department of Finance projects it to be 8.3 million.

And Lens wants to make it easier to tear down L.A.’s unique single-family neighborhoods and build more multifamily?

Len Frank, Los Angeles