Transportation policy in Los Angeles

This paper discusses transportation policy in the city of Los Angeles, California. A variety of aspects of transportation

specific to Los Angeles will be mentioned. There will be some discussion of the evolution of the transportation system in Los Angeles. Though a variety of transportation systems will be dis-cussed, the emphasis will be upon rapid transit systems for the city of Los Angeles. Thus, an emphasis will be placed upon dis-cussion of the planned Metrorail system for Los Angeles. The evolution of Metrorail systems and their economic status, ease of use, etc. will be a primary discussion topic for this paper.

It should be noted at the outset of this discussion that there is a spectrum of options available in urban transportation modes. These options can be viewed as mass transit, paratransit, and private. The mass transit options include the commuter rail, rapid rail, light rail, streetcar, and bus. The paratransit options include the jitney (a combination between the taxi and minibus), vanpool, carpool, dial-a-ride, shared taxi, and premium taxi. Private options include automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrian modes.

These varied options can further be classified as to their carrying capacities. Carrying capacities of the transit options vary from high capacity to low capacity. The low capacity transit options are the bicycle, motorcycle, automobile and pedestrian modes. The high capacity options are the bus, streetcar, light rail, rapid rail, and c

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work-ers who need to get to work in downtown Los Angeles, because the Harbor Freeway is always one of the most congested freeways in the morning hours of Los Angeles. In addition, the Century rail line may be extended beyond the freeway into El Segundo, which will be linked with the South Bay by the light rail line. Another extension is planned for the Marina Del Rey area north of LAX. This latter rail line extension may be financed by a fee levied on developers in the Marina del Rey area. The fee would be collected from all developers within one-quarter of a mile from the proposed transportation corridor. This rail line into Marina del Rey would constitute the northern part of the South Bay light rail line. The city of Los Angeles is currently working to define the light rail routes so that a rights-of-way protection policy can be developed. This would ensure that development does not take rights-of-ways. Coordination of all these projects requires cooperation of many agencies, such as Caltrans, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, and the Southern California Rapid Transit District ("Century Rail Lines," 1985, p. 3). The Metro Rail has been plagued by safety concerns. These safety questions originally arose wi

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