Photo credit: MyGo-PasadenaInspired by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s new GREEN LA climate change action plan, announced earlier this month, I’ve decided to take a look a big element of life in LA: transportation. As any Angeleno knows, ridiculous traffic and poor air quality have a huge impact on our overall quality of life here in So Cal (Mountains? I don’t see any mountains!) But what’s included in the plan, and what are our options in the meantime?
In the works
According to Nancy Sutley, Deputy Mayor for Energy and the Environment for the City of Los Angeles, “LA hasn’t spent a dime in 15 years on expanding freeway capacity.” Really? I hadn’t noticed.
Fortunately, the city has worked to expand and green public transportation, used by over a million people every day. Working towards the elimination of diesel buses by next year, the MTA sports the largest fleet of natural gas buses in North America. Even better, expansions to the light rail and subway system are also planned, including the unlikely Subway to the Sea project that entails expanding the Metro Red line underneath Wilshire Blvd. 15 miles to the ocean. The project would take 15 years at a cost of $5 billion, but would provide public transport for one of the most heavily traveled routes in the city. If it happens.
