The MTA executive loves numbers like my four year old nephew loves chocolate cake batter, except one time, when uncle wasn't looking, he used a big wooden spoon to start slurping it down like it was soup, so at dinner he had a tummy ache, and when daddy asked "Do you gotta go potty?", he shook his head no--too much raw egg.
The following is a letter I sent to the MTA board:
I teach at California State University Northridge and am the author of Watching the Traffic Go By, a book on urban transportation history published by the University of Texas Press, and I am writing to urge you to vote no on the MTA's proposed fare increase.
Our Mayor has admirably put forth a climate action plan to address the ecological disaster created by our city, but raising fares would do devastating harm to this plan.
According to the Texas Transportation Institute Los Angeles has the worst traffic congestion in the nation.
At the same time, U.S. census records show we are number 34 in the percentage of people who commute using public transit--less than 11%.
According to the American Lung Association, L.A. has the worst pollution in the nation, causing thousands to die from heart and lung disease and catastrophic rates of asthma and other health problems for children.
Just as bad as L.A.'s environmental crisis is its horrible conditions for the working poor.
Bus riders do the work that makes this city run--they are cooks, janitors, construction workers--but living in L.A. is increasingly harsh.
A study by Runzheimer International shows L.A. is the third most expensive city in the nation, just behind New York and San Francisco.
And according to the Demographia International Housing Survey, L.A. has the least affordable housing market in the world.
It is no surprise that we have 90,000 people living on the streets, a large portion of them families with children.
In short, raising fares would do tragic environmental and economic injustice.
(The official hearing on the fare hike is this Thursday, May 24th at 9 AM at the MTA headquarters--Vignes and Cesar Chavez.)
Buy my book here:
2 comments:
... well researched and thorough... and no more raw eggs!
Urban congestion pricing and its effectiveness and ramifications have to be considered before rushing in to it.
For instance, London's results have been mixed.
Now NYC Mayor Mike 'The Nanny' Bloomberg is all excited about it, while he wasn't just a couple of years ago.
We all have to wonder what Bloomberg is really thinking of with this congestion pricing tax scheme. Maybe he mostly just wants a new tax. Just wrap it up in ‘concern for the environment’, and then people can just demonize those who oppose it.
If he cares so much about traffic jams, congestion and air pollution, why does he let Park Avenue be blocked off? Why doesn’t he do anything about that?
It's true, Pershing Square Restaurant blocks Park Avenue going South at 42nd St. for about 12 hours a day/5 months of the year! This Causes Massive Congestion and Air Pollution!
But apparently it does not bother NYC’s Nanny-in-Chief Mike “Congestion Pricing Tax” Bloomberg?
It certainly supports his claim that the city is highly congested.
Check out the map!
http://whataplanet.blogspot.com
http://preview.tinyurl.com/38obfd
Check it out!
Thanks,
Little Blue PD
:)
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