Back in November of 2006, California voters approved Proposition 1B1, that will provide nearly $20,000,000,000.00 for improvements to our ailing transportation systems. In case that is too may zeros for you, it translates to twenty billion (with a “b” billion) dollars. To put that sort of money into perspective, consider that it is greater that the GDP of all but 79 of world’s nations2. In other words, it is a lot of money.
Now that the money has been approved, it is time for the hyenas (politicians) to try and gather as much of it for themselves as possible. Locally, there will be 11 billion dollars earmarked for a car pool lane on the 405 Interstate freeway that runs through Los Angeles. My problem with all of this is that before we spend 11 billion dollars on a carpool lane, perhaps we should figure out if car pool lanes work or not. I personally do not think that they work, at all. Adding more lanes to a freeway does not necessarily alleviate congestion. The only way we can get rid of congestion, is to reduce the number of cars on the road. Increasing the amount of road, only serves to increase the number of cars on the road. What we need are alternatives. Instead of constructing a carpool lane, I would like to see a rail based mass transit system put into place. Especially on the 405, which runs right next to LAX. Currently there is no commuter rail going to LAX, that is preposterous!
References:
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California state elections, 2006
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List of countries by GDP (nominal)
