ALPERN AT LARGE-Perhaps rightfully, and perhaps wrongfully, I've been accused of being a "pipe-dreamer" because of my desire to create a rail transportation system which serves the greater Los Angeles area, and which would serve our 21st Century economic and environmental needs. Yet our recent UCLA flood shows our failure to fix our infrastructure has forced us to prioritize on what we need first and foremost.
Yes, the ideas of an Expo Line and a Green Line to LAX and other ideas might have seemed like "pipe dreams" but arguably weren't THAT outrageous when one considers the hideously-congested I-10 Freeway and the hideously-difficult-to-access LAX. And clearly these were "pipe dreams" that were shared by enough Metro staff and boardmembers to prioritize the Expo and Crenshaw/LAX light rail lines.
But the need to fix wherever and however we can for our roads, our freeways, our sidewalks...and our water and utility pipe network is no "pipe dream". What is similarly true is that our City and other leadership need to hold off on long-term visioning and keep their eye on the disasters unfolding under our feet.
Ditto for our state, which has to figure out how to back off on the costs of a $70 billion (or more) high-speed rail plan when we have trouble just agreeing on a $7.2 billion water plan. Speaking as a former (and, to a large degree, current) high-speed rail supporter, it's not inappropriate to keep the $37 billion high-speed rail plan down to $37 billion.
But when our pipes start bursting and our DWP budget also starts bursting, then the "pipe dreams" need to be held in check with the understanding that we can't always have everything our way.
Certainly, flexibility is good and flexibility is smart. Asking what we CAN build for a statewide high-speed rail system for $37 billion is reasonable--particularly since the Metrolink and Caltrain system, as well as Amtrak links between and beyond the two, can get much of the job done--to the chagrin of many of my fellow rail advocates, but to the relief of the taxpayers who now MUST prioritize WATER both at the state and the city level.
Furthermore, the distracting "environmental" and "job creation" canards that Sacramento and Downtown LA pronounce that suggest they can quantitatively and effectively control climate change, and tell us how best to live, can't keep being rammed down an electorate who tires of being bamboozled just to make a few activists happy and to make a few connected folks rich.
For example, most LA County residents who favored an Expo Line and rail system were decidedly NOT into overdeveloping along the Expo Line corridor. Some mild densification yes, but not the "overdevelopment from hell" that seems to be the order of the day.
And not EVERYONE wants to be a renter, because while more and more of us are discovering that "lowered unemployment" and "low inflation" are the two biggest lies facing our modern times, having a chance at being a landowner is part of the American Dream. Being forced to be a renter, rather than choosing to be a renter, whether it's transit-oriented or not, is anything but truly American.
The "environmental" and "affordable housing" paradigms being rammed down our throats with respect to rail transit have nothing to do why Angelenos opened (and might again open) their wallets to pay for rail. It's because traffic is terrible, and we want another option to get from here to there; overdeveloping and making traffic worse was never on the agenda of the taxpayers.
And unlike medium-sized cities like Salt Lake City, where rail is being promoted to encourage development despite relatively low ridership, Los Angeles is creating rail projects to play catchup in order to keep some semblance of mobility alive.
Furthermore, we wanted and still want public works projects affordable--for those in the know, the original Expo Line and Wilshire Subway Line contractors burned Metro (and the taxpayers!) with bait-and-switch and substandard work. We want good and affordable contractors, and are willing to pay to get it.
So the California High-Speed Rail Authority would make an already tough sell to the taxpayers worse and go with Tutor-Saliba, but the decision to choose Skanska for the Purple Line Subway and Downtown Light Rail Connector Subway makes much more sense.
Because taxpayers, even if they're hurting (and they really are) truly WILL pay more for good public works but they have to make sense, and they have to be at the right price, and--most of all--to be in the right order.
So when we need to cough up $15 billion for our pipes, and who-knows-how-much for our roads, the need to weigh City and State budgets and our other priorities MUST be evaluated and reviewed.
Hard decisions must be made, and while it makes political sense for Governor Jerry Brown to not debate his Republican opponent Neel Kashkari, it is both irresponsible and cowardly leadership for him to at avoid debating these fiscal issues and priorities in front of an electorate that deserves better.
Whether it's a Democrat, or a Republican, or anyone to lead and make the tough decisions it's of little importance.
{module [862]} {module [662]}
On the other hand, the need to actually lead and make those decisions is of great importance. Freezing salaries, reducing head count at the DWP and backing off of unaffordable "environmental" goals that make little difference to our environment are not critical decisions that are avoidable or can be delayed.
Unless, of course, you think that the example of Detroit is a reasonable one to follow.
So, as someone who's been accused of being a pipe dreamer but also accused of being a pragmatist, I can both relate, and urge us all, to rethink our pipe dreaming and focus both on our bottom line and our most urgent priorities.
Our economy, environment and quality of life will NOT be improved, or even sustained, if we can't do the right things to keep our City and State healthy and strong.
Keep the politics, the play-acting and the pipe-dreaming down. We need to fix our pipes first!
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] . He also does regular commentary on the Mark Isler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 67
Pub: Aug 19, 2014
