LaBonge blasts lack of foresight in Valley transit planning

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LaBonge blasts lack of foresight in Valley transit planning
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI


City Councilmember Tom LaBonge addressed members of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) and guests at the group’s monthly Newsmaker Connection meeting December 6 at their Van Nuys offices.

LaBonge held a casual forum to discuss urban development and infrastructure, mainly concerning the foresight – or lack thereof – in transit planning. Event attendees included city planners, developers, and NBC employees with an interest in pending projects in the councilmember’s district.

“We are starting to change our lives because of the traffic,” LaBonge said, referring to the 250 miles of freeway in Los Angeles County as compared with only 18 miles of heavy rail. He described effective public transportation systems such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), whose extensive under- and above-ground connections from San Francisco to Livermore could provide a model for Los Angeles.

“I believe in a subway to the sea, but also believe in the subway to USC and to Santa Clarita and everywhere else.”

He stressed that city officials should not skew transit development in favor of downtown commuters and should instead create balance by considering public transit options for residents who travel from the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Valley, as one example. He also advised drivers to look for ways to incorporate public transportation into their lives.

LaBonge criticized what he saw as a lack of foresight in some areas, such as the decision not to install a subway stop at the Hollywood Bowl. He voiced hopes to propose a connector from the 101 to the 170 Freeway in that area.

Turning to the NBC/Universal project, LaBonge said “everyone’s upset about a lot of things in our community now because every last lot is being built on.” Many residents associations and neighborhood councils have ardently opposed the plans.

LaBonge noted that the Staples Center proved successful because of the grid layout providing options for drivers – “something which the Lankershim-lined parcels lack. This invites traffic congestion and begs the building of freeway connectors.”

If NBC/Universal had proper foresight regarding the project, the councilmember said, developers could have purchased the Braille Institute Youth Center, which had closed down, or the Hannah Barbera lot, which would have provided more options for drivers to get onto the freeway. The area is now only served by one off-ramp and no freeway on-ramps.

LaBonge said another reason for the uproar over many of the pending projects in the east San Fernando Valley is that developers aim to build to the maximum of the code – something that needs to be reconciled by city officials based on “what the city streets can handle, for what the neighborhood can handle.”

The councilmember touted the vision of people such as William Mulholland, who designed the Los Angeles aqueduct 100 years ago to funnel water into the San Fernando Valley. LaBonge referred to Mulholland’s work as an example of long-term vision that must be applied to modern day issues of transit and mobility.