LETTERS

Rail Benefits

Your coverage of Mayor Hahn’s support of a light rail project down Crenshaw Boulevard (Aug. 5 issue) did not mention two items that give the scheme regional significance far beyond invigorating the Crenshaw community: Exposition and LAX.

The MTA Board has already approved a light rail project down Exposition. By simply having a spur veer south from Exposition down Crenshaw and then veer into LAX on the old Harbor Subdivision tracks that cross Crenshaw, with only about six miles of new track Los Angeles could achieve a quick one-train, no-transfer ride from the airport to downtown.

Roger Christensen

Sherman Oaks

Food Fight

The issue of fast food restaurants in low-income neighborhoods (“Perry Seeks Limits on Proliferation of Fast Food Outlets, July 29) is not quite as simple as your article indicates.

Particularly oversimplified is the view of 17th Street Cafe owner Jack Srebnik, who is quoted as saying that it is up to the people who live in these neighborhoods to decide what restaurants should be located there.

As a resident in one of “these neighborhoods,” the West Adams/Crenshaw district, I can bear witness to the fact that every neighborhood organization in communities east of La Brea and south of Olympic has pleaded with developers and City Council members to get more sit-down, full service restaurants in our neighborhoods.

Sydney Weisman

Los Angeles

Express Lane Debate

What’s not mentioned in your article regarding the 405 Freeway reaching peak capacity (July 29) is that the newly constructed car pool lane was completed roughly at the same time capacity was reached. It is believed the primary motivation for building car pool lanes is that federal monies are given for doing so, not because they are proven successful. This bureaucracy costs the taxpayers money and ultimately creates congestion.

What’s more, in Los Angeles, Caltrans is unwilling to open car pool lanes to all traffic in non-peak hours even.

John G. Palla

Los Angeles