[RAlossi]

Obviously, the only way LA has to grow is UP. There are several options that we can use to accomodate the growth:

1) We can build more freeways at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. These freeways will do nothing to lure us out of our cars, will increase pollution, and eventually will fill up with more of the aforementioned cars. Neighborhoods will be destroyed and divided.

2) We can do nothing at all. We've seen years of doing too little and doing nothing. We've gone as far as we can with this. "If you don't build it, they won't come" obviously hasn't been the case with LA. We didn't build "it" [or we built very little of "it" --infrastructure, that is] and they still came. Homes are unaffordable, traffic is horrible, quality of life is down the toilet.

3) We can put a moratorium on growth. High cost of housing, overcrowded conditions, economic stagnation.

4) We can build more mass transit. The only way to get people out of their cars is to build more subways, light rail, and commuter rail. Each individual project as a single entity may not be the all-encompassing solution to the problem of traffic, but taken as part of the whole, it puts a significant dent in the problem. Every mile of rail laid adds exponentially to the trips taken on transit. It helps make rail travel more convenient for people along the route. A subway extension along Wilshire will not only be useful for those that commute to Wilshire, but it connects that region with the rest of the Metro Rail system. Someone living or working there can now travel to/from Long Beach, Pasadena, East LA, Woodland Hills, Norwalk, Hollywood. This is the only real way to accomodate the growth that LA will experience over the next couple decades.