Metrolink and Public Transit

The extensive commuter rail systems in Eastern cities do not have at-grade crossings, except in remote areas. Frequent service, high-speed trains, and at-grade crossings are an unsafe combination. The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission knows this, but in the commission’s zeal to justify its own existence and tax burden, the LACTC has rushed (with media endorsement) to place an under-engineered commuter rail system before the public. The public would benefit enormously if the commission’s rail plan can be subjected to a little more science, a little less cheerleading, and a lot less politics.

JAMES E. MOORE II, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Civil Engineering, USC