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L.A. County is to Orange County as Public Transit is to Freeways
On the 405 Freeway... | Photo by atomicshakespeares via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
A little dispute is happening in Orange County near the L.A. County border. Residents are starting to get sick of the over-and-over-again mentality of once again widening a freeway (two lanes this year, another two in ten years). The problem is along the 405 Freeway between Irvine and the L.A. County border where 300,000 people commute daily.
In examining the issue, Tami Abdollah at the L.A. Times notesthat "the situation underscores a basic philosophical difference between the counties." That is to say L.A. County is more focused on public transit--such as the recent Gold Line extension and the upcoming Expo Line between downtown and Culver City--and Orange County is focused on freeway and surface street improvements.
"L.A. is more transit-oriented; Orange County is more freeway-oriented," said Peter Buffa, chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority, to the Times.
However, if you look at the 405 Freeway between the 101 and 10--over the Sepulveda Pass--public transit solutions are hardly on the radar. In fact, freeway improvements in the section will begin next month and it's not train tracks or even sky buckets.
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