The libertarian nonprofit Reason Foundation released a plan Tuesday that aims to ease congestion in Southern California by constructing a network of toll road tunnels and expanding tolled express lanes across several counties.
Differing strategies to mitigate the region's gridlock have been emerging following debate over the Los Angeles Mobility Plan 2035, the city's long-range transportation blueprint to get Angelenos out of their cars by adding hundreds of miles of bus and bike lanes and, in some cases, reducing traffic lanes.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is investing billions of dollars in new rail projects and may soon ask county taxpayers to approve more funds via a November 2016 ballot measure. But the $700 billion Reason Foundation proposal steers clear of train, bike and pedestrian infrastructure and focuses on better facilitating car travel — although at a price.
Read the full story from KPCC’s Meghan McCarty here.
Guest:
Robert Poole, Director of Transportation at Reason Foundation. Former advisor to four presidential administrations on transportation issues
Hasan Ikhrata, Executive director of the Southern California Association for Governments