CSUN On Point

It’s no secret that Los Angeles is one of most heavily congested cities in America. Traffic congestion, that is. According to INRIX, the average Los Angeles driver spends 102 hours stuck in traffic during rush hour.

Los Angeles also has an extensive public transportation system, L.A Metro, that  has been around for almost fifty years. Metro has worked over the years to plan and implement new projects to help traffic congestion. But a question that many drivers consider while sitting in gridlocked traffic is, how did we get to this point?

“One of the reasons includes the disparity between jobs and housing, [and the] balance [between] where people live, and where people work,” said Naresh Amatya, Southern California Association of Governments Transportation Manager. “[Others reasons are] just the sheer number of people who live in this region, and the fact that our infrastructure is really overburdened with the number of people that we have in the region.”

Although the traffic on highways, freeways, and side street detours seems worse everyday, Los Angeles is pushing for number one in terms of the public transportation system, and Metro has been promoting alternatives from walking to high speed rail. Metro has also approved the 28 by 28 plan: 28 projects planned to handle the needs of those attending the 2028 Olympics.

“It’s an effort to put some of the key projects [ahead] — not ahead of the commitment we made in Measure M — but to highlight them, in case there are additional resources that can help to move them forward,” said Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Metro Board Member. “So that in 28 by 2028, [for] both the Olympics and the Paralympics, that we will have a net of rail systems in place.” The plan is to bring in public-private partnerships in order to make the whole system work.

“In the San Fernando Valley, we are looking at the East San Fernando Valley light rail project,” said Dave Perry, Policy Deputy for County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, “[and at] the Sepulveda Pass, which is obviously a very big project, a very big deal for the thousands and thousands of commuters everyday that are going through the 405 corridor. There is North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT connecter. There’s a lot of great stuff in there.”

The Sepulveda Transit Corridor is going to provide a high capacity transit line to connect the San Fernando Valley with the West Side and ultimately with LAX. Metro is looking at various concepts and refining them. One of these concepts compares the 110 minute drive on the freeway through the Sepulveda Pass, to the 15-25 minute commute Metro is hoping to provide.

“Metro is trying to make a dramatic difference in people’s commute times,” Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero said.

Many people want to see these changes happen soon, over the next couple years.

“I think there are still a lot of places missing the amount of transit that they really need, and maybe more frequent service,” said CSUN Professor of Urban Studies and Planning Yvette Lopez-Ledesma. “This would encourage a movement towards more transit. It’s not just up to one agency to handle this; it’s really about several agencies.”

Public transportation will continue to grow in Los Angeles, but ultimately it is up to the public to make the decision to leave their cars at home, and decide between the comfort of their own cars or no traffic. It all comes down to safety and comfort as well.

“It’s not just about getting to the bus stop,” Lopez-Ledesma said. “It’s about what happens when you arrive at that bus stop. Is there shade? Are you protected? Do you feel safe?”

Moderator: Enrie Amezcua

Producer: Coraima Hurtado

Anchor: Gloria Alas

Social Media Editor: Karissa Preciado

Reporters: Gloria Alas, Enrie Amezcua, Christopher Farias, Darya Hariri, Jamontae Hickman, Coraima Hurtado, Karissa Preciado

Los Angeles is the most congested city in the nation, according to INRIX, a transportation and traffic data analysis company.

That’s one reason L.A. is pushing for improved public transportation options to encourage more residents to get out of their cars and use public transportation.

After voters approved Measure R in 2008, L.A. made some steps to improve its public transportation options. But one key part of town was left out of those measures: the San Fernando Valley.

Now, city and transit officials are trying to change that. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has proposed a new $120 billion plan that would include funding for a tunnel through the Sepulveda Pass, toll roads on the 105 and 405 freeways, and extensions to other light rail routes in the city.

At Cal State Northridge, some 59 percent of students drive alone to school and 73 percent of the faculty and staff drive to school, according to a recent study done by CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability. Some 200,000 vehicles come to campus in an average week.

“In the Valley, public transportation has been overlooked for years,” said Ken Premo, the manager of Support Services for Associated Students at CSUN. “There is limited service, and any student who comes to the university knows that they can’t easily get from place to place. There’s not a lot of stops and there’s not a lot of options.”

It can take some students up to two hours one way to get to campus via public transportation, Premo said. The students also have to make transfers on and off buses multiple times in order to get to campus.

“A robust transit system that serves the needs of our students means a student would be able to better balance a very busy class schedule and a part time job,” CSUN’s President Dr. Dianne Harrison said at the Valley Transportation Summit in March.

But not everyone thinks adding more public transit options is the solution. The Metropolitan Transit Authority reported in January that it lost more than 10 percent of its boardings from 2006 to 2015. The Times also said Metro has fewer boardings than it did three decades ago.

Larry Isrow, CSUN’s Parking and Transportation Services Manager, said ridership has declined across the region because transit routes aren’t convenient.

“We did a study on campus that showed that 57 percent of people would be inclined to take the bus if they only had to take one bus,” Isrow said. “Once you have to start making transfers, it becomes inconvenient and too time consuming, and people won’t do that.”

According to CSUN data, half of the university’s population lives within a ten mile radius from campus. That’s why Isrow believes CSUN should be a transportation hub.

“We would like to see the transit center connect with the proposed East Valley Transit Corridor via Nordhoff Street,” Isrow said. “We’d also like to see the [CSUN] transit center have improvements made to it, so we could increase the volume and number of lines that are coming into there.”

State Senator Bob Hertzberg, a Democrat representing the 18th District in the San Fernando Valley, agreed that CSUN should be a transportation hub.

“If you go and show a big picture map of the Valley, and you include a bus rapid transit coming down Nordhoff and one coming up Reseda, it sends a message that the Northwest Valley is included as part of this larger transportation plan,” Hertzberg said. “The Northeast Valley benefits because so many students from CSUN come from the Northeast Valley. It fundamentally completes the picture of the San Fernando Valley.”

While cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C. may have been built for public transportation use, L.A. has more suburban ground to cover and may seem better suited for the car. But CSUN Urban Studies and Planning Professor Craig Olwert said it is not too late for L.A. to get into the public transportation game.

“The subway system has been fairly successful and the Orange Line has been very successful,” Olwert said. “There is a demand for [public transit] and as we keep allowing more high density to be built around those stations, eventually you’ll start seeing an increase in ridership.”

Ultimately, the decision to bring more transit options to the Valley may be be left in the hands of voters. If the new plan is approved by the Metro Board of Directors in June, it will go on the November ballot, where it will need two-thirds approval to pass.

Moderator: Jarvis Haren

Anchor: Mariah Robinson

Producer: Jarvis Haren

Social Media Editors: Ayo Adelaja and Haley Kramer

Reporters: Ayo Adelaja, Harry Bennett III, Jarvis Haren, Valerie Hernandez, Sofia Levin and Mariah Robinson

After 20 years on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Zev Yaroslavsky is leaving office.

That leaves his seat on the notoriously entrenched board open, and
candidates are vying to represent the third district, which stretches
from the West Valley to West L.A.

With issues like business development, homelessness and transportation on the
plate, whoever gets the seat will have a lot on his or her hands.

One candidate, former Santa Monica mayor Bobby Shriver, said that an
infusion of new political blood will allow for positive change.

“The current state of play needs significant reform,” he said. “It
keeps you up at night, but it also makes you pretty outraged.”

Former state legislator Sheila Kuehl, also vying for the seat, said
that reform can be significant because of how much the board oversees.

“The county has a lot of responsibilities that people don’t know
anything about,” she said. “Healthcare, mental health, foster kids,
transportation, environment. Just a whole panoply of issues.”

For candidate John Duran, one of the most important responsibilities
of the county is encouraging business.

“Government doesn’t create wealth,” the West Hollywood councilmember
said. “Government relies on other people creating wealth so we can tax
part of it and use that tax money to provide social services.”

Kuelh said that the county itself is a powerful tool for employment.

“We have 100,000 people working for the county,” she said. “That’s an
important workforce. That’s an important aspect for avoiding
unemployment.”

But Shriver said the recent relocation of Toyota’s headquarters from
Torrance to Texas was indicative of a greater problem.

“I think we should have competed to keep them here,” he said.

“I think we’ve lost 200,000 jobs here in L.A. In the last 20 years,”
he said. “That’s not the result of the recession; that’s the result of
capital, private capital, leaving the area.”

Kuelh said that developing county public transit could create jobs–and
improve transportation throughout the county.

“I think the light rail is essentially coming back to Los Angeles,”
she said. “It was very different when people could take public
transportation.”

Shriver said that, although an improved transit system would be a boon
for the county, it would be a long term solution.

“The subway to the airport is great, 10 or 15 years in the future,” he said.

A near term solution that worked in Santa Monica was giving Santa
Monica College students free rides on the Big Blue Bus system, Shriver
said.

“Although that hasn’t solved the traffic problem heading east at
night, it certainly has made a significant contribution to offloading
the roads there and decreasing the amount of the money being spent on
new parking structures,” he said.

Duran said that more Metro stops could be a solution, but the process of creating
them often gets bogged down by political red tape.

“To get from the city of Santa Monica to the 405 during rush hour
takes an hour. It is three miles,” he said. “There is no reason that
should exist. But it exists because of political compromise.”

Duran said the county should be doing more to encourage the arts.

“In some ways, we’ve been somewhat neglectful, waiting for students to come to the arts rather than taking arts out to the students,” he said.

“It should definitely be a priority,” Kuelh agreed.

More than that, it’s very possible because L.A. County owns and
operates its own theaters, symphonies, and museums, she said.

“The LAC in LACMA is L.A. County,” she added.

Shriver said that arts have always been an important part of Los
Angeles culture and economy.

“Someone once said that more people in Los Angeles make their living
off imagination than anywhere else in the country,” he said. “We want
to keep that energy here. We want to keep the imagination business
alive and strong. The county should be doing a lot to make that
happen.”

Election day for the third district seat is June 3. If a candidate
receives more than 50 percent of the vote, he or she will be elected
to the board of supervisors. If no candidate receives 50 percent of
the vote, a runoff will be held in November.

Moderator: Hannah Townsley

Producer: Colin Newton

Anchor: Nelssie Carillo

Reporters: Hannah Townsley, Nelssie Carillo, Judith Retana, Mahina Haina, Adam Schumes and Colin Newton

Social Media Editors: Mahina Haina, Judith Retana, Adam Schumes and Jamie Gonzaga