Originally Posted by
BillBurn
I agree that it doesn't seem to make sense to green light this road reconfiguration until A) they are sure they are actually going to build C0 and C9 B) they finalize the designs of C0 and C9 (what if they want to change the design such that it requires a new roadway config? eg MSC South looks a lot different from the inital design) C) they are 100% confident it won't create problems during the Olympics D) they have some experience with what the actual impact of the people mover et. al. is on traffic within the horseshoe (which one would think could inform the roadway design decisions to some extent).
All this has to be apparent to the LAWA staff as well. One reason I could see them wanting to push ahead is if there was some kind of federal grant money that will expire if they don't start construction. Does anyone know if that's the case? Otherwise this seems like pretty ill-advised timing.
I'm pretty sure the project is to be funded from LAWA revenue entirely.
The biggest issue to me is that the EIR clearly projects that this will make traffic
worse in the horseshoe... And it is obvious if you really think about it. The vehicle capacity of the horseshoe is limited - you can't add anymore lanes or create anymore curb drop off real estate. So allowing more cars into the horseshoe (which is what this project sole intent now that C0 and T9 are cancelled) is going to inevitably result in more congestion inside. It's kind of idiotic to continue pursuing this project.
LAWA should be designing the roadways access to reduce demand, not encourage it. Let the Peoplemover work for a few years and then study the traffic pattern. Implement congestion pricing so traffic doesn't exceed the holding capacity of the horseshoe.