Transportation is a central topic of life in Los Angeles, with urgent repercussions for the world at large. We seek city leaders who prioritize exceptional and affordable public transportation, street safety, and adequate active transportation infrastructure while centering issues related to affordable transit-oriented housing development and dealing with the city’s crisis of hit and runs. Before voting for our next L.A. mayor, we needed to know where the candidates stand on the essential issue of transportation equity. In a collaboration with CicLAvia, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Climate Resolve, Streets For All, Los Angeles Walks, Act-LA, POWER, IKAR, Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement, Pacoima Beautiful, and MoveLA, L.A. TACO presents a candid questionnaire given to all of L.A.’s mayoral candidates, with their answers in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. All questionnaires sent out to candidates were identical and all responses were provided by the candidates via email.
Getting Around in L.A.
How often do you walk, bike, ride transit, or otherwise get to your destinations without driving in L.A.? How would you judge the condition and importance of each of those transportation modes? How important is it for the next L.A. Mayor to experience all available transportation modes?
I am lucky that I can walk a lot in my neighborhood, and take “ride share” scooters to many locations nearby, and do. However, as many Angelenos know from first-hand experience, I am unable to utilize public transit options effectively as a full-time candidate for Mayor because of how difficult the system makes it to use them. Transit times are too long; routes are often incoherent and inaccessible to where I need to go; and I am beholden to a campaign schedule that does not allow me the luxury of time in transit. I have experienced and continue to use all options besides driving when available, but driving is still — for me and too many other Angelenos — an absolute necessity. In the meantime, the condition of each of these transportation models in Los Angeles is simply deplorable when compared to other cities. Far too few neighborhoods are walkable; far too many communities are shut out of the public transit network; our train/subway stops are too far apart; and transfer between systems (bus, subway, light rail, etc.) is too burdensome. We do not make it easy to use public transport in Los Angeles, or safe enough in enough places to use options besides driving, such as biking or walking. We are in this position because decades of empty promises and failed leadership from career politicians has put us here. Only a true outsider can take the reins to move us forward.