I’m Rick Caruso: This is why I want Los Angeles’ vote in the mayoral election to go to a referendum on transit.
My point is that we’re all part of the same team that needs to make a big enough impact, so that we can have a real transit-oriented development strategy for our city. To do this, we need to invest in public transit. That is the only way we’re going to grow, and the only way we can have a real sense of our own identity.
L.A.’s population has always been an important, positive element in this city’s overall vision. Now, it has a lot more weight. We’re the fastest-growing city in America, and we’re not even 40 years old. We have a lot of potential. But that potential is still being used to build a place that doesn’t work for people. And when we build for people, we get a lot more value.
We have a lot of great opportunities before us. Our history can be used to help us tell the story of our city. We don’t have to wait for our city’s story to begin at some unknown time in the future when development hasn’t yet taken place.
So what can we do to make our city more livable and more desirable? What’s on the other side of the L.A. Transit Village ballot measure?
The answer is a lot, and it has to do with transit. It means a lot more to me than the $40 million in tax increases that will be requested.
I know it is frustrating, that voters cannot see that we need to put our city on a path to real transit-oriented development. I know that it hurts. And I know that a lot of voters care deeply about transit. But it’s not about me.
It’s not about me. Because what makes the decision on the ballot interesting is that it’s not just any transit measure. If passed by the voters, it could be the first major change in L.A.’s transit history. It could be the first time voters have
