Creativity Needed To Solve L.A.'s Traffic Problems

"Are we going to continue down our current path, pouring money into gridlocked streets and freeways, bickering endlessly about our pathetic urban rail system?"

"Or are we going to embrace a grander -- and much costlier -- plan to redefine quality of life in Southern California?"

"In other words, subway or monorail?"

"It's estimated that the region's chronic congestion wallops the local economy to the tune of about $12 billion a year in lost wages, productivity and fuel. Businesses and consumers are pulling up stakes and heading elsewhere because road conditions have made life unbearable."

"Then there's the growing gap between Westside-generated jobs and the availability of affordable housing, forcing many workers to spend hours commuting from the Inland Empire and equally distant locations."