Opinion: LA Should Reject ‘Misguided’ Car-Centric Policies

Even as the city highlights clean energy and transportation for the 2028 Olympics, Metro and Caltrans move forward with plans to expand highways.

1 minute read

September 11, 2024, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Interstate 5 freeway in Los Angeles, California.

Walter Cicchetti / Adobe Stock

In a piece in Streetsblog Los Angeles, Wes Reutimann argues that plans to expand roadways in Los Angeles County will only exacerbate the air quality problems the region already faces. “Yet Metro and Caltrans are still moving forward with plans to expand highways across LA, in a fruitless effort to ‘relieve congestion’ once and for all.”

Reutimann points out that those plans will disproportionately affect communities along major freeways that are already some of the nation’s most polluted. “According to the CA Air Resources Board’s 2017 Scoping Plan, we will neither reach our air quality nor our climate goals unless we reduce how much we drive. Seven years later we have yet to align our transportation spending with science.”

Reutimann suggests that Metro and Caltrans could make better use of existing highway footprints to add tolled or HOV lanes and spend the savings on maintenance and multimodal projects. “Given everything we know now, more pollution, displacement, and destruction cannot still be an option. As L.A. prepares to host what’s touted as the greenest Olympic Games yet, the Metro Board should turn the page on this history of misguided, myopic, and auto-centric transportation planning.”

Monday, September 9, 2024 in Streetsblog Los Angeles

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

View of dense apartment buildings on Seattle waterfront with high-rise buildings in background.

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents

The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

3 hours ago - Real Change

Aerial view of suburban housing near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing

Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

4 hours ago - Shelterforce Magazine

Green bike share bikes parked in a row on a commercial street with outdoor dining and greenery.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive

Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

5 hours ago - Cities Today