Ethan N. Elkind has some advice for the city of Los Angeles, currently underway on the construction of a multibillion-dollar rail network project. “Rail is expensive to build, operate and maintain compared with other forms of transit,” writes Elkind in an op-ed for Monday’s L.A. Times. “It only becomes cost-effective with high ridership. And the best way to boost ridership is to locate new jobs, housing and retail near stations.” Elkind is the author of the new book, Railtown: The Fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City, and has been studying the way the city has started to reinvent itself by developing compact neighborhoods adjacent to transit. Read the article to learn the three policy changes “Angelenos should insist on” in order to avoid past mistakes of rail development.
