Legislators turn a deaf ear

ISN'T IT IRONIC that no matter how many times citizens speak out, our legislators just turn a deaf ear and continue on with their money-making schemes. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission even asked us to e-mail them our vote, for or against the toll roads. By noon 80 percent of the votes were against the toll lanes and asking for trains and express buses.

The public is begging for alternatives to burning fossil fuel, building more highways and cars.

The fact is we need the independence to commute at different times. It is almost impossible to carpool. Decent, clean, safe, convenient, affordable mass transit is the answer. Toll lanes are just another way to divide the rich and poor.

Take the proposed $3.7 billion for toll lanes and build high-speed trains and green, express buses. Remember the electric streetcars, Greyhound and Peerless Stage buses?

We actually had these, in this country before GM and Big Oil took over. When are we going to stand up to them the way we did Big Tobacco?

Cheap gas and more drilling for oil is not the answer. The air quality is getting worse every day and it isn't just the fires. Not all bad air is visible but our lungs and burning eyes tell us.

The oil refineries want to expand their facilities. The Port of Oakland is spewing tons of pollution every day. Are we going to let greed and ignorance destroy our civilization? It

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looks that way.

Norma J. Neto

Fremont

There are other solutions

GIVE ME A break! You want to relieve traffic congestion and think that toll lanes is the answer? What logic course did the planners of this take to think that this would lessen congestion on our roadways. Want to lessen congestion, make mass transit better, make carpooling more attractive to people, make the ferry service better, expand BART to encircle the entire Bay Area. Get the point?

Morris Soublet

Hayward

Better ways to spend funds

ANOTHER $800 MILLION on blacktop technology. Years of construction and more real estate lost for toll roads to be used only by those who can afford to use them?

Adding more roadways doesn't save fuel or spare the air. Adding cost to our daily lives doesn't help the economy. Technology in the not too distant future will likely obsolete major roadways in high populous areas.

Here's a thought, convert carpool lanes into auto-transport lanes with shuttles that transport dozens of small cars at a time that drive on — drive off the shuttle. Since I'm not going to give up my personal transportation, I would gladly pay for reduced wear and tear on my car and a much lower gas bill. If need be, I would run out and buy a smaller car that fits onto this system. I would get safe, reliable, paper reading time on the way to work.

OK, how much would that cost?

More ideas that benifit all "... . How about a separate lane for trucks, which otherwise make driving hazardous for all of us, slowing traffic, burning fuel, perpetuating horrendous accidents and backups.

I'm not just saying NO on toll roads, I'm pitching for a better use of the $800 million to help drive all of us into a safer, more cost effective future of commuting.

Jeff Gray

San Leandro

Let's improve our freeways

WE SHOULD NOT build special lanes for those lucky enough to afford the toll. The money for these projects is all taxpayer money, and it should be used to benefit all taxpayers by widening and improving our freeways so that everyone can benefit from less congestion, not just the rich. I don't believe that the tolls charged will ever be enough to pay for the added lanes, meaning that the average taxpayer will be subsidizing the rich.

We also need to eliminate special commuter lanes, since most of the people in these lanes are there illegally or just happen to have the required number of passengers. It is unfair for the majority of people whose circumstances don't permit car-pooling to be unable to use the highway lanes they have paid for with their taxes.

Dick Patterson

El Cerrito

Not in favor of the plan

I EMPHATICALLY AM not in favor of the plan to create express toll lanes to fight traffic congestion. Quite the contrary, it will not relieve traffic congestion but it will create MORE congestion. Look at how the diamond lanes add to the congestion! New Jersey removed their diamond lanes and that improved the traffic flow.

This is just a liberal trick to increase our taxes, why are we paying more for this highway when there is designated gasoline taxes to improve out roads?

Politicans simply cannot stand to see our money without spending it. I do not care what your label is, it is still an added tax to take our money.

If this passes, there will not be any "free" lanes left. We will all end up supporting this thieving plan.

The "committee" that proposed this plan, is just another layer of buracracy to interfer with our lives. Instead of this idiotic "plan," I would like to see more effort spent on drilling for offshore drilling including ANWR and more refineries being built to handle the extra petro that will be coming our way. Another thought for us open-minded conservatives, how about building some nucelear and hydroelectric plants for our engery crisis? Is that too much to ask for? Probably.

Wanda S. Antonelli

Castro Valley