“Making us pay to use roads that we paid to build.” (Dylan Nguyen)
“Why is it called “FREEWAYS.” (Lee’Nah)
“Paying to sit in traffic is crazy” (michlasssss)
“Is the toll road will get me to my destination faster then I’ll pay” (Micaela)
Residents argue that the county government does not have a public transportation system in place to reduce traffic congestion, and that imposing congestion pricing is not a practical solution, but rather another tax on vehicle owners.
The county government’s decision was met with more than 200 comments from second-generation Korean-Americans and Asians on TikTok’s “katchup_news,” which specializes in English-language video news.
“Another tax on the poor!” wrote one reader, Jose, while another, Erika, commented, “Born and raised in LA but these things are making me want to leave LA already :/”
The LA Times also reported on the outpouring of opposition to the freeway congestion pricing on June 8. The article noted that the idea has been met with resistance from residents who feel unsafe using public transportation due to various accidents and incidents.
According to the article, there were 1,500 first-degree incidents (murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery) on the LA Metro last year.
There were also more than 1,700 second-degree incidents, which include vandalism, stalking, and assault. In addition, 21 people were reported to have died while riding the system last year, six of them as a result of violent crime.
However, the agency plans to review a congestion pricing study that will be released this summer and bring it to the board of directors for a vote as early as next year.
LA Metro is considering congestion pricing on three freeways: the 10 from Santa Monica to downtown L.A., the 110·10·101 downtown on-ramp, and the 5 and 170 from the San Fernando Valley to West LA.
Currently, most of the freeways in Southern California are free to use, but some sections, such as the 10, 110, 405, and 91, have been converted to express lanes, which are toll roads and require payment.
Meanwhile, congestion pricing policies have already been implemented in London, Stockholm, and Singapore.
BY NICOLE CHANG [support@koreadaily.com]
