Commentary: Transit-Focused Community Plan on Track to Failure

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Commentary submitted by Hollywood resident George Abrahams.

A community plan will fail if it does not account for the reality of human nature or have regard for human desires. All living creatures are by nature autonomous beings. We want to go where we want, when we want and how we want, and live where we want. We will not tolerate being forced to go only where public transits wants to take us, only when public transit is running or only by the means that public transit make available.

The US Census American Communities Survey proved that in Los Angeles public transit takes 1.73 times longer than by car alone and that only 11% of people prefer multi-unit housing but LA has 40% multi-unit housing.

Among the major metropolitan areas, the densest urban area is Los Angeles, at a density of 6,999 per square mile. That is why there has been a 7.4% population decrease in Hollywood over the last 20 years and all the mixed-use transit oriented development projects are failures. Hollywood-Highland lost $450 million, only 29 of 143 condos at Hollywood-Vine have been sold after 2 years and half of the commercial space at Hollywood-Western is still vacant after 12 years. You can avoid reality, but you can’t avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.

— George Abrahams, Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association

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