[magila]

It would take a lot more than $1B to make mass transit viable for a significant percentage of those who currently drive on the 405. Just putting in a light rail line here or there wouldn't do shit because few people's destinations would be within walking distance of the stations. You'd also need to massively increase bus service to even have a chance at making a significant dent in car traffic. For better or worse, LA's low density means vast swaths of the metro area would be cost prohibitive to connect with mass transit.

[revelation]

Well, yes, if you want to desperately make sure nothing ever changes on this front, $1B for road widening is a perfectly reasonable investment.

Cities are growing, suburbs are dying, you can spend the money now or face the meltdown later.

[Gargoyle]

What happens to cities when the jobs have been automated out of them?

There's the meltdown on the horizon.