In a region where traffic is an all-consuming complaint, a half-cent sales tax increase to improve traffic flow might seem like a sure thing.
But in the final weeks before Tuesday's election, the Measure R campaign has devolved largely into a regional clash between politicians on the east and west sides of Los Angeles County, as squabbles have broken out over who gets the most projects.
Many elected officials from the San Gabriel Valley are lining up against the tax hike, fearing much tax money would go to the Westside's "Subway to the Sea" and not enough to their own needs. Officials on the Westside are backing Measure R, saying it is the best shot at improving the region's notorious traffic.
But among commuters, there appears much less of an east-west divide and a more nuanced view of Measure R. Traffic is miserable everywhere, they say, and everyone has a horror story. Although many are skeptical that Measure R will help their commutes -- maybe their children's one day -- others say they will vote for anything that may reduce traffic congestion.
"I like the idea of a subway, but I probably won't use it because I drive," said Westside legal secretary Sandra Spiegel, who already voted for Measure R on her mail-in ballot.
And she's dubious about things getting much better. On Wednesday, she left her home in the San Fernando Valley at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at her Wilshire Boulevard office at 9:30 a.m. She doesn't even try to fight her way home during rush hour. "I work late because I don't want to be in traffic," Spiegel said.
Despite the widely held view that the Westside has the county's worst gridlock, traffic statistics from the California Department of Transportation and the Freeway Performance Measurement System at UC Berkeley suggest that drivers on the east side of town aren't doing much better.
Although parts of the 10 and 405 freeways carry more than 300,000 vehicles daily -- a very high load -- so does the 210 Freeway in Pasadena. And in the last two months, the two freeway bottlenecks where motorists experienced the worst delays during the morning commute were in the San Gabriel Valley, on the 10 and 210.
Ranked four and five on the list: the westbound 10 at Robertson and La Cienega boulevards, respectively.
Measure R has generated much excitement on the Westside because it is considered the first concrete funding step for a Wilshire Boulevard subway, which for decades has been the Holy Grail for those trying to reduce congestion.
