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SCAG kicks off LA County open houses in Culver City

June 16, 2015

A local resident observes Los Angeles County demographic data analysis provided by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in Culver City, Calif. (Brian Han/Korea Times)

A local resident observes Los Angeles County demographic data analysis and planning provided by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in Culver City, Calif. (Brian Han/Korea Times)

SCAG Chief of Research and Forecasting Dr. Simon Choi (Brian Han/Korea Times)

By Brian Han

LOS ANGELES — The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) made its first Los Angeles County stop on Monday at Culver City’s City Hall to publicly share its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Communities Strategy (STS) with residents.

The open house event bustled with locals who looked to familiarize themselves with current regional planning issues such as transportation and land use in the midst of ongoing population growth.

More importantly, residents were able to give direct feedback on the progress through both paper and electronic surveys.

“L.A. County is kind of a different animal from any other city in the U.S. especially when we’re talking about getting around town,” said West L.A. native Wendy Pillar. “I grew up here, I know how bad it can get, but I can also say that traveling around the city has gotten much better over the years. That being said there’s still a long way to go so I’m here to do my part.”

And SCAG takes each piece of feedback into careful consideration.

“We review every single response we get,” said SCAG Chief of Research and Forecasting Dr. Simon Choi. “The work we do directly affects the lives of over 18 million people in six counties so those surveys are very important to us.”

Dr. Choi has been involved with SCAG since 1991 and his research sets a foundation for the organization’s work in addressing a community’s immediate and long-term needs.

Those needs include housing, employment, environmental impact, public transit, infrastructure, etc. Things that are part of everyday life and can sometimes be taken for granted.

“Infrastructure, air quality, buses, these are not sexy topics of discussion,” resident Vicky Lisberger said while laughing. “But they affect the quality of life for my husband and my four kids. It took me an hour out of my day to come down here see what’s going on with my city. I think that’s worth it, don’t you?”

At the moment, SCAG’s plans extend as far as 2040 and it predicts that the population of L.A. County will increase by at least 1.6 million people in that time frame.

“Land use and transportation are our two biggest concerns right now,” Dr. Choi said. “We want those two areas to work in harmony with each other. On top of that, public health is very important. We also need to make sure that the people who live in these sensitive areas are safe from emissions that come from traffic.”

SCAG will continue holding open houses in each of the counties it represents including Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino, Imperial and Orange County.

A schedule of upcoming events can be seen at www.scagrtpscs.net/Pages/Meetings.aspx.