Accommodating Growth

* Re “Encourage Smart Growth,” Ventura County editorial, June 4.

I am encouraged that The Times speaks out for “smart growth,” as it is painfully obvious that “no growth” is an impossible dream being preached by eco-Quixotes chasing windmills.

If Ventura County is projected to grow by 166,457 (a figure I feel will be on the low side) in the next 20 years, something more than “Katy, bar the door” will have to be in place. Hopefully, communities such as Santa Paula and Fillmore will have enough wisdom and fortitude to sidestep their pending SOAR initiatives.

What concerns me is what’s left unsaid. There must be smart growth applied to our transportation infrastructure. We continue to add county head count but seem to ignore arterial pavement transportation needs this people surge demands. Public transportation is not the answer. It will never replace single motorized movement in Southern California. As reported in earlier Times articles, we are continuing to let our basic road system deteriorate while chasing the multi-passenger travel illusion.

Short of establishing a tyrannical decree, Southern Californians will not give up their freedom of mobility. As Ventura County new-car dealers sell more than 40,000 new cars every year and contribute a sizable portion of every taxing municipality’s budget, I would say that focusing on how to efficiently accommodate both current and future residents’ motorized movement share equal billing with “smart growth.”

JOHN A. MASTERSON

Ventura