To the editor: Jenny Jarvie’s article raised important issues about a declining population in Los Angeles County (“People leaving Los Angeles in growing numbers, and it could ‘haunt us for decades,’” April 9). On the other hand, no consideration was given to the benefits of a stable or even short-term population decline.
Los Angeles County, the most populated county in America, is more than sufficiently crowded enough now to impact housing prices, air quality, demand for local services and traffic, all of which are likely among the most unfavorable levels in the nation.
A pause in local growth may allow for the stabilization of a quality of life that seems to be eroding, plus allow for housing construction to catch up with housing needs. Additionally, various public transportation projects need breathing room to be completed. They offer the prospect of stabilizing or even reducing street and freeway traffic.
Since it is apparent that the Los Angeles metropolitan area is already crowded, let’s not wish for more of the same. As a retired economic development consultant, I believe that taking a break from population growth would offer benefits that have been ignored. And don’t worry: With the great Southern California weather, any decrease in migration here will likely be temporary.
Gary Wartik, Palm Desert