One huge problem with this department is that they have made a huge political calculation: that private automobiles are the most important thing to every Angeleno, and every other interest is subservient to car speeds and throughput on our streets.

This political calculation stems from an arrogance enshrined in the Institute for Transportation Engineering’s fabric and the curriculum of nearly every traffic engineering class in the U.S.

This isn’t a top-down, nor bottom-up, idea in the LADOT. The LADOT “is” this idea: a big waging middle finger at anyone who thinks their lungs, their life, or their economic interests might be more important than a bunch of cars being able to speed through their neighborhood.