Gold Line Beats Cars and Buses to Chinatown

Regarding “Chinatown Awaits Gold Rush� (Aug. 22):

I visited Chinatown for the first time in more than three decades, spent money and dined and had an enjoyable time. The reason for my long absence was traffic and parking hassles.

The Gold Line has eliminated these problems. When I was a kid growing up in L.A. in the late 1940s and early ‘50s, my folks and I visited various shopping districts that were served by streetcars. Our three most frequently visited areas were Brand Boulevard in Glendale, Hollywood Boulevard and Chinatown.

I think most people would agree that unlike buses, which are narrow and cramped and give you a herky-jerky ride, trolleys are wider, smoother and, most of all, fun to ride. In 1955, when streetcars were replaced in a large portion of Los Angeles, my folks and I stopped visiting Chinatown and any other place where smelly, bouncy buses had replaced the trolleys.

Ralph Cantos

Los Angeles