Busway

David Elgenson’s letter supporting the busway route on Oxnard Street as opposed to Chandler Boulevard because it is denser feeds into a common misunderstanding (Letters to the Valley Edition, April 22). The Oxnard route actually is projected to show a lower ridership than Chandler. This is because the Oxnard route is longer, slower, actually gridlocked at times, and does not benefit from a 100-foot-wide tree-lined median.

The east-west busway needs to be thought of in its entirety as an efficient, direct parallel to the Ventura Freeway. If it is slowed down, diluted and detoured by unreasonable hysteria, it loses its appeal to potential riders all across the Valley from Van Nuys to Woodland Hills.

ROGER CHRISTENSEN

Sherman Oaks