A closer look
Los Angeles originally boasted the largest and most efficient electric railway system in the entire world during the 1920s before completely destroying it to build endless, soul-crushing freeways. The Pacific Electric Railway, famously known as the Red Cars, featured over a thousand miles of track connecting virtually every corner of Southern California, from the beaches of Santa Monica to the inland valleys. However, the rise of the personal automobile and intense lobbying from tire, oil, and car companies caused ridership to slowly decline, leading urban planners to systematically dismantle the tracks in favor of concrete highways. By the 1960s, the once-glorious transit network was completely eradicated, replaced by a permanent state of gridlock that defines modern Los Angeles culture to this very day. It is a wonderfully tragic irony that modern city officials are now spending billions desperately trying to rebuild a fraction of the exact same rail system they aggressively paved over
