California repeatedly warned about spiking gas prices, fragile supply. But fixes never came and now the state’s gas supply is threatened by lack of pipeline capacity to keep up with demand
On a clear day in Los Angeles, a man walked across the 405 Freeway, past a billboard boasting of California highways, past the California Highway Patrol and the USC campus, and past a line of trucks full of garbage trucks and UPS trucks bearing the orange-and-black California Highway Patrol sticker, as drivers in the traffic on the road passed him by.
California has come to a head, and the price of gasoline is going through the roof. This time, California is in trouble. This time, California voters want to change the system. That’s the only way you can stop these problems; it’s just like having a bad mortgage: you can’t turn off the water.
But wait.
Here’s the thing: California has the worst gas prices in the country right now, ever. The state’s prices have hit $4 a gallon, a high that makes us almost impossible to drive in. The California Highway Patrol is warning that Californians, who have been driving around on the 405 Freeway for more than 30 years now, will be forced to drive in a highway that they do not understand. Drivers are reporting that the highways will be empty.
And gas prices will be so high that motorists will have to get rid of their cars.
The same is true for Los Angeles, too. After this week, it will be easier to drive in the city, and more expensive to drive in Los Angeles.
That’s exactly what California voters have said. There are some very good, long-term fixes: California should build more roads. And, as the state’s transportation commissioner, Bruce Nilles, pointed out, there are more bridges to be built, and more toll roads to be built. But these will not fix the skyrocketing prices for gasoline that will cause us to leave the roads empty for days.
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And there are bad, short-
