Public project vs. private citizens

The Renzo Piano plan to modify and unite the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus is admirable in its attempt to preserve the existing structures while adding a new building to house the Eli Broad contemporary art collection and unifying it all with a pedestrian “spine” (“A New Design with a Spine,” May 2).

Nicolai Ouroussoff noted Piano’s guiding vision to be that of a medieval village. I find the vision to be particularly apt -- since I am a “villager” about to be affected by the decisions of the “aristocracy.” The traffic problem is particularly critical here in the Miracle Mile. Part of the LACMA plan requires the closure of Ogden Drive between Wilshire Boulevard and 6th Street.

I am a member of the Miracle Mile Residential Assn. and a 25-year resident of the area. Our association has repeatedly tried to get public officials to address the impact of the LACMA plan on traffic. Neither L.A. County nor the L.A. Department of Transportation have put forth plans to mitigate the impact of closing a neighborhood through-street, and the subsequent traffic pattern changes.

There is no doubt that LACMA needs to be fixed. I’m just asking that all factors be considered. Take into account the impact on the private citizen when proposing a public project. We need New World thinking applied to this problem -- not the romantic notions of revived medievalism.

Rod Freer

Los Angeles