Pacific Electric was glorious but like traction systems it was built on a shaky foundation of land speculation and robber baron finances. The real problem was that what was a dirt road with horse and wagon traffic in 1900 was a paved street or highway by the 1920s, swarming with cars blocking streetcars and causing collisions. Without a separate right of way there’s no rapid transit. Street running for local trolleys is ok but interurbans stuck in traffic can’t make those last miles to the city center.