"Carmageddon", L.A. Style
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Saturday, July 23, 2011 02:37
VIEWED: 5107
PAGE 3 of 3
Buck up, NOBC - just stick to your local area and you'll be fine!
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The problem is you have to convince people to WANT alternative forms of transportation first, and that's not yet happened in L.A. And the history is very real, whether you like it or not. Despite your snarks; the auto came into popularity in the 1920s, and that's when So. Ca. really took off:Quote:
http://uscnews.usc.edu/arts/las_love_affair_with_steel_and_chrome_1.ht
Detroit may be the Motor City, but with more than 26 million registered vehicles, Los Angeles is the undisputed car capital of the country.
Since the 1920s, Angelenos have eschewed public transportation in favor of private automobiles, the quintessential symbol of freedom and independence.
“Los Angeles practically invented the Space Age, and while it did not invent automobiles, it was the first global metropolis to fully adopt the automobile as a way of life,” said USC College history and political science professor Phil Ethington.
The gridlock of vehicles that greets today’s drivers is not dissimilar to that experienced by postwar Angelenos. The prosperity of the 1940s and ’50s allowed many L.A. residents to buy the latest in automotive design, including the Chrysler Windsor, the Ford Mystre and the Chevrolet Corvette.
Many of these cars were commonly witnessed cruising on the streets of Los Angeles. In fact, “cruising” in hot rods and low-riders became so popular that numerous municipalities across the Southland — citing concerns about juvenile delinquency and traffic congestion — outlawed the pastime that was documented in filmmaker George Lucas’ American Graffiti.
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Meanwhile, Carmaggedon rolls on. The 405 is THE most traveled highway in America as well as the most congested highway in the country, so it's no small deal (even if LA weren't so wedded to their cars!): Quote:
Although the real test of midday traffic was a few hours away, Los Angeles commuters Saturday were either avoiding or successfully navigating roads near a closed stretch of Interstate 405, traffic maps indicated.
But the quiet conditions allowed Metro officials to cancel several late-night trains that were specially added for the weekend, CNN affiliate KTLA reported.
The closure of the 405 is being deemed such a potentially calamitous event that locals are calling it the "Carmaggedon."
That's because southern California is notorious for its love affair with the automobile and its reluctance to embrace public transportation. One of the busiest freeways in the country, the 405 is one of two mountain passes in the heart of Los Angeles and is the major coastal artery connecting southern California with the rest of the state.
"We are the car capital of the United States of America and the single-passenger car capital," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told CNN.
Los Angeles International Airport is urging travelers to get there by public transit, especially rail, or to stay at nearby hotels for early morning flights.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is adding 200 firefighters so it can quickly respond to 911 calls in the areas affected by the closure, CNN L.A. affiliate KABC reported.
Villaraigosa said officials carried out "an unprecedented" public awareness campaign urging motorists to stay off the road or use public transportation.
"It doesn't have to be 'Carmageddon.' That's why we have done so much outreach to the public," the mayor said.
Whether it has been overdramatized by locals in the nation's entertainment capital, the project has brought countdown clocks, traffic apps, detour maps and warnings to stay away or enjoy the weekend on the couch. Amtrak and JetBlue are offering specials to get away from it all.
"Severe traffic conditions are anticipated in local and regional areas during the weekend of the full freeway closure," Metro warned on its website.
The four-mile southbound section is closed between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive ramps.
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Biggest false alarm since the Y2K fiasco. They finished sometime Sunday, not even Sunday night.
Memo to self: don't listen to local media, all they wanted to do was stir up panic. They were HOPING the worst would happen-- it woulda been good for their ratings and woulda got them all Emmys.
20/20 Hindsight suggests that this was a local traffic issue: the only folks absolutely affected were folks from the West side of the San Fernando Valley who commute to downtown L.A. Everybody else, there were plenty of alternate routes, most not a lot longer or slower. And for us in Long Beach, 40 miles away, not even noticeable change, even though the 405 is a major road thru here.
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I dunno, NOBC - that it wasn't worse is at least partially attributable to the fact that there WAS so much publicity and advance warning of it, so that people WERE staying away, staying home, or staying local.
It's somewhat akin to Y2K - we know only how bad it WASN'T, but we have no idea how bad it MIGHT HAVE BEEN if we'd done nothing at all.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
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Trains.
That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.
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Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Trains.
Wouldn't that be something?
Hell, even if they were RO-RO trains (Roll-on/roll-off), where you drove your car onto the train car and then got a train ride across town, so you still had your beloved car with you at all times... It works for ferries in Seattle and other places...
Subways never struck me as a particularly good idea for LA, but they seem to be working, at least where they're available.
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I heard about it on national news, and a friend who is police in LA wrote to say they were gearing up for it. I think its funny that everyone took it so seriously, probably because someone gave it a catchy title, catchy titles work wonders for attention grabbing.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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Mike is absolutely right:Quote:
It's not about hype, it's that the hype WORKED. Check it out if you want; people are quite open about the fact that they stayed home or went other places to avoid the potential "disaster". If there hadn't been so much hype, it WOULD have been a real mess.
that it wasn't worse is at least partially attributable to the fact that there WAS so much publicity and advance warning of it, so that people WERE staying away, staying home, or staying local.
Like Mike says, we joke about disasters that don't materialize, but don't think about the things that helped them NOT appear. I'm tickled it wasn't a disaster, and I credit media and police for it not being one.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off 
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Oh, gawd, DT: TRAINS!!! How I WISH! California having been "brought up" on personal cars, we never got 'em. On our trips to Europe, we rode trains exclusively; my husband, his brother and I all fell madly in love with them (especially hubby!) and wish to hell we could clone them here!!
Definitely trains. Lots of trains!! Hopefully, someday, as necessity begins to dictate...
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off
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*SIGH* Ya know, i really wanna see this "carmaggedon" *cugh cough, bs pos, cough cough* beat S.R.50 during a Shuttle landing/launch. Alas we wont see it now.
"Mom, he has her chip. He has her."
John Connor,"Born To Run", TSCC EP 2x22
"We mustn't over stimulate young minds. Das ist verboten!" - Rappy
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