is it just me or has traffic gotten MUCH worse in the last 2 years? (Orange: house, construction)

[SoCalHombre]

they keep building new high rises everywhere, which adds hundreds of people in one spot where it once was either some old house or a vacant lot... that only increases the traffic in that area exponentially.

the city really needs to put most of their funding in a proper metro system. they need to expand it like NYC.

i think we are getting to a point where it's almost unbearable to drive around during the week.

during the weekend on the other hand, its much better because you don't have all of the traffic from people who don't live in the area.

high prices force people to live far away, which in turn adds to the traffic jams. a metro system for those people would be ideal.

i know the city is expanding some lines but they really need to make this their #1 priority if they haven't already.

the entire city during rush hour is like a gridlock. its CRAZY.

[Cream1]

But isn't density what the vocal and wealthy love? At least, they love driving by it in their Range Rovers and then retreating to their gated SFR communities in Palos Verdes and Porter Ranch.

[disgruntled la native]

yes, it's gotten worse. definitely. also, driving has gotten worse. when I first started driving, which wasn't extremely long ago, it seemed much easier and calmer.

[jamills21]

Originally Posted by SoCalHombre

they keep building new high rises everywhere, which adds hundreds of people in one spot where it once was either some old house or a vacant lot... that only increases the traffic in that area exponentially.

the city really needs to put most of their funding in a proper metro system. they need to expand it like NYC.

i think we are getting to a point where it's almost unbearable to drive around during the week.

during the weekend on the other hand, its much better because you don't have all of the traffic from people who don't live in the area.

high prices force people to live far away, which in turn adds to the traffic jams. a metro system for those people would be ideal.

i know the city is expanding some lines but they really need to make this their #1 priority if they haven't already.

the entire city during rush hour is like a gridlock. its CRAZY.

You should encourage all of your friends to vote for Measure R+ when it comes out.

LA is already expanding their transit system more than any city in the country (save for maybe DC). There are 5 rail lines/extensions that are being built right now. starting in 2016, we will basically have a new line open every 3 years after the gold line extension and expo line are done.

You should look at this map for where we came from and where we are going. Measure J lost by less than 2% points in 2012 which need 66.66% of votes. I think the next measure, with the proper push, will get done. We passed Measure R during a financial crises. I think we can pass another measure again.

[SandyCo]

Yes, it has gotten worse. Even in the past few months it has gotten worse. I never used to get a stop light on the Van Nuys onramp to the west/north 101, but now I always do. The 405 is the culprit; the traffic for the south 405 is now regularly backing up to at least Sepulveda on the 101. The other day there was an accident on the south 405, and the transition was backed up onto the 101 all the way to Van Nuys! Luckily I had looked at Sig Alert, and I backtracked to get on the 101 at Woodman instead. I leave at 6:05 a.m., and I'm seriously considering leaving even earlier. I'd get to work a lot earlier than my 6:30 start time, but this is getting ridiculous.

If I move again my new place will be west of the 405.

As for weekend traffic, again the 405 and 101 are parking lots. Even on a Sunday evening the 101 is bad now! Too much development out in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. I feel sorry for the people who fell for their realtors' promises of "only 40 minutes from Downtown L.A."! Yes, only 40 minutes at 2:00 a.m.! Otherwise you should expect to sit in traffic for an hour or two.

[Astral_Weeks]

Originally Posted by Howiester

But isn't density what the vocal and wealthy love? At least, they love driving by it in their Range Rovers and then retreating to their gated SFR communities in Palos Verdes and Porter Ranch.

There are wealthy people in Porter Ranch? Not quite Malibu or Bel-Air. And Palos Verdes is nice but pretty small and inconsequential in the transit planning of LA County. Beverly Hills has been fighting the Purple Line extension....so there is a real culprit.

[Taiko]

It might be worse because we are in the middle of the effort to make things better. All of the construction and changing patterns from bike lanes and traffic "calming" obstacles being erected.

[Des-Lab]

It is not your imagination. Traffic has always been bad but now it's just awful. In Orange County too.

The problem is quite simply. Too many people. Adding more capacity has already been proven to not be effective; as soon as it comes online, more people jump out of cars and grab the space. All those millions and years spent adding the capacity is obsolete and useless literally on the opening day.

There probably isn't much you can do about the surface streets. But the solution to the freeway logjam will be tolls, tolls, and more tolls. You can have a 'free' ride. Or you can have a pleasant one. You can't have both.

People of course complain about the traffic. They will also howl about the tolls. But drive one of the toll roads or lanes (I've driven the entire Orange County toll road system) and I'll definitely say the open, full-speed-ahead experience is worth the price of admission over a 5mph slog every time.

Traffic calming and signals intentionally programmed to induce congestion and delay is another interesting concept. If city engineers can throw out enough impediments to travel as to outright discourage their use altogether, that may make some sense. Although all that does is annoy the drivers and push them onto other routes.

Do it like the 91 lanes do and make the tolls congestion based priced, and set the levels accordingly, and watch how quickly A) lots of folks cut down on frivolous driving and B) they suddenly find a way to carpool.

[Bruce81]

Yes definitely gotten worst. The 210 is unbearable, the 5 and the 101 just as bad. My work team had to cancel our lunch so that we could be on time for dinner with our families. Ridiculous how our lives are managed by traffic.

[Charles22]

Wait until next year.