Santa Monica to Westwood commute (rent, travel, work)

[sausalito]

How long would a commute from Santa Monica to Westwood (UCLA) take, both during rush hour and non-rush hour?

Google says 7 miles and 14 minutes.

[Des_Demona]

I'd say about 20 minutes but it totally depends on which route you take (since you'd be primarily street driving right?) and there are several different ways you could go. It just depends on which lights you hit, whether there's a stalled car in your way etc. I always say to multiply the mileage by 3 to be safe or by 2 to cut it close in LA during rush hour to get your estimated drive time. Non rush hour(s) is the same as rush hour, it's always bad in LA regardless of what hour it is. I think you probably could get from Santa Monica to Westwood in 15 minutes... but there's no parking in both places so if you are say working or going to school at UCLA, you will have to park in one of the many UCLA parking lots and walk to wherever you are going or take a shuttle. UCLA is very spread out. Your commute in the actual car might only be 15-20 min. but in these areas you need to leave time for parking and walking. Hope that helps.

[greggd]

Id say about 15-20 minutes without traffic if you go straight up santa monica blvd or Wilshire blvd, There are many traffic lights, but it generally moves.

If you are north, you can shoot out san vicente.

If you are going to during rush hours, you will run into all the Valley commuters who work in west la and santa monica & drive east to get on the 405 freeway. this will significantly increase your commute time. This sea of cars tangles eastbound: olympic, santa monica, wilshire, san vicente, and sunset blvds.

West los angeles is popular for ucla students and employees.

[dusesean1986]

Originally Posted by sausalito

How long would a commute from Santa Monica to Westwood (UCLA) take, both during rush hour and non-rush hour?

Google says 7 miles and 14 minutes.

A commute from heaven, 25 minutes prob!

[sausalito]

So, 15-20 minutes without traffic via local roads and 30-45 minutes during rush hour via any route?

That doesn't seem too different than traffic in other cities. What is the major problem with LA -- is it mainly the freeways? I'm not sure I understand.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by sausalito

So, 15-20 minutes without traffic via local roads and 30-45 minutes during rush hour via any route?

That doesn't seem too different than traffic in other cities. What is the major problem with LA -- is it mainly the freeways? I'm not sure I understand.

Basically, there is alot of business on the west side of town and many cannot afford to live here, so they commute. The freeways are one problem, lack of any decent public transporation, A huge population that lives in the san fernando valley and commute to west la everyday. Thats only one aspect of what congests the area around ucla.

You are pretty close to UCLA from Santa Monica. Your commute will depend on what time you travel. Sometimes it takes me 45-50 minutes to get from palisades to westwood due to traffic at around 5-6pm. Normally its a 10-15 minute trip.

When everyone goes to work or gets off work, they come pouring off/on to the 405 freeway. All the streets leading to the freeway are jammed up with those commuters. Bundy is also heavy with n/s traffic. As people leave SM, they will migrate through residential streets and go as north as possible.

Your commute is could be pretty easy, depending on where you live and what time of day you will go to ucla. if you go after 9am, you should be ok from santa monica.