"School Year" Commutes? (Los Angeles, Burbank: construction, preschool, university)

[NYC2CA?]

I spent this summer in Los Angeles, and commuted downtown from both West Hollywood and Venice. West Hollywood to downtown usually took me 30 minutes, and Venice to downtown usually took 45, (leaving for work around 7:45-8am, and commutes just a slightly longer leaving Downtown around 6pm). I've been told that the traffic is very different during the school year, though -- is this true? Anyone else have similar or very different commuting experiences? Thanks for the advice!

[BRinSM]

traffic gets considerably worse when school is in session. i noticed this today on my way from santa monica to century city. last week was fine, but today was pretty bad. this is especially true near UCLA, avoid westwood like the plague after fall classes begin.

[bhcompy]

traffic is much worse during the school year in both LA and OC.

most colleges are commuter schools here. look at csulb for instance, somewhere from 30k to 50k students and only 1500 or so on campus rooms(when i was a student 6 years back)

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

traffic gets considerably worse when school is in session. i noticed this today on my way from santa monica to century city. last week was fine, but today was pretty bad. this is especially true near UCLA, avoid westwood like the plague after fall classes begin.

But classes at UCLA haven't started yet?

[the one]

in some places yes. but in others, no. take LAUSD areas for example, going back to school makes little difference because students are in school year round (unless of course parents opt for private schooling). a lot of LAUSD schools are year round/track system, making the back to school thing non-applicable. its still hard to say tho.

people have talked about this phenomena for the past couple of years, but i have never seen it. the only time i have noticed the freeways unusually deserted are during the thanksgiving, cristmas break. otherwise traffic in LA is traffic in LA. you know no matter what time it is, be prepared for the 101 freeway to get jammed up as it crosses the 110. be prepared for the 5 south to be jammed thru east los and into the OC. traffic is traffic.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by ElleBebe

But classes at UCLA haven't started yet?

you're right, ucla has not started its fall term yet. just be aware of when it does if you commute through the area.

[ConsideringLA]

Originally Posted by the one

in some places yes. but in others, no. take LAUSD areas for example, going back to school makes little difference because students are in school year round (unless of course parents opt for private schooling). a lot of LAUSD schools are year round/track system, making the back to school thing non-applicable. its still hard to say tho.

people have talked about this phenomena for the past couple of years, but i have never seen it. the only time i have noticed the freeways unusually deserted are during the thanksgiving, cristmas break. otherwise traffic in LA is traffic in LA. you know no matter what time it is, be prepared for the 101 freeway to get jammed up as it crosses the 110. be prepared for the 5 south to be jammed thru east los and into the OC. traffic is traffic.

I disagree with this statement. The school calendar is incredibly influential on commutes - for a number of reasons.

1) Work schedules change as preschool - highschool goes back in session. Parents change their commute hours to accommodate pickup and dropoff, which shifts their day to prime traffic time.

2) Teachers, staff, assistants, cafeteria workers, aides, etc. have to go to school for work - this adds cars to the roads, flat out.

3) Students driving to community college and university. LA schools are commuter schools, and there are hundreds of thousands of kids that attend - some full time, others part time. These largely have traditional school seasons and also shift work schedules for part timers and add cars to the road as students commute more when school is in session.

I currently live in a spot with a view of the busiest interchange in the US (405 & 101) and can attest to the fact that traffic has picked up immensely since Labor Day. We send our oldest to preschool in Burbank and the commute back went from 20 minutes to 45 - and we don't expect it to slow down until school lets out for the winter break.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by the one

in some places yes. but in others, no. take LAUSD areas for example, going back to school makes little difference because students are in school year round (unless of course parents opt for private schooling). a lot of LAUSD schools are year round/track system, making the back to school thing non-applicable. its still hard to say tho.

people have talked about this phenomena for the past couple of years, but i have never seen it. the only time i have noticed the freeways unusually deserted are during the thanksgiving, cristmas break. otherwise traffic in LA is traffic in LA. you know no matter what time it is, be prepared for the 101 freeway to get jammed up as it crosses the 110. be prepared for the 5 south to be jammed thru east los and into the OC. traffic is traffic.

LAUSD is only one district in many in the area

and i disagree anyways.

i drove the 405 from the 605 interchange to the 55 interchange every day for a few years. late May-mid/late August its a 15min drive. Sept-early May is a 30-45min drive.

Very noticeable

[the one]

only one district that spans lall of os angeles and include other surrounding cities. and is the second largest in the nation...

maybe if i lived on the west side it might be different. but on the east side. the south side i havent noticed this one bit.

i havent even noticed more kids on the bus either.

[streetscenes]

Originally Posted by the one

in some places yes. but in others, no. take LAUSD areas for example, going back to school makes little difference because students are in school year round (unless of course parents opt for private schooling). a lot of LAUSD schools are year round/track system, making the back to school thing non-applicable. its still hard to say tho.

people have talked about this phenomena for the past couple of years, but i have never seen it. the only time i have noticed the freeways unusually deserted are during the thanksgiving, cristmas break. otherwise traffic in LA is traffic in LA. you know no matter what time it is, be prepared for the 101 freeway to get jammed up as it crosses the 110. be prepared for the 5 south to be jammed thru east los and into the OC. traffic is traffic.

Most of LAUSD schools are now on a traditional schedule. I was talking to a teacher friend of ours over the weekend and she is at one of only 3 elementary schools in the valley that are still on a year round track.

The school crowd does affect the morning commute, this is especially true if alot of your commute is on streets.