Anyone avoid taking Santa Monica blvd to the 101 because its unsafe? (Irvine: gated community, live)

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by majoun

People driving through don't get shot around there for no reason. You're being overtly paranoid. It is not Watts or Compton.

Thats now a stereotype. Those areas are no more prone to that than the east hollywood are, which realistically, has as just much tainted history...
But I agree there is no need to be overly concerned. I drove through both ends of town for decades until leaving the L.A. area in 2008.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by SalParadise

I have to agree with BRinSM. You are being overly paranoid.

I've driven that area TONS of times with the windows down even. Never had even a hint of trouble.

If you don't like the area then by all means avoid it but make no mistake about it, the real problem lies in your head, not the area.

You are right; maybe it is an exaggeration. I have driven through "ghetto'ish" areas in L.A before but it was unintended; either getting lost or because I had to drive through a certain area to get to my destination. I didn't realize the areas were bad until I went home and did a search for the street names in City Data and read all the comments. Or did a google search or searched for the area on the Latimes Homicide page.

Ok, the real reason why I'm paranoid is because I spent all day yesterday reading homicide reports on LaTimes and clicking at the photos and seeing how everyone died. It's kind of gruesome and the crime map doesn't help; it shows all the areas where people died and then you can click on their stories and read about how the individual came to his or her demise.

A guy was killed in Koreatown a few days ago and it wasn't gang related. He was a music coordinator for Mtv and it was a robbery.

[RaymondChandlerLives]

I wouldn't worry about driving down a major street like SM.

[greggd1]

I dont think that section of santa monica blvd is a problem at all. I dont even think about anything when driving through there.

However, the driving style in east hollywood is different than west hollywood. More likely to get honked at if you dont move it along at a decent clip.

[Nightscape]

I drive through that section almost everyday for my commute. (weho-sm blvd-101) Honestly, you don't have much to worry about. I drive with all four windows down+sunroof open a lot of the time and never once felt like I needed to roll up or lock my doors. Maybe I'm being overly carefree, who knows. I even see women driving convertibles with the top down all the way from the freeway exit towards weho as well. lol Definitely not something I would recommend doing late at night but during normal commuting hours, you should be fine!

Traffic is horrendous the entire way, but you definitely notice a difference as soon as you approach La Brea blvd heading west. The street pavement is better, theres much less grit, (have you noticed the power lines/poles go under ground starting from La Brea?), and just the general surroundings start to change. Either way, traffic congestion should be a bigger factor than danger when deciding whether to take SM blvd or an alternate route. At least that's how it is for me.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by Nightscape

I drive through that section almost everyday for my commute. (weho-sm blvd-101) Honestly, you don't have much to worry about. I drive with all four windows down+sunroof open a lot of the time and never once felt like I needed to roll up or lock my doors. Maybe I'm being overly carefree, who knows. I even see women driving convertibles with the top down all the way from the freeway exit towards weho as well. lol Definitely not something I would recommend doing late at night but during normal commuting hours, you should be fine!

Traffic is horrendous the entire way, but you definitely notice a difference as soon as you approach La Brea blvd heading west. The street pavement is better, theres much less grit, (have you noticed the power lines/poles go under ground starting from La Brea?), and just the general surroundings start to change. Either way, traffic congestion should be a bigger factor than danger when deciding whether to take SM blvd or an alternate route. At least that's how it is for me.

Thanks. I do always have my doors locked cause it's an automatic feature; it locks itself once I start driving... I haven't noticed the power lines at all but I'll pay attention next time. I decided on the place in Weho so we will be neighbors! Moving next weekend!

I do notice at a certain part it gets nicer, closer to Crescent Heights it gets really nice but around the 101 etc it looks gritty. Especially around the area where the Harvey Motel is; that's where the supposed killer of Ronni Chase was hiding out. Even the newspapers (LaTimes) described it as a "rundown" part of Hollywood. I guess it's not too bad during the day time so it's ok.

[SandyCo]

Jackie, please stop looking at the homicide reports! Those would scare anyone. Random violence is just that - random! And not taking certain streets in broad daylight is definitely on the paranoid side. There's very little that we control in this world; please don't spend your time worrying about things like this!

[DynamoLA]

Well no wonder you are paranoid if you spend all day looking at homicide reports.

I've driven down SM Blvd. quite a lot, and never felt I was in "danger". The only thing I consider when driving is "what is the fastest way to get where I'm going". That said, usually SM Blvd is not the fastest. I'd rather take Fountain or Franklin.

[the one]

dudette, you are paranoid!!! it is not that bad. the area surrounding hollywood forever (immed. west/ southwest) is pretty rough, but if you are driving THROUGH, you have very little to fear. i have friends that live off of vine and SaMo. it is admittedly a sketchy area, but not as bad as you think.

further, looking at the homicide map and focusing on an area bounded by vine on the west, normandie on the east, hollywood blvd on the north and melrose on the south (a pretty big area)
you will see that only 3 homicides have occured there this year. for an area that populous it is pretty low. its 7 homicides this year when we expand the parameters to franklin, virgil, 3rd highland.

you might not be grown enough (emotionally, physically, psychologically, etc) to handle the area if you are unable to discern these statistics rationally. i would hate for any lil siren to send you into a panic attack. learn to look at the stats in a way that does not suit any particular [paranoid] agenda.

PS that MTV guy got killed almost 6 months ago. it was a robbery. suspects have been aprehended/charged.

PPS ive been reading the homicide blog before there was this nifty map (jill levoy days). i take it all with a grain of salt. very few homicides are random. very few.

stop being so scared of LA. if its too much for you stay in your gated community.

Originally Posted by jackie100

You are right; maybe it is an exaggeration. I have driven through "ghetto'ish" areas in L.A before but it was unintended; either getting lost or because I had to drive through a certain area to get to my destination. I didn't realize the areas were bad until I went home and did a search for the street names in City Data and read all the comments. Or did a google search or searched for the area on the Latimes Homicide page.

Ok, the real reason why I'm paranoid is because I spent all day yesterday reading homicide reports on LaTimes and clicking at the photos and seeing how everyone died. It's kind of gruesome and the crime map doesn't help; it shows all the areas where people died and then you can click on their stories and read about how the individual came to his or her demise.

A guy was killed in Koreatown a few days ago and it wasn't gang related. He was a music coordinator for Mtv and it was a robbery.

[greggd1]

Some of the streets in West Hollywood have long blocks with cars parked on each side. Roads can get narrow when cars/trucks are going both ways.... You have to squeeze through. Many pedestrians and people walking dogs in West Hollywood. Lots of through traffic at all hours.

Much different than orange county from a driving perspective.