101 Afternoon rush hour- more traffic going into LA? (Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks: home, gated)

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

We left Hollywood yesterday at just after 5. I was dreading the ride home from Hollywood to Thousand Oaks. We took Laurel Canyon for a while which moved along nicely. (There was something I wanted to see there). Got on 101 around Woodland Hills and noticed that traffic was heavier going toward LA than toward Thousand Oaks. By that time it was around 6pm.

I was surprised that 101 traffic on a Monday at 6 wasn't bad at all. And more surprised that there were more people going toward LA. Are there that many people who work in the suburbs but live in the city?
Or maybe there was just an accident and it made it seem that way?

So far in the two months we've lived here, I'm pleasantly surprised that traffic hasn't near as bad as I was expecting. Maybe from living on the east coast but there is no traffic as mind numbing as DC or NYC.

[JohnG72]

Lots of government employees in Downtown LA.
City, county, state, and federal.
Lots work modified 980 schedules with Monday as their extra day off.
Lots tend to call in sick on Mondays.
As a result, Monday’s tend to have lighter traffic.

Also the worst traffic on the 101 coming out of LA tends to be downtown to about Franklin. Since you were already in Hollywood, you tend to miss the worst of it.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Eastbound traffic on the 101 always backs up at the 101/170/134 interchange, and since Laurel Canyon is west of that, that's probably what you were seeing in the esstbound lanes.

[BRinSM]

I think it was a fluke. I used to commute to Burbank from the west valley and traffic was usually very bad. A typical day was about 40-50 minutes to go 11 or 12 miles no matter if I used the freeways or boulevards.

You are right though, getting back into the valley from the Thousand Oaks area is another terrible commute, that was not a fluke.

[DKM]

The interchange at the 405 North backs up commuters from pouring onto the 101 westbound out towards our area. So as long as you work west of Encino, you got an easy commute.

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

ok thank you for the answers! All make sense.

When we were telling people we were moving to So. Cal they would immediately start in with, "But the traffic!!!" You hear that enough times so you start to think all of Southern California is bad traffic. We've worked in NYC and DC so we were pleasantly surprised that where we are, so far so good with traffic. We work mostly in T.O. and then will be occasionally around Laurel Canyon/ Franklin area of Hollywood.

I also lived in FL for years and I-4 traffic or anything going into Orlando was worse than here. I was expecting so much worse but then again, if I had to be in the heart of LA I'm sure I'd hate that commute too.

[BRinSM]

I don't currently live in LA, but did so for over 10 years until last year. Traffic in LA is no joke, but it can be mitigated to a point where it doesn't have to greatly impact your lifestyle. Having said that, it is ALWAYS there. While my commutes were generally not bad when I lived in LA (tried to keep it short as often as possible), traffic does influence what you'll do during your free time. Without traffic (which was close to never), I could be at Santa Monica beach in under 20 minutes from my old home. The more typical time was closer to an hour, even on the weekends. Needless to say, we didn't visit the beach often. Even getting across the valley on a random weekend afternoon could take close to an hour because the 101 was usually slow. I would have loved to go into Hollywood or downtown more often than I did, but it was a ****ty drive. I would have also loved to have seen family in the IE and OC more often, but getting out of LA on the weekends can be as bad (maybe sometimes worse) on the weekends than during commuting hours. The same can be said for drives north towards Ventura/Santa Barbara or the Central Valley.

[Lovehound]

They say the 101/405 intersection is the worst traffic in the Universe. I see it only once a week, and I see it from anti-traffic direction. Thank God!

[DKM]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

ok thank you for the answers! All make sense.

When we were telling people we were moving to So. Cal they would immediately start in with, "But the traffic!!!" You hear that enough times so you start to think all of Southern California is bad traffic. We've worked in NYC and DC so we were pleasantly surprised that where we are, so far so good with traffic. We work mostly in T.O. and then will be occasionally around Laurel Canyon/ Franklin area of Hollywood.

I also lived in FL for years and I-4 traffic or anything going into Orlando was worse than here. I was expecting so much worse but then again, if I had to be in the heart of LA I'm sure I'd hate that commute too.

The bad traffic in LA is south and east of the 101 and 405 interchange. More or less. Yes lots of people have crazy misconceptions about living here. Its really sad when people in Portland ask me about the awful traffic and they have no idea the last time I dealt with stop and go traffic on my commute was in Portland. They literally think I've gone nuts and am lying to myself about my "mistake" of moving here. Sad souls...

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by DKM

The bad traffic in LA is south and east of the 101 and 405 interchange. More or less. Yes lots of people have crazy misconceptions about living here. Its really sad when people in Portland ask me about the awful traffic and they have no idea the last time I dealt with stop and go traffic on my commute was in Portland. They literally think I've gone nuts and am lying to myself about my "mistake" of moving here. Sad souls...

The problem in Los Angeles is that people have no sanity about picking where they live and where they work. They think, "It's only 25 miles," but 10,000 people pick the same 25 miles, and you get the 405: "4 or 5 miles an hour." (That's the joke going around, why it's called I-405.)

My rule is to live within 30 minutes of your work, or work 30 minutes from your home.

I'm self employed now. I work on my couch. Commute time is from upstairs BR to downstairs den.

I have Alexa. When I wake up I say, "Alexa, turn on coffee."