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I have been to LA. I have never been to Miami, Houston, Dallas or Phoenix, but I find that statement extremely hard to believe. It's not uncommon to spend two and a half hours stuck in LA traffic just trying to get from point A to point B. Except for Dallas - Fort Worth I don't think that any of those cities are big enough to spend two and a half hours stuck in traffic, unless the traffic is at a dead stop for that two and a half hours. Which I doubt happens often, if ever.
So I don't agree. I'm pretty sure that LA traffic is the worst.
From what I hear, LA isn't as bad as those other southern cities. I could be wrong, but based off some responses on this thread, that appears to be the case. Highways full of parked Prius and Teslas as the drivers contemplate as to whether they should take public transportation tomorrow, but then opt out when that day comes.
Also, we have learned that LA has made tremendous investment over the past 2 to 3 decades on centralizing its city, and sharing resources among its peoples. Unfortunately it remains a city in which such a small portion of its population appears to be taking advantage of these investments, and there remains a tremendous wealth gap as to who takes advantage of these investments, and who doesn't. It makes you wonder where the money is going.
People try to push progressive city planning theory to modernize cities to a certain lifestyles that was far more evident when cities developed conservatively. Not realizing that this so called professional planning is what created its own demise.
Having traveled extensively in the US, I’ve experienced traffic just about everywhere and in my experience rush hour traffic is more or less the same in all big cities. It sucks. What maybe sets LA apart is the duration of rush hour and when we have traffic. Depending on where in LA, rush hour can be 4-5 hours morning and evening or 8-10hours per day. And then many freeways, like the 101 for example, can have stop and go traffic 14-18 hours a day. Even on weekends.
Some commutes are bad but others are horrific. For example if you have to leave Santa Monica and head east during the afternoon rush, it can take 45 minutes just to get out of Santa Monica. And that’s only like 3 miles.
That being said, I take public transportation and my commute is generally the same regardless of traffic. I say “generally” because sometimes the train is screwed up for one reason or another. Not as bad as NYC but my 55-60 min commute can sometimes be 80-90 min. Maybe 10 days per year.
LA has fewer freeway miles than all but a handful of major cities. About the same as NYC. [url=http://www.publicpurpose.com/hwy-tti99ratio.htm]Highway & Motorway Fact Book:
Freeway Lane Miles per 1,000 Population. Not total freeway miles. LA has over 500 miles of freeways. Who even knows how many lane miles that is. No other city is comparable to that.
Freeway Lane Miles per 1,000 Population. Not total freeway miles. LA has over 500 miles of freeways. Who even knows how many lane miles that is. No other city is comparable to that.
Yeah that’s what I meant. I didn’t phrase it well. The point is that LA residents get by with relatively fewer freeways than most other cities. So do NY area residents. But since LA and NYC have about the same lane miles per capita, then there’s your answer. NYC is comparable to LA except they have lots more lanes since they have more people.
Nowhere like LA though and that’s saying something.
Atleast In nyc outside of rush hour you can get around fairly easily. LA freeways are constantly congested even at 10pm at night you could be sitting in traffic. If it’s an accident? Forget about making it to your destination in time.
You will never sit in traffic for over 3 hrs in New York City like in LA. Just going from downtown LA to the valley takes sometimes 2 hours. Going from manhattan to Brooklyn doesn’t take that long
LA traffic is terrible but the expanding Metro system is giving option. Yes it can take two hours to drive from the valley but the Metro takes 20 minutes. Smart people don’t make the drive.
From what I hear, LA isn't as bad as those other southern cities. I could be wrong, but based off some responses on this thread, that appears to be the case. Highways full of parked Prius and Teslas as the drivers contemplate as to whether they should take public transportation tomorrow, but then opt out when that day comes.
People in LA will choose to take public transportation for one of three reasons:
1. It saves time: About the only public transit this is true of is heavy rail, if you happen to be near one station and going to another. Light rail, even with some signal priority, usually stops at some lights. We live about a mile from the red line subway, and even during heavy traffic times, if you hit everything right it's a wash to get downtown vs just driving. Buses are even worse, sitting in traffic and frequent stops. An 8 mile commute that takes 50 minutes by car is a 2 hr and 45 min bus ride with 2 transfers.
2. It's more reliable: Some family in Seoul told me if they have an important meeting, they'll often take the subway rather than drive because the travel time is more predictable and they won't be late. In my experience, LA subway/light rail is reasonably reliable.
3. It's way cheaper: In NY, the cost to operate/park a vehicle is much higher than LA. In many places in LA outside of Downtown and theme parks, you can usually find a garage or valet for <$5. It's $1.75 each way to take Metro. If you are travelling with 1 other person, it's cheaper to drive.
So, under most situations, driving is at the very least much faster than taking transit in LA and in many situations it is cheaper. All those people sitting in traffic aren't doing it because they're stupid, they're doing it because they looked at their options and picked the least bad one. I think most people are looking forward to transit improvements creating more situations where driving isn't the way better option. Without a large network of subways built pre WW2, transit in LA will never be what it is in NYC. It just costs way more to build subways now than it did back then (see 2nd Ave line for reference), especially in a place as seismically and geologically complex as SoCal.
People in LA will choose to take public transportation for one of three reasons:
1. It saves time: About the only public transit this is true of is heavy rail, if you happen to be near one station and going to another. Light rail, even with some signal priority, usually stops at some lights. We live about a mile from the red line subway, and even during heavy traffic times, if you hit everything right it's a wash to get downtown vs just driving. Buses are even worse, sitting in traffic and frequent stops. An 8 mile commute that takes 50 minutes by car is a 2 hr and 45 min bus ride with 2 transfers.
2. It's more reliable: Some family in Seoul told me if they have an important meeting, they'll often take the subway rather than drive because the travel time is more predictable and they won't be late. In my experience, LA subway/light rail is reasonably reliable.
3. It's way cheaper: In NY, the cost to operate/park a vehicle is much higher than LA. In many places in LA outside of Downtown and theme parks, you can usually find a garage or valet for <$5. It's $1.75 each way to take Metro. If you are travelling with 1 other person, it's cheaper to drive.
So, under most situations, driving is at the very least much faster than taking transit in LA and in many situations it is cheaper. All those people sitting in traffic aren't doing it because they're stupid, they're doing it because they looked at their options and picked the least bad one. I think most people are looking forward to transit improvements creating more situations where driving isn't the way better option. Without a large network of subways built pre WW2, transit in LA will never be what it is in NYC. It just costs way more to build subways now than it did back then (see 2nd Ave line for reference), especially in a place as seismically and geologically complex as SoCal.
They need to hike up those garage and valet costs significantly if that is really the cost. Do they not want to make money or something.
Do buses have their own dedicated lanes?
I imagine that the average LA resident travels further distances on daily basis than a NYer, and has far less feasible routes and transit options than a NYer would have. For me, whether driving, taking public transportation, or jumping on the old rusty bicycle all take about the same time to get from point A to point B. And for each I have various route options. On a nice day I can even walk, and I live deep into Queens.
They need to hike up those garage and valet costs significantly if that is really the cost. Do they not want to make money or something.
LA has an over abundance of parking. State and local requirements ensure that nearly every new building gets built with way more parking than residents need.
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Do buses have their own dedicated lanes?
LA has bus rapid transit in a few places. Orange line buses through the valley get not just their own lanes, but their own street just for buses. Should have been rail though.
And silver line buses use HOT lanes on the 110 and 10 fwy’s except at the southern end and downtown. They have bus stops on the fwy.
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I imagine that the average LA resident travels further distances on daily basis than a NYer, and has far less feasible routes and transit options than a NYer would have.
I’m sure that’s not the case overall. Take Staten Island for example. Or even Manhattan. If you live and work in Manhattan, then life is good. If you’re driving in, you have a few bridges. Taking the subway puts you at the mercy of NYCT and let’s not pretend that it’s reliable anymore. And the L train hasn’t even closed yet!
In LA we have a very large grid of surface streets that run for miles and miles. The problem is that main arteries (often called boulevards) get clogged at rush hour and side streets have stop signs and can also have traffic. And as I posted earlier, we don’t have as many freeways available as most other cities.
Besides the fact that NYers have relatively short commutes distance wise doesn’t change the fact that time wise you have the longest average commutes in the US.
In LA we have a very large grid of surface streets that run for miles and miles. The problem is that main arteries (often called boulevards) get clogged at rush hour and side streets have stop signs and can also have traffic. And as I posted earlier, we don’t have as many freeways available as most other cities.
Besides the fact that NYers have relatively short commutes distance wise doesn’t change the fact that time wise you have the longest average commutes in the US.
While LA has a huge grid system, there are some choke points similar to NYC's, with the difference being that they are caused by mountains instead of bodies of water. Going from any of the valleys into the LA Basin always means traffic, as there are only a few overcrowded routes over the mountains/hills.
While LA has a huge grid system, there are some choke points similar to NYC's, with the difference being that they are caused by mountains instead of bodies of water. Going from any of the valleys into the LA Basin always means traffic, as there are only a few overcrowded routes over the mountains/hills.
True. I forgot To mention that. But the number of people that need to cross the mountains is dwarfed by the traffic in and out of manhattan if you add up LIRR, NJT, MNCR, PATH, plus all the bridges and tunnels. Many more NYers have to deal with pinch points than we do. It’s why the have the longest commutes in the nation.
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