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How to Solve LA's Traffic Problems
Plus the Worst Intersections in Los Angeles
Column By Kevin Wilkerson
In February of 2007, Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa walked out on Wilshire Blvd., and talked to people
in their cars so they would lobby state officials in Sacramento to fund
expansion for the 405 freeway.
It was a good cause and good PR stunt and the measure was approved,
but the mayor was really going in the wrong direction. While Wilshire
at the 405 is one of the worst surface street situations in the city,
the problem there is not the 405 needing another lane, it's Wilshire
itself.
Thatt is the problem with politicians. They are not out there every
day and attempt to fix things with duct tape, so to speak, make a speech,
and move on to something else. Meanwhile, the real problem goes unsolved.
So consider this an open letter to the mayor, Caltrans and anyone else
involved in LA traffic planning. I present to all of you the worst traffic
conditions and intersections in the area and even offer real, practical
solutions for fixing them.
– Wilshire at the 405 –
•The Problem. The problem starts not at the 405 but several
blocks east. The pileup begins at Westwood and crawls its way to the
freeway. It's rarely free-flowing but of course is even worse at rush
hour. The reasons are obvious enough: Buses cut off virtually all access
to the westbound right-hand lane, this is one of the busiest pedestrian
intersections on the Westside, and at the VA one lane briefly disappears,
forcing drivers to merge into each other like entering an overcrowded
elevator, then squeezing out again a block later.
Naturally, the traffic backs up on the side streets, all of which have
cars attempting to enter Wilshire. It's a mess. Yet the solutions are
not only simple, they could be implemented in weeks at less cost than
a single survey.
The Solutions: Have the buses – and there are three to
four that come along here every few minutes – stop on the east
side of Westwood instead of the west side. At the same time, build a
foot bridge across Wilshire. These simple steps would free up that right-hand
lane and eliminate the backup on Westwood. Finally, continue the right-hand
lane all the way to the 405. There's plenty of room to do it. So just
do it!!!
– 405 at the Ventura Freeway –
• The Problem. Five lanes squeeze to three, It backs up
to the Sepulveda Pass in the morning to a standstill freeway which,
by the way, splits to another freeway in about 5 miles. Who designed
this thing? The 101, the 134, together but separate. Gee, think it has
anything to do with the backup on the 405? Even when the 101 is flowing
freely – a rare treat, even if Nicole Richie is using it –
the changing lanes of these freeways makes getting to the 405 an unnecessary
challenge. And why does the 405 North ramp require a doing U-turn? These
kinds of things should be at Magic Mountain, not on our city's freeways.
• The Solution. It's in the works but frankly my faith
in Caltrans' ability to design and implement a successful plan is low.
– 101 at Univrsal Studios –
• The problem. The fantasy land of the studio turns
into the horrifying reality of the city when one exits Universal Studios.
Getting from Universal to the 101 South requires crossing over
the freeway, making a right, hopefully not missing the poorly-marked
sign, the making a hard right turn and accelerating at full throttle
down a very short ramp. By the way, there are actually two signs
for the 101 South pointing in opposite directions. A photo of this belongs
on Letterman.
• Solution. Build one easy-to-access ramp directly to the
101, with a dedicated lane coming out of Universal.
– The 10 East at the 605 South –
• The Problem. This is one of the many freeway interchanges
in Southern California that makes you wonder how this got on a drawing
sheet to begin with, let alone approved by a board of executives and
then actually built. Say you are traveling west on the 10 and wish to
get to the 605 South. First, you have to battle the vehicles exiting
to the 605 North for lane space. That accomplished, then its a sweeping
left-hander that puts you head-on into oncoming traffic that is merging
into your lane in a high-speed attempt to get to the 10 East.
That's right, TWO ramps converge at the same place with cars going
in different directions. And just think when I moved here I thought
Caltrans was the country's top transportation organization. The only
way to avoid a collision is to slow down – hoping you don't get
rammed in the rear – turn your head over the shoulder to check
oncoming traffic, change lanes, then quickly accelerate to freeway speed
to keep from getting plowed on the 605.
• The Solution. Start over. And let me approve the plan
instead of anyone at Caltrans.
– 405 at the 710 –
• The Problem. Impossible mergers in all directions. This
is another doozie except the engineers apparently were not satisfied
with just one bad design so they created two. Let's start with the 405
South to the 710 South headed to downtown Long Beach. It's one lane.
All freeway interchanges need to be two lanes. So immediately there
are problems. Add to this trucks headed to the ports of Los Angeles
are alread stopped on the 710 right-hand lane and Long Beach and the
merge is a mess.
Yet it's a cakewalk compared to going the other way, to the 405 North.
It's another loop ramp and this one includes that patented Caltrans
double-merge. Here, while you are climbing out of an uphill turn, that's
better suited for small plane acrobatics, cars are barreling down on
you because the same space of pavement is also the exit ramp for 405
North traffic exiting to the 710 South. But this one has an added twist
– there's also a surface street exit. Imagine the fun!
• The Solution. One that's actually been discussed: Double-deck
the 710 and make the upper level just for port traffic with no exits.
In the short term, add another exit lane from the 405 South and for
northbound traffic, connect directly to the 710 with another ramp. As
for the surface street exit, make it part of the new ramp.
– 605 at the 5 –
• The Problem. Anything involving the 5 should be
fixed. In fact, that entire freeway is in need of help. Here, there
were simply not enough lanes built up into they system from the start.
The result: backup in both directions.
• The Solution. Part of this could have been solved just
a few years ago when they built the 105. There should have been a ramp
constructed that directly connects these two freeways. This would have
dramatically opened up the 605. Alas, no one THOUGHT of this beforehand
(no surprise there) but go ahead and do it anyway. At the same time,
widen all lanes going into the 5. In fact, do the same at the Pasadena
freeway and the 5. This design is so bad I can't even think of a clever
way to insult it.
– Surface Streets in L.A. –
• The Problem. Backed up traffic at intersections throughout
the city.
• The Solution. Add left-turn signals and, wherever possible,
left-turn lanes. It's inconceivable that a city of this size where people
depend on their cars to get around would fail to construct turn lanes,
Especially on major roads such as Santa Monica, Sunset and Hollywood
Blvd. And yet that's the case. This should be a no-brainer.
Kevin has lived in Los Angeles for close to 20 years and has observed
the worst traffic city has to offer. He an be reached at kevinwilkerson@pubclub.com
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