SPEED CORRIDORS: East-West

Most of the panel discussion at the L.A. Press Club focused on "mobility," "capacity" and "flow" on the freeways in L.A. I believe that this is a misplaced and misguided emphasis. We have to get away from this idea that the only way to increase mobility and traffic flow in the L.A. area is by increasing flow on the freeways. The idea that the only way to increase mobility is by increasing flow on the freeways is a totally misguided idea. DO NOT believe it.

Any solution to the congestion in L.A., especially on the Westside, will have to include increasing traffic flow on the streets as well, as an alternative to the freeways.

The only way to achieve increasing traffic flow on the streets is by creating temporary SPEED CORRIDORS.

The only way to create SPEED CORRIDORS is by keeping the lights GREEN on ALL major roads going east-west from Sunset to Venice (Sunset Blvd., Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica Blvd., Olympic, Pico, Venice Blvd.) for at least 5 minutes or longer at certain intervals from 7:00am to 9:00am in the morning going east to west, and from 4:00pm to 7:00om in the evening going from west to east. This would create unbelievable flow that would get most cars and buses in and out of the Westside (west of he 405) every morning and evening at a very fast rate.

It is this mass migration of workers going east to west in the morning and west to east in the evenings what creates unbelievable congestion on I-10 and all major roads east-west from Sunset to Venice.

By creating these SPEED CORRIDORS, you would be creating an alternative I-10, which cannot possibly handle such an unbelievable volume of cars without getting jammed. You would be creating an alternative to I-10 without increasing capacity on the freeway and without building another freeway.

It's a great idea. BELIEVE IN IT.

Detractors of this idea would counter: "Well, what about traffic going north-south? While the lights are green for east-west traffic, north-south traffic would be getting jammed on all those roads running north-south that cross the roads you mentioned. And what about pedestrians? They'd be stuck waiting for 5 minutes or longer for the light to change to cross the road!"

My answer is that this idea of SPEED CORRIDORS cannot be implemented without creating a few overpasses for north-south traffic and some skywalks for pedestrians (see my posts WHY L.A. traffic sucks: OPEN DISCUSSION #3 and WHY L.A. traffic sucks: Open Discussion #6: Pedestrian Under/Overpasses for more on this issue).

The idea of tolls on freeways as a solution to congestion would be not only self-defeating, tax-regressive and eventually useless, but it would also be COUNTERPRODUCTIVE: ALL those who are unwilling or unable to pay the tolls would simply spill out onto the streets and roads to avoid paying the tolls, thus creating even more congestion, congestion of unbelievable proportions on the streets of L.A. To believe that tolls are going to change behavior and keep people from driving as single drivers in one car is an illusion. Whoever said that freeways are the only way to "get there"?

Since, according to Tom Rubin, former Administrator for Public Transport in Southern California, "we" (whatever that means!) have decided NOT to increase capacity on freeways, ANY solution to the traffic congestion problem in L.A. MUST include increasing flow on streets and roads as an alternative to the freeways. There's NO question about it.

Any solution, or set of solutions, that focuses on freeway flow at the expense of street flow is part of the problem, NOT part of the solution.

ANY great and creative solution, or set of solutions, for the traffic congestion in L.A. and other metropolitan areas, will have to consider flow EVERYWHERE, NOT just on the freeways.

L.A. is like a 500-pound individual whose arteries are clogged and whose blood is not flowing like it should. This "individual" needs to slim down, start exercising and increase blood flow to ALL parts of the body.

It is that simple a solution.

Whether this "individual" will have the willpower and determination to change or continue to stumble along at the current sluggish pace, is another question.

If you were one of those "blood cells" inside this "individual", what would you say?

Would you say this?

DAMN LOS ANGELES TRAFFIC! [From: ACCDzek]



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