That can't be L.A.

Someone posted a mesmerizing two-minute video on YouTube showing traffic movement at one intersection on Wilshire Boulevard (doesn't say the cross street). But many of those who commented on the video smelled a rat. Why? There simply wasn't enough traffic:

--"Gotta be a Sunday or holiday --damn light traffic for Wilshire"

--"i really dont think this is the main road in L.A tho.. "

--"thats not a lot of traffic.. how about you go to ATL and it will be lined up for miles on some days."

A more "realistic" view of L.A. traffic can be found elsewhere on YouTube.

Comments

[James Valentine]

There is no law under our constitution which prevents the free movement of American citizens across state lines. Anyone and sometimes it seems like everyone can move to Los Angeles. 25% of all immigrants settle in California, many in Los Angeles because of its proximity to the Mexican border, mild climate, seashore, mountains, deserts and job opportunities. "Limits to growth" is a term missing from our lexicon. Schemes to build high density corridors and assorted mass transit systems fail to factor in the "magnet effect" whereby the wonderful oxymoron of affordable housing enhanced with the promise of increased mobility and less traffic congestion will only accelerate the suicidal process of infinite growth in an urban environment which is fast approaching critical mass. Until legally authorized plans to limit population growth in the city and region become viable, we will sink before we get a chance to swim

[Kathy Volz Mardirossian]

Note to self: rethink which sports programs my kids engage in based on travel distance. I've had it with club programs where I have to drive 1-1 1/2 hours one way to get "the best program". How many parents are dealing with this issue? High school athletics are bad enough, with games played during peak traffic hours. Too many parents on the road going nowhere not so fast!

[Rachel Kreisel]

Speaking for Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Glendale, I would like to see above-ground trollley-type cars running from downtown (2nd St.) along Glendale Blvd. (there's already a median) continue through Atwater and run along Brand Blvd. (there's a median there too) ending at the foothills. Small parking lots could be spaced along the route, deals made with the two giant malls (the Galleria and Mr. Caruso's new folly) to set aside say 150 spaces for commuters. This would allow people to commute part of the way from outlying areas, easing congestion on the freeways coming into downtown. Take out that terrible spur of the 2 freeway that has turned Echo Park into an off-ramp and has neighbors fighting with one another. Increase the Dash buses to serve Echo Park and Silver Lake as well as they serve downtown (Glendale already has a fantastic bus system). This would not only allow residents to access their neighborhood without a car, but would encourage tourists to easily visit some of the most interesting areas of the city.
I guarantee if you create a city that works for its citizens, you will create a city people will want to visit. We won't need silly projects like the Grand Ave. homage to hubris.
And after the Echo Park/Silver Lake Trolley Line, do the same for East L.A., and so on. Have an overall vision, but address it neighbohood by neighborhood. That's how L.A. works.

[Tomás Arceo]

It looks like a SE view of the corner of Wilshire and San Vicente, sometime in the morning between 8-11.

[Angela Waterman]

In highly urban neighborhoods, where everything is in close proximity, why not build Segway thoroughfares? These could be open, covered or completely enclosed, subterranian or elevated, with stations every few blocks. Initially, the city would need to invest in thousands of Segways, but could recoup part of the cost by renting them to users "per Segment" (station to station, one way). Advantages would be reduced smog, reduced roadway congestion, increased social contact, and wider acceptance of the Segway, a truly brilliant invention.