Ask the Bottleneck Blog: Pico/Olympic
Q: How exact would converting Olympic and Pico boulevards to one-way traffic reduce congestion? A: While Although the total volume of traffic on the two streets might remain the same, traffic engineers say one-way traffic is much easier to manage. With easier left turns (not crossing traffic), traffic signals can be synchronized more efficiently. In fact, traffic experts say one-way streets are the ideal settings for signal synchronization. Most, but not all, one-way streets are one block apart. Pico and Olympic are anywhere from 0.23 miles to 0.7 miles apart. That means people trying to go from east to west would need to drive several blocks to switch directions. Some residents worry about motorists cutting through their neighborhoods to get from Pico to Olympic.
Q: Why Pico and Olympic? A: East-west cross-city traffic has long been L.A.’s Achilles’ heel. There is no rail line and only one freeway, the 10. Pico and Olympic are the best candidates for one-way conversion because they are relatively close together and% are a relatively straight shots between downtown and the Pacific Ocean Santa Monica. Q: Where would the route go? A: Backers would like it to run from downtown L.A. to the Pacific ocean. But it might end up terminating at the Santa Monica city limits at Centinela Avenue. Beyond that point, Olympic is bisected by a large, planted median that makes one-way traffic difficult.
