Olympic-size traffic troubles?

"If you look at the cities around the world, they all have traffic issues." So says Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in pushing forward with L.A.'s bid for the 2016 Olympics. But The Times' Charles Proctor reports that a new study finds the games would bring close to 900,000 visitors to L.A. The mayor insists we can deal:

According to the study, the Olympics would attract about 877,000 visitors, who would spend money on area hotels, restaurants and transportation but also possibly strain the city's clogged streets and freeways. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said traffic should be alleviated by the planned construction of carpool lanes on the 5 and 405 freeways and rail lines to the city's east side and Santa Monica. He also pointed out that other cities expected to compete for the games — including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid — also have congestion problems.

Should L.A. host the games, or is it a recipe for traffic disaster? Hit the COMMENT button and speak out!

Comments

[Sky]

"If you look at the cities around the world, they all have traffic issues." So says Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in pushing forward with L.A.'s bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Great quote for not having to be accountable, nor responsible, for all of Los Angeles's traffic problems and issues.
If our city leaders have this same "status quo" and negative mentality, we should eliminate them from our public payrolls immediately. This is why Los Angeles will never vie for the Olympics on a serious level, nor any of our traffic issues resolved.

[bg mendell]

Remember it was 1984; we had Peter Ueberroth and George Orwell.
Expect 2016 to be Montreal, part II. But, go for it; knock yourself out.
For me, I will be long gone...standing in some Idaho trout stream fly-fishing.
(maybe with a red line, blue line, or green line--4 pound test).

[Marie]

The last time we hosted the Olympics, the city ran so smoothly that we were sorry when the festivities concluded. Review what worked then, update it for today ... and everything will work out.

[movielocke]

The Expo Line and Green Lines and Red line subway would provide access to the westside (and coast) but there needs to be a rail line connecting them, as well as the san fernando valley, to be ready for olympic demand

So these should be the priorities (assuming the expo line is already on track to be built with or without olympic deadlines) with a 2016 deadline/goal

Greenline into LAX
Subway open to at least Wilshire/Sepulveda (even if construction is still proceeding to the sea, at least have this part of the corridor opened!)
Westside elevated rail line (like Vancouver's SkyTrain) connecting Van Nuys airport to LAX and LAX to Long Beach airport. Naturally connecting to the various rail lines it would intersect as well. probably tunneling under the sepulveda pass, but it should ideally connect to the Getty Center.

Those three projects are doable in some stage of success by 2016 if we start within two years. It would be invaluable to have an unyielding deadline for citywide transit solutions. The glacial pace of current construction projects is embarassing. Shanghai is using the olympics to build multiple rail projects at once, so can LA. And we'll reap the benefit of the rail investment for decades to come.

[Christopher Neal Wyatt]

I feel very stongly that with proper planning and investment, bringing the Olympics to L.A. could work miracles for our city. I also feel very strongly that, without proper oversight and guidance, our city leaders are even more likely to waste this opportunity and burden our city with a great heaping pile of debt.

What to do? It's not what you do that's important, but HOW YOU DO IT.

Regarding the traffic delimma: the only way to avoid massive traffic problems is to give Olympic visitors a viable alternative. The current rail system is barely able to cope with the current demand, let along 1 million visitors to the city; therefore, massive expansion of the rail system is going to have to occur, in order for trains to work.

For every tax dollar spent on this venture, the over-riding concern should be: how will this investment help us AFTER the olympics?

If L.A. is wanting to build a sprawling network of new sports facilities throughout the city, than it would be better to connect them with busses during the Olympics, rather than trains, as the demand for that transit capacity will vanish as soon as the games are over.

However, there already is a wide array of first class sporting facilities here in L.A., so there is no need to build very many new ones. How can we provide transit access to these facilites? Every case may be different; for instance, if Dodger's Stadium is to be an Olympic Venue, than an aerial tramway may be the best way to do it.

Having invested in this infratructure, the second key question will be, how can the investment continue to pay off after the games? I think the answer to that question will be to allow as much high-density development as possible around these sports venues.

-Christopher Neal Wyatt

[Mark E. Capron]

Yes. 2016 is plenty of time to cure traffic congestion if we get-out-of-box by early 2008. We need only imitate the US Military's DARPA Grand (Oct. 2005) and Urban (Nov. 2007) Challenges. But tweak the Challenge to be for civilian accident-free and congestion-free vehicles. See GuardianAngelCars.org. We'd save so much on auto insurance, we could all afford tickets to olympic events.

[Kate]

Whoops, wrong blog post!

I agree with Michael L. Having a goal defined by an end-date can't do anything but help motivate planners and executors alike. The only caveat is that there's a difference between transportation to Olympic venues and the daily transportation needs of Los Angeles.

[Michael L]

Having the olympics in LA can only be good for this city. The olympics could be the thing that kicks LA into high gear to solve some of its worst problems. It can be done in 9 years but it won't be done without the incentive of the games. Can you think of anything else that will force Angelenos to act? Shanghai has built rail at an incredible rate, multiple lines at the same time! Lets spend the money to invest in making LA a better place for everyone that lives here rich or poor, eastside or westside, valley or southside. Lets make it so that everyone who comes to the Olympics in LA doesn't ever have to set foot in a car because it is that easy to get around! Some of you out there might think I am dreaming but I would rather make an effort to make this a better place then to just sit around and complain that nothing can get done. It can get done if people just act! for all of los angeles and stop complaining. We need action and maybe the olympics will help kick our a*s in that direction!

[Michael L]

Having the olympics in LA can only be good for this city. The olympics could be the thing that kicks LA into high gear to solve some of its worst problems. It can be done in 9 years but it won't be done without the incentive of the games. Can you think of anything else that will force Angelenos to act? Shanghai has built rail at an incredible rate, multiple lines at the same time! Lets spend the money to invest in making LA a better place for everyone that lives here rich or poor, eastside or westside, valley or southside. Lets make it so that everyone who comes to the Olympics in LA doesn't ever have to set foot in a car because it is that easy to get around! Some of you out there might think I am dreaming but I would rather make an effort to make this a better place then to just sit around and complain that nothing can get done. It can get done if people just act! for all of los angeles and stop complaining. We need action and maybe the olympics will help kick our a*s in that direction!

[Kate]

I have a friend who gave up his car and put the money he would have paid for insurance in a special "transportation" account. Now, if he has a need for a car--out of town travel, a trip to a big-box store for large items, a late-night taxi ride--he has plenty of money stashed away for rentals and fares. Of course, he also lives in downtown Philadelphia, and not in a suburb.

Still, he has found a way to avoid the expenses and hassles of owning a car in a city, but has left himself plenty of flexibility to venture beyond his local area. I think this is a terrific solution, and a real acceptance of lifestyle.

[Roger Waters]

There's no way we can clear all the public transportation obstacles in 9 years for the 2016 Olympic Games. We're better off hosting the FIFA World Cup again than we are such an expansive event like the Olympics. If there is no rail line to the Westside, then there is no 2016 LA.