On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:56 AM, Melissa P <[email protected]>wrote:
> Okay, I don't live in LA but I've been following the story. Here's why: > > On two occasions I've had to rent a car in LA when I didn't want to. On > both occasions, it was because public transportation was on strike. (I've > actually rented a car 3 times, but the other time was for work; that's the > time I got the only ticket I've ever gotten -- for making an illegal U-turn > in Culver City -- and learned that LA takes illegal U-turns much more > seriously than they do here.) > > Now, as I may have mentioned before, I am not a good driver. I have no > business driving in LA, and I certainly have no business driving on a > freeway. (One time, I accidentally ended up on the Hollywood Freeway > and just about died.) > > The second time I rented a car when I didn't want to, I had to drive from > the airport to where I was staying, which was on Laurel Canyon in the > Valley. I did it without once getting on a freeway. I took Sepulveda all > the way from the airport to Sherman Oaks and then made a right on Magnolia > which took me to Laurel Canyon. > > Now, here's what's so amazing and why I'm bothering to comment in this > thread. For long stretches, Sepulveda was virtually empty. I was the only > driver! I had the street all to myself! I've never seen anything > so crazy. Why was there bumper to bumper traffic on the 405 when the > surface street had no traffic at all? > > Anyway, I hope surface street driving in LA never becomes a habit for the > natives -- almost as much as I hope that there's not a public transportation > strike there ever again. > I grew up in the Valley (that's the San Fernando Valley) and had an overprotective mother. For the first year I had a license she would not let me drive on the freeway (which to a 16 year old in Los Angeles in those days was pretty much like being forced to ride a bike with training wheels until you were 13). I was a frequent driver of both the Sepulveda Pass. In my experience it did get pretty busy, though the general observation of the incongruity of bumper to bumper traffic on the 405 and free flowing traffic on the Pass is consistent with my experience. I am shocked that anyone would ever prefer to take public transportation in Los Angeles to driving a car. I took plenty of buses in LA growing up, but only before I turned 16. I know they have a subway there now (which I took last spring when I was there for business) but somehow I still can not get used to the idea of being in the greater LA area without a car. The coverage of the 405 closing has been amusing - we get it even here in NOCAL. Still, I do get the panic. Freeways in general, and the San Diego FWY in particular, are so embedded in the DNA of those who live in the area, that the idea of not having access to one is enough to make you short of breath. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
