JetBlue decided to jump in on Wednesday by offering two roundtrip flights between Burbank and Long Beach for cheap. Meanwhile, there had been a few efforts to figure out ways around the mess including discounted helicopter flights and things like that. ![]() The local media had been covering it for weeks, and when it was given the name “Carmageddon,” it really stuck. Every electronic road sign on every freeway flashed closure info. Kudos certainly go to all the authorities involved for getting the word out so well that people stayed local this weekend.īut many of the warnings in advance were that there would be terrible gridlock. The public awareness was tremendous, and in the end, the freeway reopened way early and there was no gridlock. The freeway is being expanded and they had to knock down a bridge as part of that project. This column appeared first at huffingtonpost.Carmageddon was supposed to result in epic gridlock thanks to the closing of the 405 freeway in a key spot between West LA and the San Fernando Valley. (Joel Epstein is a communications and public affairs consultant focused on transportation, development and other urban issues and a CityWatch contributor. If you like this taste of Queens, why not grab your TAP card and get on any Metro bus to experience the same at home in LA? We have it all too, and our climate and palm trees don't hurt the view from the bus either. Maybe pick up a Bollywood sari before arriving at check in. ![]() Next the food choices include Dominican chicharones, Guyanese fare or a lamb kebab from Khan's Grill, a cart on the corner of Lefferts and Atlantic Avenue. The next time you are there, instead of taking the slow Airtrain from Manhattan to JFK, for the regular price of a Metrocard ride ($2.25 - including a transfer) take the E train east to Kew Gardens and queue up for the Q10 which takes you right to the terminal.Ĭhinese, and Central Asian Jewish, businesses and people give way to Punjabi "pizza" and Indian markets as the bus heads down leafy Lefferts Blvd through Richmond Hill. Since not everyone from LA travels to and from NY by car, maybe the best way to close this piece is with some memories of a ride to New York's Kennedy Airport on the Q10 bus in Queens. Louis with its MetroLink light rail or New York, where I discovered a new bus line, it has all been fun and interesting learning about options we might explore for a more transit-oriented LA. Whether in Albuquerque where I checked out the Rail Runner, St. I will kinda miss being in LA for Carmageddon but wouldn't trade for a minute the great things I am seeing and doing while traveling our vast country. And as I've written before, I like my car as much as the next guy.īut for the daily commute we all deserve the sort of transit system that America Fast Forward will build in LA and the other American cities smart enough to embrace the inventive homegrown transportation infrastructure financing idea. Undoubtedly, small fuel-efficient vehicles like my Scion XA have their place in the world and will for the foreseeable future. What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with some financing that will help LA gain its freedom from the congenitally congested freeway? TIFIA, the transportation infrastructure loan program that will in part provide the dough to make America Fast Forward possible, is there to help city residents including ours cut their addiction to driving.īefore I get slammed for the personal hypocrisy of my own road trip, it is important to note that I'm not anti-car. Department of Transportation is close to approving a $640.8 million loan for the Westside Subway Extension. And this trip is no exception.Īdding to the opportunity to see how other cities address their traffic problems and meet their residents' mass transit needs, it was while away that I learned the exciting news that the U.S. In fact, I find these regular outings give me some helpful perspective on what Angelenos are trying to achieve transit-wise. Of course for me, leaving LA doesn't mean losing touch with the progress of America Fast Forward and Metro's rail and bus rapid transit expansion. "Out east" all the way to New York, as true Angelenos say, or "back east" in my case, round-trip. And this one is the mother of all road trips. ![]() The now-famous 405 freeway closing aligning perfectly with my kids being off at camp, it was a perfect chance for a road trip. And my mode of transportation? You guessed it. TRANSPO LA - With Carmageddon upon us I took Metro's sage advice and got about as far away from LA as I could without a passport.
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