Anyone who follows this blog regularly (does anyone?) will already know that I don’t do traffic – I’ve been here nearly 18 months and I still make excuses not to drive on the freeway. Out of town travelling across country I’m fine – here there are empty roads, two lanes in each direction, it’s just like being back home on a dual carriageway, but around LA it’s a nightmare. We live close to the 210 freeway which as it passes through Pasadena has a total of 7 lanes in both directions. Most afternoons that's 14 lanes at a slow crawl; every Friday afternoon it’s 14 lanes at a standstill.
Downtown LA is even worse. We don't drive into LA very often but going to reach the airport can take anything from 35 minutes in the middle of the day to over two hours at the height of the rush hour.
Los Angeles is a huge urban conurbation with a population in excess of 14 million people - all of whom will have at least 3 cars. You don't have to have a great deal of imagination to know that the result is just going to be total chaos.
Los Angeles is a huge urban conurbation with a population in excess of 14 million people - all of whom will have at least 3 cars. You don't have to have a great deal of imagination to know that the result is just going to be total chaos.
But it’s not just the sheer volume of traffic that is my bugbear – most of the freeway junctions look as if they have been designed by an architect with a spaghetti fettish. Roads twist and turn and intertwine. Nine times out of ten you have to cross over traffic coming on at a junction in order to get off. Exits and entrances tend to be ridiculously close together and of course there is the added hazard of that all American favourite – undertaking. Despite what it says in the Highway Code, and I have read it, cars will hurtle past you on either side – there is total disregard for the "slower traffic on the inside lane" phenomenon.
But you don’t just take your life into your hands every time you get behind a steering wheel; being a pedestrian should actually carry a serious health warning!
Jaywalking is illegal in Pasadena and I’ve heard that if caught in the act, you will get a hefty fine so you have no choice but to cross the road at the designated crosswalk. You would have thought this would be a safe option that should only enhance the walking experience - but remember this is America and the car is king so, naturally, a flashing "walk" sign here doesn't necessarily halt the flow of traffic.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had a near miss with a passing car on one of these crosswalks. The trouble is, when the white "walk" light flashes for pedestrians to cross at major intersections, the green light will also be on for cars turning left or right into the street you are crossing – and a green light to an American is like a red flag to a bull. They see it, they go - regardless.
There are a few - and just a few - junctions where the red light is on in all directions specifically for the benefit of those wishing to cross the road. But even that doesn't ensure you wont get run over. It's perfectly legal here for a car to make a right turn on a red light if there is no on-coming traffic. So intent have drivers become at taking advantage of this opportunity to nip out that they have become completely oblivious to the waiting pedestrian. You might as well be the invisible man for all the notice these drivers take of you.
You've only got a mere 20 seconds to cross a road that is six lanes wide but you can't even take a step off the sidewalk because there is already a car in your way determined to edge around that corner. It's absolute madness!
The sooner the price of fuel goes up the better, then some of these folks might actually start leaving their gas guzzling SUV's at home and realise that they can use their right leg for something other than the gas pedal and the brake. It's a nice thought....but here in LA, pure fantasy I'm sure.
Hi Rosie --- jaywalking isn't just illegal in Pasadena -- I was the proud recipient of one in downtown LA - thought the cop was joking...! Roving Jay
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