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Lunch » Tags » California » Reviews » Freeways in Downtown Los Angeles, CA » User review

Psst... Los Angeles, sometimes I don't mind your traffic

  • Oct 9, 2010
  • by
Rating:
-1
It's one of the things we are supposed to say... I hate traffic.  Ugh!  TRAFFIC!

The 10 is a hot, ugly mess.  The 101 is a parking lot.  Nothing grinds my gears like TRAFFIC.  TWAFFFFIC!

But sometimes, traffic of Los Angeles, I do not mind you.

It's part and parcel of the whole LA thing.  It's the tax you pay to live en la cuidad de los angeles.  To in habit and dwell in this city, you must accept the fact it will probably take you at least an hour to get from Westwood to Hollywood.  With the events of the rush-rush day, it's nice to have the quiet time.  To have an hour of stillness.  The morning commute is idea generating time.  The commute home is the decompression chamber where I allow the events of the day melt away and I completely zen out.  As traffic crawls at a snail-like pace, I sit in my Mazda meditating ZoOHM, ZoOHM.

Of course all our technological goodies make traffic more bearable.  iPods and what have you.  I often rock out and I'm not embarrassed to do it.  I am a superstar behind the wheel belting out songs.  

There are actual nice parts of the freeway if you are still enough to notice it.  The bright lights of the city as the 405 passes the Getty or the 5 connector to the 110 S where the two-lane road snakes up the hill.  As I drive these freeways slower, instead of my usual blur of 80+ mph, I am driving at a pace where I can find the beauty of the city.  Angelinos know how ugly traffic can get, and we are a forgiving lot when it comes to slight tardiness.

But when I am running late, I hate you LA traffic.  But it's not necessarily your fault.  You're only serving as a gentle reminder that I should stop dawdling and get going already.  Had I only left ten minutes earlier I would have missed the major congestion.  

I am partly to blame.  I live too darn far away.  And I'm doing a cruddy job of reducing my carbon footprint.  One day I'll live in a place where everything is close by, but until then I drive ... drive ... drive to my next destination.   
Psst... Los Angeles, sometimes I don't mind your traffic

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May 07, 2012
My concern is street repair and potholes.
 
October 22, 2010
Great review, Melissa! I also love this city and feel privileged to live in it. Thanks for the reminder and refreshing perspective for all Angelinos!
October 22, 2010
i totally agree. i LOVE Los Angeles. and all it's quirkyness. :D
 
October 22, 2010
I like the way you describe LA traffic. I've only driven in it a handful of times and I think it's alright. Not as bad as SF traffic, I'd say, so I can't complain :P I do agree that technology makes traffic more bearable and that being stuck in traffic gives you time to observe :)
October 22, 2010
thanks! :D you think SF traffic is worse than LA traffic? perhaps i'm romanticizing LA traffic... but i pretty much don't mind it. actually i find it more alarming when there isn't rush hour traffic. ...what's going on here? is this a major holiday and i forgot about it? XD
October 22, 2010
Depends on where you're driving. I know the East Bay area often has areas that could challenge the LA freeways. :) San Francisco is a walking town, has its one way streets and tough parking areas that make MUNI the go-to transport. BART can be cool too.
 
October 22, 2010
Move to San Francisco! I'd love to have ya! Great review!
October 22, 2010
seriously, i have been considering this. every time my car gets wonky... i think to myself man, i should just move up to the bay area where i don't have to worry about wonky car problems. i love taking BART! ;D
October 22, 2010
Me too, cowgirl. :)
October 26, 2010
yee haw! XD
 
October 21, 2010
so well put - love it : ) thx for sharing this -- I totally agree about the decompression chamber, and actually miss that now that I no longer commute across town. cool perspective!
October 22, 2010
thanks! XD
 
October 21, 2010
When I lived and drove in LA- I liked the traffic. It helped me knock off quite a few of the to-do's on my list, I danced, I conducted orchestras, I looked out across the sea and sighed, it was a stress reliever and comic relief, and being on the 405 6-8 hours a day finally gave me the courage to realize that I was chasing the wrong dream.
October 22, 2010
yes... traffic gives time to mull things over. i often get inspired with kooky ideas also... which reminds me I should put a notepad in my car to jot these ideas down.
October 23, 2010
You should def do that...just make sure to jot things down when you're stopped ;p OR you could do voice memos!
October 26, 2010
i do voice memos occasionally... but i always to forget to listen to em. :(
October 26, 2010
LOL...me too! I wonder if you can set some sort of reminder....hmmm....
 
October 21, 2010
Not gonna lie. The only fun I have in LA traffic is in bumper to bumper on the 110 on the way to the UCLA games. You drive right past USC and you can usually see a bunch of SC fans on the road. AKA signs and yelling as SC fans on the way to the game. Other than that, the traffic in LA sucks! We need better public transportation!
October 22, 2010
oh... I know the 110 too well. i used to work @ USC hence... so i'm familiar with that bumper to bumper at 5p. i WISH we had better public transportation. every once in a while i'll take the metrolink to go to the OC... man why can't LA have something like that?
 
October 09, 2010
I agree that technology has the ability to make LA traffic just a bit more bearable. Fortunately I don't have the commute I used to, but lately I've been loading up Adam Carolla podcasts and streaming my Pandora stations. I've definitely got a backlog now of enough Carolla podcasts for a major road trip.
October 13, 2010
I totally understand... I have a backlog of podcasts myself... that I'll listen to eventually. I've been told I'd dig the Adam Carolla podcast... something to add to my ever-growing list of podcasts to listen to.
 
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More Freeways in Downtown Los Angel... reviews
review by . March 09, 2009
I have learned the hard way that you must ALWAYS be patience when driving on the freeways of downtown Los Angeles or anywhere for that matter. Friday, March 6th I was driving in circles trying to get to a local show/gig in Whittier. One my sister Melissa's bands'(Ashes to Embers) was playing. There was traffic everywhere and my GPS kept sending me in circles right back to where I wanted to avoid. I finally made it there safe but my intentions were not to stay at the show. I was merely dropping off …
see all Freeways in Downtown Los Angel... reviews (2)
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As library paraprofessional for my adult working life, I have worked in academic libraries, public libraries, in the dungeons of cataloging departments, on the front lines of circ ... and occasionally … more
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