Articles tagged with traffic

Safe(r) at home. Foreclosures in California are way down. The improving economy and rising home prices are factors in the downturn. The real estate firm DataQuick says lenders are also struggling to adjust to a new state law known as the “Homeowner Bill of Rights.” During the first three months of the year, the number of defaults in the Golden State dropped by more …

Back in the 1990s, a super fast-growing Orange County built a couple of toll roads.
Southern California is home to the free-way – as in free of charge. But this new concept was billed by boosters as a privately-funded solution to choking traffic problems.
A couple of decades later, rosy driver projections never materialized. And the authority that runs the toll roads is saddled with debt, …

Los Angeles launched an experiment of sorts when it turned carpool lanes into toll lanes on the 110 freeway late last year. The idea, of course, was to get everyone moving more quickly (and to make some money to improve the Harbor Freeway corridor). The data is in and it’s not exactly what drivers and planners wanted to see. Drivers in the toll lanes …

Frances Anderton, creator of KCRW’s Design and Architecture show and website, interviewed Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. They talked about the future of transportation (think: Hyperloop) and why he thinks it’s important to become a “multi-planet civilization.”
Musk, who admitted he’s a car guy, also has to suffer through L.A. traffic, so Anderton pressed him for his solution to the problem (jetpacks?). Turns out …

With the Los Angeles mayoral primary just about a week away, there’s some last-minute campaigning going on.
But one of the issues that’s been largely missing from the campaign – at least hasn’t been talked about a whole lot – is traffic. As in all the Angelenos who get stuck in it way too often.
Kevin Roderick from LA Observed joins KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis, as he …

Hands on. An independent panel says conflicts of interest abound at California’s $3 billion stem cell institute, with many board members standing to benefit financially from decisions the agency makes. Authors of the review say the agency needs to be thoroughly restructured. The study was undertaken on behalf of the national Institute of Medicine. It didn’t cite specific incidents but instead focused on structural …

For years, California’s been trying to stem runaway film and TV production to other states and countries. Is the effort a failure? A new report says LA County has lost 16,000 jobs since 2004, the year of peak production. Another study says the state as a whole lost $3 billion in wages from the decline. We get the latest on what’s still a major …

Starting this weekend, solo drivers will be able to bypass traffic on a stretch of the Harbor (110) Freeway by paying to use 11 miles of carpool lanes.
Existing “HOV” lanes will be renamed as “HOT” – high-occupancy toll lanes – allowing single drivers to use the carpool lane for a fee, depending on the traffic.
The so-called High Occupancy Toll lanes will be L.A. County’s …

Traffic data provider Inrix recently looked at a wide range of traffic information and crunched the numbers to come up with the top 10 worst traffic cities, based on the time drivers spend idling in their cars.  Believe it or not, Honolulu tops the list, but LA is number two.  Even with Kajon’s help, Angelenos spend an average of 56 hours every year idling …

Mayor Villaraigosa says, “Plan for the worst,” but Metro is already worried that Carmageddon 2 is being anticipated more with complacency than alarm. Despite months of warnings before July of last year, there was no Carmageddon when Metro closed down the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass from Friday night until Monday morning. Workers took down half of the drive that crossed the freeway on Mulholland Drive, …

L.A. knows a thing or two about making sequels. And this weekend one big one is coming to our freeways, Carmageddon 2. From 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning to Monday at 5:00 a.m. a ten-mile stretch of the 405 between the U.S. 101 and I-10 will be closed. That’s being done so workers can demolish one side of the Mulholland Bridge, which spans the 405.
Last …

You may have heard, but the 405 freeway will be shutting down for a whole weekend later this month. Carmageddon II, as its being dubbed, will likely cause some horrific traffic jams.
But city and county leaders are hoping economic incentives will get people out of the Westside. Transportation officials are hoping drivers give up their cars and use their modes of transit for the …

Good news for night owls seeking after-midnight public transportation.
This weekend Metro starts late night service on its light rail and subway systems. Depending on the line, the last trains will depart their stations between 1:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The move is supposed to give more transportation options to people in the wee hours. Previously, the rail lines stopped operating …

The biggest public works project in California history might begin next year. Then again, it might not. Central Valley farmers are already in court challenging the first leg of the bullet train from LA to San Francisco. Polls show voters who approved it four years ago are against it now. But last week the legislature agreed to allocate $8 billion in state and federal …

Last week, President Obama signed the transportation bill, which allocates $105 billion in transportation spending in an effort to create jobs and boost infrastructure. Los Angeles will get some of that money to fast track projects here. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talked to Warren about “America Fast Forward,” which aims to expedite 30 years of transportation programs into a ten-year time period. Will rebuilding public …

We all know ridesharing is a good thing to do, right? It cuts down on traffic, reduces pollution and makes getting from Point A to Point B a more sociable experience. But then there’s the reality of finding rideshare partners and coordinating schedules. And what if you get stuck in the car with someone who’s a total creep?

There’s a new company called Zimride  that …

Los Angeles traffic authorities have unveiled a new pricing plan for street parking in nearly all of downtown L.A., one that uses “smart” street meters that change the cost of parking depending on demand. When demand is high, say in the middle of the day, you’ll pay more to feed the meter. When demand is lower, like on the weekends,  prices will drop. The …

It’s a big weekend for the Staples Center, as L.A.’s three teams are all playing games there this weekend. Just up the road at their stadium the Dodgers are leading their baseball division. A crew at the Staples Center will have just 80 hours to set up for six playoff games in professional basketball and hockey. Also this weekend, the country’s largest stage cycling …

There was a grand opening over the weekend for the Expo Line, the new light rail line route connecting downtown L.A. with Culver City. There was music, dance performances, lots of speeches by politicians, and free rides offered to passengers on Saturday and Sunday. But today the Expo Line has its first real test, as paying passengers boarded it to go to work. I …

Westside commuters are getting their first chance to take rapid transit all the way downtown, but what about getting from home to the station and back and paying for parking? Also, LA County’s elected County Assessor denies doing favors for campaign contributors. We hear about investigations of possible bribery and campaign money laundering. And how about them Clippers? On our rebroadcast of today’s To …