The Causes & Growing Problem of Traffic in LA
If you've visited, driven out of and lived in the city of Los Angeles, then you've most likely encountered and seen LA traffic. According to a graph posted by INRIX in 2019, Los Angeles ranks 6th for the worst congested neighborhoods and holds the top two worst corridors in the U.S. With an average of 76-80 hours in traffic, at peak hours, per year it makes you wonder, why is traffic so bad in LA and what is causing it?
In this chart, we can see the data, and other information, on Los Angeles' congestion level
What is causing Traffic to worsen in LA?
One of the reasons why traffic continues to worsen is due to LA's sidewalks and intersections being in such poor conditions. Not just LA's sidewalks and whats on those sidewalks, but also opting to drive rather than commute as its more accessible and safer. However, there are downsides to both situations. Driving will leave you feeling exhausted due to the long hours in traffic, the dangerous drivers, and the pollution emitted from vehicles. As for walking on sidewalks, LA isn't particularly the safest in some areas and public transportation isn't accessible whenever you want it to be.
Sidewalks in LA
The majority of the time, when walking in LA, you will stumble upon a sidewalk that has minor or major cracks in it. One may think that this sidewalk is just one of few that needs fixing, but the moment you turn the corner onto the next sidewalk, there's another broken sidewalk in your path. Broken sidewalks may not seem like a hazard, but if you were an elderly person or someone carelessly walking, it could cause serious injuries if you were to encounter it while being unbeknownst about it. In addition, people who have a physical disability have difficulty overcoming these issues because of surfaces not being smooth whatsoever. As written by Dick Platkin in his article "Traffic Congestion in Los Angeles will get Worse," "LA's sidewalks and intersections are in terrible shape, with a woefully underfunded repair program. They are totally uninviting to most potential pedestrians and have so far failed to get Angelinos out of their cars and on their feet" (Platkin, 2019).
In the left photo, you're able to see an example of what you can expect to encounter in some areas while walking in LA. The right photo portrays a physically disabled citizen stumbling due to faulty sidewalks.
Broken sidewalks are not the only cause for concern when walking on the sidewalks. Homelessness, another issue, is what dissuades many, including me, from walking on sidewalks. There are lots of sidewalks in LA that are covered with tents and makes it unable to walk. Not just being unable to walk, but many choose not to walk and would rather drive as you won't have to be in close quarters with the homeless population. While I don't see most as a threat as many are there due to unfortunate circumstances, there are the many that have mental issues through the usage of drugs. Therefore, it causes myself and others to use our vehicles as a way of transportation as it feels safer than being on the sidewalks.
This is a photo of a street in Los Angeles where locals decide to walk on the street rather than the sidewalk
What happens when more people opt to drive?
With the increase in drivers on the roads and freeways come an increase in traffic and accidents. LA, from what I've noticed, is prone to accidents as a lot of people are in a rush and make dangerous turns in tight scenarios. Especially when rush hour occurs, everyone wants to head home or to work and because the freeways are jam-packed, everyone is trying to merge and therefore causes dangerous situations.
This is a photo of one of LA's most iconic traffic jams on the 405 freeway before Thanksgiving
In addition to hazardous situations, the pollution and global warming that driving causes is overlooked. Driving a car, SUVs, trucks or any vehicle in general emits carbon dioxide and pollutants. These pollutants are a form of toxic compound that's built of hydrogen and oxygen. However, when these two elements react to each other, it forms an oxide. It may not sound bad, but nitrogen oxide, one of the oxides that can be emitted, can cause respiratory issues, lung diseases, contribute to birth defects, etc. The list goes on as to what can occur to you, but the bottom line is that these pollutants that are emitted from vehicles can cause long-term effects to someones respiratory system. As mentioned earlier, vehicles also emit carbon dioxide. For those that don't know, carbon dioxide is the most dominant greenhouse gas that causes global warming. What it does is that it absorbs heat that would usually be emitted into space, and radiates it back into the Earth; thus causing our Earth to heat up. An observation made by hybridCARS portrays that a 2005 Toyota Camry emits 11,100 pounds of Carbon dioxide per 14,000 miles per year ("Health and Environment Effects of Driving, 2008). This is just a single Camry so just think about the number of cars driven in LA alone and how much that's contributing to global warming and our environment.
How the Growing Problem of Traffic in LA Affects Me
To begin, this topic pertained to me mostly in my Fall 19 and Spring 20 semester because of the traffic I experienced while driving to my internship as well as how this affected my time in school. For starters, my workplace was 20 miles away from my house and it would always take me 50 minutes to 1 hr and 30 minutes to arrive. Simply because of traffic, the time it takes to drive 20 miles was doubled if not tripled. I always felt fatigued on weekdays because I had to wake up early and was unable to get as much sleep. You may think to yourself, why don't you sleep earlier? The problem with that is that during those two semesters, the only times my group members could meet for our projects was at night so I'd had to wait until that happened. After that's finished, I'd had to drive home, eat, shower, and work on any assignments that are due in the near future. If I was lucky, I'd be able to sleep at 12:00am. Otherwise, I'd sleep even as late as 1:30am and have to wake up at 5:30am to repeat the cycle of sitting in traffic to drive to work.
How the freeway typically looks going to work and back home
Through all of this, I won't say that I'm part of the solution for global warming or causing less traffic in LA because I also drive a vehicle. However, public transportation isn't really an option to me, at least not in America. Because I don't particularly like the people that I may encounter, I choose to avoid public transportation as I feel safer doing so. While I still walk on streets in LA, of course before the pandemic, it's not as often as it could be because many streets are broken and overtaken by the homeless population. I feel safer driving past these areas in my vehicle rather than having to walk through areas that make me feel unsafe. I'm definitely not part of the solution, but I understand what's happening through all of this, as I've experienced it, and decided to write about this topic so that I could bring some awareness to it.
References:
Burfeind, M. (2019). INRIX: Congestion Costs Each American Nearly 100 hours, $1,400 A Year. inrix.com. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://inrix.com/press-releases/2019-traffic-scorecard-us/
Platkin, D. (2019, April 25). Traffic Congestion in Los Angeles will get Worse. City Watch LA. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/cw/los-angeles/17537-traffic-congestion-in-los-angeles-will-getworse#:~:text=The%20reason%20is%20that%20by,traffic%20congestion%20in%20Los%20Angeles%3F
Carino, M. M. (2018, July 12). Nothing Can Fix LA Traffic, So Deal With It. LAist. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://laist.com/2018/07/12/nothing_can_fix_la_traffic_so_deal_with_it.php#:~:text=IT'S%20NOT%20JUST%20ABOUT%20SPACE&text=Space%20is%20only%20one%20of,increase%20capacity%3B%20it's%20very%20dynamic
hybridCars. (2008). Health and Environmental Effects of Driving. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.gasp-pgh.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/factsheet-enveffects.pdf
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