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Close the canyons and the L.A. commute is lost, the Business Journal says in reconstructing last week's hellacious post-storm congestion. Five of the seven mountain roads that connect the Valley with the city and PCH were closed, forcing commuters who use those routes onto freeways. The result was on-ramp lines overflowing onto streets and something approaching actual gridlock (not Daily News-style everyday "gridlock.")
"I’ve worked in Santa Monica for almost seven years and last Wednesday was the longest commute ever: two hours and five minutes to go 11 miles," said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association whose typical 35-minute trip turned into a nightmare. "I tried every possible street: Montana, San Vicente, Wilshire. No street worked."[skip]
Close said one of his colleagues left the office at 6 p.m., "went nowhere, turned around and came back to the office. He ate dinner and set out again at 8:30 p.m., figuring it would take 30 minutes to get over the hill. It took him 90 minutes."
Welcome to the future. The story by Andy Fixmer is free on the Business Journal website.
Also in the LABJ, but not free: The Los Angeles Newspaper Group is moving all circulation services for the chain to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.