Learning to love LA without traffic

Many people old enough to remember the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles talk about that two weeks as their favorite time in the city. There was fun stuff going on every day, and traffic was mellow. Carmageddon weekend (part one) is already taking on the same image. KTLA's Sam Rubin waxes rhapsodic on his blog:

People stayed home. People worked from home. Employers staggered work schedules, enabling employees to take the day off, work from home, or leave early. And you know what. It worked. It worked better than a multi-billion dollar subway, worked better than wider and wider freeways. People all over the Southland were given a crystal clear message and they responded....

These last three days; quieter, less frenetic, better; is like the Los Angeles I grew up in. So many of my friends this weekend said the exact same thing. We want this version of Carmageddon to return as soon as possible.

At The Wrap, Sharon Waxman goes there too:

That was the most stress-free, relaxing two days on the byways of Los Angeles that I can remember. A pleasure.

I loved Carmageddon.

Everybody stayed home. The weather was glorious. The streets were empty. Less smog. Less crowding. Less global warming.

In the UCLA-KCET show on Carmageddon, we said it could happen — D. J. Waldie talked about the prospect of "an Olympic miracle."