Westside Traffic

• World-record I-10 traffic, in both directions
• Projected growth – 300,000 residents, 200,000 jobs

Los Angeles was again ranked the most congested city in the United States. The Santa Monica Freeway (I-10), is one of the busiest in the world, carrying over 400,000 people per day.

Traffic is in both directions – Eastside and Mid-city residents go to Westside jobs and recreation as much as Westside residents go Downtown.

Freeway widening — or double-decking, like this part of the Harbor Freeway (I-110) — is very expensive and threatens neighborhoods with more noise and pollution as it fills with yet more traffic.

Traffic also spills over onto boulevards and residential streets, impacting neighborhoods with noise, pollution, and safety hazards. And traffic killed 1,666 people in L.A. County, including 215 pedestrians, in 1998 (NHTSA).

But there has been no real alternative to driving. The transit-dependent suffer long, slow bus rides – like two hours cross-town to get to Westside jobs.

We have begun a better way in Los Angeles, beginning with the Long Beach Blue Line in 1990. From its popular opening day (left), it has become the most successful new light rail line in the U.S., with over 80,000 riders per day. The Pasadena Gold Line opened in July. An Eastside extension is under construction.

Exposition will become the Westside link to L.A.'s rail network, using this old “Red Car” line the MTA bought in 1990.

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