Posts Tagged ‘traffic’

Traffic spike

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
02 August 2014
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I like to check how much traffic my site is getting each day, and WHOA when I checked yesterday, I found that July had ended on an insanely high day for me. I typically get about 150-180 page views a day, with a previous high of 256 or so. Out of nowhere, it shot up to 344 on Thursday!

new record for blog page views in a single day now at 344

Did something break? Did I suddenly show up in search results a whole lot more? Did I do something really good for the traffic? I have no idea. Everything’s back to normal now and I don’t know why there was that influx. Crazy, but awesome. Can I have some repeats? 😛

Traffic gaps & freeway weaving

laelene Posted in general blog, video blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
31 May 2013
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Have you ever been driving down the freeway when it’s not too crowded and traffic is just rushing on by when suddenly you find yourself alone? There’s a cluster of lights up ahead maybe a mile or so and another behind you about the same distance away. I love it when I get in a situation like that – I’m away from the crowds and it’s just me and the road (until either I catch up to the cluster in front or get bombarded by the cluster behind).

It’s times like that that I want to weave back and forth like those highway patrol vehicles that do so to slow down traffic. I was actually caught behind one of those for a few miles recently and we even ended up at a dead stop for awhile (see videos below). Maybe there was debris on the road that needed to be cleared? I couldn’t tell because I was about 5 cars behind and there were too many red lights in my way to see. Luckily, it wasn’t like that one time I got stuck for two hours on the 405. This barely lasted three minutes and we were on our way again, rushing off into empty expanse ahead.

I wonder if you’re ever allowed to ride along when the highway patrol is doing that, because I’ve always wanted to. I mean, when else do you get to weave back and forth on the freeway without getting in trouble? And it’s gotta be fun to see all traffic yielding to you, crawling along as they wait to see if you’re bringing them to a stop or just slowing down the speed of traffic. Then when you’re done with your task, you turn off your flashing lights and race off to the next thing as the cars behind finally get to continue on their way.

highway patrol slowing traffic from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

stopped on freeway from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

LAX backup

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
19 December 2011
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Traffic was at a virtual stop when the rain came! They had shut down the Sepulveda tunnel due to flooding, which made what should have been a 10-minute drive back took over an hour extra. Yikes.

Carmegeddon

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
15 July 2011
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All day, Angelenos have been bracing themselves for the 405 shutdown, which has been dubbed “Carmageddon” due to the potential for massive gridlock across the city as traffic diverts elsewhere.  As it is, the 405 is known for terrible traffic conditions, so we were really unsure of what would happen when a 10-mile stretch of the northbound side (approximately from the 10 freeway to the 101 freeway) and a 4-mile stretch of the southbound side was closed for the weekend.  Anyone trying to get over into the San Fernando Valley would have to find an alternate route, ranging from PCH along the coast to the 101/170 or 5 further inland.

We’ve been hearing warnings for over a month, with traffic condition signs flashing: “405 Closed 10 to 101, July 16-17 Expect Big Delays”  It’s been over the news and I’ve heard that even people in Norcal up to the Oregon border were notified!  Caltrans sure worked hard to make sure that as many people knew as possible so locals could plan to stay in and visitors could schedule around the weekend.  As we got closer, we were even told about an app called Waze that could provide us with GPS routes based on traffic conditions to help us get around the congestion.

So Friday afternoon, people started leaving work (wishing each other a Happy Carmegeddon), hoping to get home before the craziness.  Many even stayed at home that day so they wouldn’t have to deal with or contribute to the evening traffic.  By the time I was getting out around 6, the freeways looked clear.  They never looked like at on a weekday!  I was originally going to wait until 8 or 9 to head home so I could avoid the commuter’s clog, but since it looked so good I packed up and left around 6:30.

It was the most amazing commute I ever had.  Even with normal free-flowing traffic, there are still a lot of cars on the road, but this time it was so much more empty.  I only saw one car using the carpool lane, and that wasn’t for lack of carpoolers!  They just didn’t need it.  The only time I really had to slow down was up by the Getty Center, where there had been a crash that needed to get moved over so we could squeeze by.

Thanks to Carmegeddon for freeing up the roads before the closure.  It made my life a lot easier that night!  We’ll see how the rest of the weekend pans out.  I’m steering clear until Sunday night.

Speed trap

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
11 June 2011
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Today on my drive home, I saw a car get pulled over about a mile behind me.  It made me think about how often I see cars pulled over at the Magic Mountain exit of the 5 North.  From the moment you get over the hump into the Santa Clarita Valley, the 5 becomes a fast ride.  It’s hard not to get carried away with all the speeding cars around you and I always have to be extra careful that I don’t drive too fast.  I wonder if I passed that very same highway patrol who caught that car I saw in my rearview mirror.  I assume that I had, and of course didn’t even notice.  Good thing I was driving the speed limit, unlike a lot of my neighbors on the road.

Just as I was thinking about all the cops I’d seen along Magic Mountain Parkway or Tourney road, I turned off the exit to that very spot and lo and behold, there were two cop cars there.  This time it was just because of an SUV that had to be towed, but usually it’s because someone got caught along the speed trap the 5 becomes at that point.  From Stevenson Ranch all the way up to Castaic, it’s a huge stretch of light traffic (most of the time) and motorists get too reckless.

I remember my dad telling me about another small speed trap area – that part of Magic Mountain Pkwy leading into Valencia.  The road is wide, there isn’t much around you, and you got used to freeway speeds, so when you get there, it’s easy to get back up to 60 or more.  There’s plenty of space on the shoulder to allow a cop to lie in wait and while I haven’t seen anyone pulled over, I do catch myself going over the 50 MPH sometimes.  It’s harder to recognize how fast you’re going when the road is so wide and empty.  You don’t have that much around you to gauge your speed either.  It definitely takes some vigilance to stay within the limit.

Worst intersection

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: , , ,
31 March 2011
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There were so many cameras it was ridiculous. I swear they’ve got a dozen at least.

intersection with dozens of cameras set up to catch red light violations

Seriously? You need THAT many cameras at ONE intersection? Must be quite the troubled spot!

Thanksgiving traffic nightmare!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
24 November 2010
1

Ok, I get it, people (especially Americans) love their holidays.  But really, do you have to clog my commute on the rare occasion I get off of work early?  It would have been great getting off work today at 3 except for the fact that I had to drive for three and a half hours to get home!  Seriously?!?!  I mean, I was grateful when my morning commute was only an hour (compared to the typical 1.5-2 hrs), but that was MORE than made up for at night when I still didn’t manage to get home before the sun set.

I fully went through two bags of Veggie Straws & Chips, a huge bottle of water (from my KOR ONE hydration vessel), and my handy dandy tea mug.  And that was still with an hour and a half to go.  By that time I had to urinate so bad that I couldn’t bear to pull out my final “bottle” of water (it was in an anti-bottle, actually) to drink.  I was crawling at about 2-3 MPH for a good 3-5 miles as the 405 merged into the 5.  It was absolute insanity!  Why can’t people commute to their families tomorrow during the day, when I’m not exhausted from work and driving?

I’m definitely going to rest as much as I can this long weekend after that ordeal!

Crazy commute

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
18 October 2010
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The first half of last week, my morning commute was a whopping 2 and a half hours in the morning.  Going home was much better at around 1 hour and 45 minutes, but still – over 4 hours a day just to get to and from work?  Factor in the 9 hours spent at work and I barely have enough time to get ready in the morning, eat dinner at night, rest, get ready for bed, and sleep in the remaining time.  Plus it’s been drizzly and cold, which makes things all the more miserable.

The sudden spike in commute time (it used to take me an hour and a half or so) is due to added construction along the 405, particularly in the Sepulveda Pass.  They’re shutting down Sepulveda going through the mountains, which means everyone is forced to use the 405 and congest even more than usual.  It’s absolute insanity and I’m getting really tired from all the driving.  I’m thinking of renting a place nearby just to alleviate the stresses of driving so much and give myself more time to rest at night.

At least now I have the SafeCell App on my phone so I can earn points for not using my phone while driving!  Once I save up enough I can redeem them for items at hundreds of retailers.  It’ll make my commute much more rewarding as I focus on driving safely and imagine as my points rack up.  🙂  Now if only I could find a good radio station to listen to… I’m so sick of all the music they cycle through and the boring talk shows that just repeat themselves.  I’m even sick of the commercials I’ve heard time and time again!  I tried audiobooks, but haven’t found any good ones since I listened to the ones I really wanted to hear.  Panda suggested podcasts, so maybe I’ll look into those.

Gridlocked

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
22 September 2009
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Brake.  Gas.  Brake.  Gas.  Brake.  Brake.  Brake.

What it looks like. photo credit: enterstageright.com

What it looks like. photo credit: enterstageright.com

The morning commute sucks, even at 9:30.  You would have expected it to be a little clearer, but I guess enough people go to work later that it doesn’t even matter anymore.  Panda has mentioned a few times that he wants to live near work so he only has a 5-minute commute (much like mine to Opportunity Green when I’m at his place).  I completely understand.  The problem will be working close enough to each other that we can find a place that isn’t too far from either.  For I certainly don’t want to have to wake up in the morning only to drive an hour and a half to start working.  It’s exhausting and the complete wrong way to start the day.  I’m amazed that so many people do it.

I hate to get up in the morning as it is.  When you put a morning commute as miserable as they get in LA, that’s just about the worst way anyone could start their day.  I can’t imagine something more stressful and draining, both physically and mentally.  And for those who experience road rage and get extremely anxious when they are running late, it’s emotionally taxing as well.  If only everyone could just work from home and cut the commute, be close enough to just walk on over, or had public transportation that easily transported people.  Maybe cities should be planned in such as way as to ease this sort of congestion.  I’m not sure that would be enough though, what the complexity of the problem.  Perhaps businesses and residences should intermingle more evenly to spread out the flow of traffic in all directions instead of one main one.  It just doesn’t make sense to have hordes of people heading into a central business district each morning and rushing out each evening.  Is there really any real benefit to having business hubs?

What it feels like. photo credit: Curtis Gregory Perry on flickr

What it feels like. photo credit: Curtis Gregory Perry on flickr

It might be that the problem would not be solved with a different distribution of businesses, but rather needs to be tackled via transportation solutions.  I know I sure wish I had someone to drive with so I could take advantage of the carpool lane and probably shave a good 20-30 minutes off of my 90-minute drive.  Even better would be a mass transportation system that runs at that time.  The only way I can get from my valley down to more central LA via public transportation is a commuter bus that only runs in the early morning.  This city is in desperate need of a mass transit makeover.  Buses, trains, subways, monorails, whatever.  A city so spread out shouldn’t leave its people with so few options to get around.

Let’s end the concept of rush hour.  It’ll make the atmosphere cleaner and the people happier.

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