MINI Coupe: all fun, no mess

Like many Los Angeles area folks, I’m crazy about cars. Fortunately, I’m able to incorporate my love into my work, and covered the L.A. Auto Show on Press Day 1 yesterday. Unfortunately, my day was ruled as much by the cars on the roads outside than by the shiny new models inside the Convention Center.

I left my house by the beach after rush hour to avoid traffic, hit the show very hard, then skedaddled out of there by about 4:15 p.m. to avoid the evening rush. As a result, the compressed time I spent at the show was somewhat manic. Stopping off at Langer’s on the way home? Forget it.

Inside the show, the car companies advertise their cars based on many attributes: quality, value, economy, luxury, technology, and driving fun. But I didn’t see or hear one mention of anything to do with traffic. Such a discussion would seem to be antithetical to the car companies’ mission, which is of course to sell more of those shiny sexy cars.

As a car lover, I’m guilty of moving out here and contributing to the problem. In my defense, however, I work mostly from home, and put on very little mileage. My car is over 8 years old, and I’m going to hang onto it as long as I can. My trips to L.A. city proper are rare.

I know it’s not a new subject area, but what is the toll — to our psyche, our finances, and our quality of life — that we in the Los Angeles areas pay each year for our traffic? Can anything be done about it, or is all hope lost? I’m no traffic expert, but I would think that living closer to where we work, having a shorter commute, is one way to make the problem better. Another is more and better mass transit, to the extent possible in sprawling, designed-for-cars L.A. Maybe the new Expo Line will help.

I hope something will help. The Auto Show demonstrates that we’re putting out amazing cars. The roads in and around L.A. show that there are fewer and fewer places to put them.

Air Force One returns to LAX Thursday afternoon.

As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s pretty exciting when Air Force One is at LAX. It is, after all, probably the most recognizable 747 in the country, if not the world. In addition to being exciting to see, it can also be a tremendous pain in the ass. If Air Force One is here, that means the President is, too. And that likely means especially bad traffic on L.A.’s streets.

If you’re a fan of plane spotting, I’m here to give you the hot tip. Pick your spot on the lawn next to In-N-Out on Sepulveda on Thursday afternoon. If all goes according to schedule, Air Force One will cross directly in front of you as it comes in to land at 2:45pm. I always recommend getting there at least 30-60 minutes early, as this flight sometimes runs ahead of schedule.

If you’re not a fan of plane spotting (or heavy traffic,) I’m here to give you the hot tip. Stay the hell away from West L.A. on Thursday afternoon! President Obama arrives in mid-afternoon and will be heading to Sony Studios in Culver City to appear at a fundraiser for his reelection campaign. The Secret Service has worked closely with LAPD and LADOT to mitigate the traffic caused by the presidential motorcade, but seriously, how much can they do? Traffic in that area is typically bad anyway. Add the President to the mix, and things could get ugly.

President Obama will spend the night in southern California, then depart on Friday morning. Scheduled departure is 8:55am, if you plane spotters would like to see AFO in flight again. Remember to set up at the opposite end of the airport, as departing flights head out over the ocean.

Hampton Dr. at Rose Ave. in Venice

It’s only the day before the day before the Labor Day weekend, but I noticed a sweet decrease of cars driving on the West Side today.  Did anyone else notice the same thing in other areas of Los Angeles?  Getting around for the next few days might even be pleasurable.  And hopefully those who have left town are not on their way to the North Carolina coast.  Wherever you are, have a great holiday weekend!

Clickably gigantifiable.

Last week I mentioned an opportunity to have a (semi) up-close gander at Air Force One as it arrived at LAX yesterday. Did you go?

The President and his posse arrived about 40 minutes ahead of schedule Monday afternoon, which worked out really well for those of us who had gotten there early. It meant beating the worst of the afternoon traffic coming back up through downtown.

Now, speaking of the traffic, I heard it was terrible virtually everywhere yesterday. The Pres flew via Marine One from LAX to Beverly Hills, but once he got into the car bound for the DCCC fundraiser in Hancock Park, Secret Service street closures for the motorcade turned all of L.A. into one giant traffic clusterf*ck.

The obligatory snapshot with the plane.

For the record, I was there for the arrival. I had nothing to do with the resulting traffic.

If you were there, how was it from where you stood? In addition to the grassy knoll at In-N-Out, I saw a bunch of people perched above Imperial Highway on W. Imperial Avenue, which gave the advantage of being down toward the end of the runway where Air Force One was parked.

The rest of the photos from my vantage point on the runway can be found in this Flickr set.

Skirting the Cahuenga Pass on Outpost Drive (click for bigness)

Last night as I was returning home from a lovely meet up with some fellow bloggers, I realized it was just about time for the Bowl audience to be leaving. So, I made my way over to Outpost and started up the hill. I was delightfully surprised to find that most of the entire route has been repaved and is an exceptionally smooth ride. Previously, it was so bad that when I got a new car a few years ago, it took me many months to even subject it to the trek.

I do have a few other bypasses I like to take to get “over the hill” if I’m traveling at peak traffic times. The shortcuts don’t always guarantee getting to my destination any earlier, but I’d rather be moving than just sitting on a congested freeway or street.

Do you have a favorite shortcut or tip for circumventing traffic in this city? Leave it in the comments below.

Walgrove Ave. near Venice Blvd.

Driving around the West Side today was a thrill. I’m used to seeing the streets of big cities, such as New York and Washington, DC, empty on New Year’s Day morning. But the West Side streets were also empty as late as 4 o’clock this afternoon, which, along with the light fog, made for an eerie sensation. I assume it was a combo of (1) hangovers; (2) brunches; (3) vacation absenteeism; (4) Tournament of Roses parade watching; and, especially, (5) USC Rose Bowl watching. Whatever the reason, the empty streets reminded me that Los Angeles would be especially pleasurable with fewer people and fewer cars. I tip my hat to the bicycle commuters out there. As for the rest of us who live here and drive around town, I guess we can’t complain too much, since we’re part of the problem.  But at least we can enjoy one day of decreased stress.

Redwood Ave. near Washington Blvd.

There’s no envelope being pushed here, just your standard low-res, potentially motion-sickness-inducing timelapse that condensed my 60-minute 14-mile crosstown journey into four stopmotion-filled minutes. Contrary to what we’ve lately been finding in the media, the trip wasn’t a death-defiant one. I didn’t get doored or get cursed at, or get drenched in flung beverage, or get a ticket, or get shot, stabbed, run over or run off the road. I just get on my bike and get to work — but not on any freeway. Instead I traverse thoroughfares far more frightening than a gridlocked 405: Fairfax Avenue and the boulevards of Venice and Sepulveda. Anyway, I hope you come along for the ride below and enjoy it. My philosophy is that any day I can ride a bike is automatically a better day.