That, and most of California has the same problem Texas has with poor foundations and limestone. Not enough dirt to carve out until you get farther inland where it's dullsville.
If you can't build basements, you can't build subways; and California's problem is amplified because of the earthquakes/faultlines.
Japan's subway system is definitely in jeopardy. Imagine going 70MPH on a subway and all of a sudden a 9.1 magnitude strikes, that would be a horrible way to die. People died in the 2011 Honshu quake, and couldn't imagine what the catastrophe would be like if the epicenter would be anywhere near, say, Tokyo. (Or LA/SF).
You have to be on the right side of the divide going southbound and on the left side going northbound to see it. The best view is at night from the right side of the divide going southbound towards SA. The GPS will want to take you on the left side of the divide but the right side is worth it especially at night in light traffic due to the stunning view of downtown. And yes definitely you can still see the Capitol.Funny, because I actually tried to view the Capitol from 35 and no dice..........
Dude EVERYBODY drives waaaay over the speed limit in L.A. - I mean if you are the guy in the fast lane doing 60/70 - even 85 -
people behind you got pissed
todays cars - you kidding me - 95 all day long especially late at night and the best thing is that there are so many cars - you would have to be extremely unlucky to get pulled over -
- in 20 years - in cars and/or motorcycles - I cannot even remember being pulled over once!
If you have driven on the 405 you know as you head into the SF valley and go over the mountain past that famous musuem (Getty?) then as you go over the mountain - and start heading downhill?
Heck everyone hit 90-95 easy as you got down and past ventura blvd into the valley heading north - everyone was going high speeds...
That's just not what my experience on 405 was unless you're driving off peak times. My experience was more like my friend asks if I want to go to an Angels game so I leave at 4:30 for a 7:30 start and we don't even get into the stadium in Anaheim until the second inning thanks to the 405 moving at like 3mph from Wilshire to the 105. The 405 on good days would be like 35 mph for the most part if it wasn't too near rush hour where I lived. If it was rush hour whole different ballgame.
Easy fix is go to Anaheim for lunch or book a hotel there the night before so you're already there.
yeah the post after yours beat me to it
it was all about planning too
i wouldnt drive all the way to orange county for a game AFTER work or a couple of hours before gametime
but i get your point that was a brutal drive
i usually hung out in hollywood or go over the hill into the valley for dinner/sushi or whatever
if i had any business in orange co id go early and have lunch near huntington bch or pair my trip with something else nearby and then i had easy traffic early morning (since most traffic was heading INTO l.a.)
than after the game - easy traffic once the stadium emptied and the freeways were clear and fast
same logic near hollywood on weekend nights…sunset/hollywood blvds were gridlocked with weekend partiers, but id use fountain and other side roads to get around faster and avoid gridlock
in san francisco it was always taxicabs (years before ubers and such) as everything was within a 7 mile “island” that is san francisco but use my car for outings into marin co or napa or north of sf outings
but there again, when needed to get somewhere - as long as you planned better - you could avoid most traffic by planning drives on off peak hours
San Francisco is almost as bad as NYC for driving.
Those days are brutal for sure. Seeing the 405 brisk or even open is an oddity when you're driving 6-8am and 3-6pm. I remember when the pandemic first hit and people stayed home feeling so odd when I got on the 405 and it took me 1/4 the time to go from Long Beach to Santa Monica with the majority of the time on the 405.
everywhere in l.a.
it takes “twenty minutes”
to get there!
or so they say lol
Austin will likely never be dense enough for subways. But they need to focus on regional rail systems to make it feasible to get into downtown without having to drive or take a slow bus. Instead, they're focusing on a new line that goes between 38th and SoCo and that doesn't even get out to the airport. It seems designed to benefit the rich folks already living in the center, who are the the ones currently suffering the least from the traffic (and contributing the most to the housing crisis). I bet it's way more expensive to build per mile than the regional rail system is, and they don't even seem to be planning for folks who want to try this ty rail system driving in from the outskirts to the termini of the line to try to use it for the last bit of the journey.
Then in terms of roads TXDOT is expanding 35 in a way that seems like it could be a nightmare. Austin badly needs to create a way for through-traffic to bypass the main highway. In the south they're building an upper deck, but downtown they're planning on eminent domaining some historical land to widen 35 to 20 lanes. I think the concept of "induced demand" is poorly understood by folks critical of car culture, but unless these extra lanes are extremely well designed, it's going to be a cluster .
So yeah, the path to fixing Austin's traffic is pretty clear: 1) Build a loop around the city for through-traffic to use as a bypass. 2) Build a rail network to bring people in the extremities of the city and the surrounding suburbs into the city center. 3) Create a compact trolley/bus/streetcar system for people to travel around the city center. Yes, increasing density needs to happen. But that's something that's going to require more than a magic wand. In that same way, continuing to normalize telework wherever possible would alleviate some pressure. But for me the main issue is that despite being the lowest in priority, the city is focusing on moving about the city city center and scrapping the more straight-forward options in an effort to continue to court rich people looking to move, tourists and celebrities rather than trying to make life better and more affordable for the folks who are already here. The thing they can't control is that the state government is obsessed with trying to maintain the car/fossil fuel culture wiser planners are trying to get away from, and they continue to frustrate many more progressive measures the city tries to take. They are the ones who decide which highways go where, and they don't particularly care about finding a better solution to Austin's traffic than trying to make them Katy 2.0.
Last edited by Chinook; 06-06-2023 at 08:25 PM.
Keeping/expanding the Dillo would have been perfect for city center movement.
The problem with the "bypass" idea is that they already spent billions on that stupid toll road which is way to and gone but still serves as a "bypass" to some extent. And, it's expensive. But TxDot doesn't care about the average bear. Either spend out the butt on gas, time, and toll fares, or pull your hair out averaging 3 mph on I-35. Your choice.
The density of heavy transport vehicles is ungodly on 35 as well.
Could use more than 1 lane to keep them out.
Unfortunately too much of 35 is essentially 3 lanes
remarkably in my experience the truckers stay out of the far left lane like they are supposed to
It's actually illegal for them to be in the left lane from like Ben White to Georgetown. At least it was.
They should really incentivize thru truckers to use 130. , make it free for them.
There needs to be a way to get to 130 Toll Rd around New Braunfels or San Marcos area. Waiting to Buda to get to 130 is way to late, and who wants to drive 60mi. out of the way past Seguin to get to 130 from San Antonio.
Sounds like SA.
Austin has needed a loop for ing decades.
Terrain in west Austin is a problem
It's pretty much built out unless they go super dense (ha) and Cedar Park/Lakeway don't want 620 to be made into a freeway to protect their businesses along it. The loop will never really loop.
East towards Manor is the next big growth corridor, especially when/if the landfills along 290 close.
The 290 toll road ending right into those damn stoplights is the worst.
SA has a good highway system. The inner city roads are ty and full of potholes, but the mother roads are good for the most part. I-35, I-10, Loop I-410, and Loop TX-1604. Also, I-37 in the southeast.
Austin doesn't even come close to having it that good.
Mostly on the far north/northwest side of town where new communities are being built by the minute, especially around the Braun/1604 area heading west around the loop. The state has done a lot of work on it though of late.
Getting around town even during rush hour really is not that bad at all compared to the other big Texas cities. Bonus: no toll roads.
Getting to freeway criteria would be a challenge as the existing corridor is not close to meeting high speed criteria.
Horizontal and vertical challenges exist. Extensive reconstruction through Lakeway would be frowned upon
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