I drive a 2000 Toyota Camry in my hometown of Los Angeles, probably the most car-centric metropolis in the United States, if not the world. My car is far from flashy, but it gets decent gas mileage and navigates L.A.'s hair-raising roadways better than my old Saturn compact did.
Although I like my car, I sometimes think of my car as The Ball and Chain. Because when it comes to transportation in Tinseltown, there are few options.
Except for a few years going to college in Northern California and working in Central California, I've lived in L.A. most of my life. We've got great culture, tourist attractions, wonderful food from around the world, and of course, you can't beat the weather. But if it weren't for the grueling traffic, coupled with the sprawling geography and pathetically limited public transportation (and an 11.1% unemployment rate), L.A. would be the best city to live in. Of course, if you're uber-wealthy, you can have your very own helipad, but the rest of us have to endure.
Taking advantage of all the attractions L.A. has to offer, or merely socializing with friends, is a relentless exercise in planning and perseverance. I can never patronize a new restaurant, stroll through a museum, or attend a street fair without wondering where I'm going to deposit The Ball and Chain, and how much I'll have to shell out for a parking space. Whether I even visit an attraction in town will have a lot to do with the ease of parking. There are well-known spots in L.A. that have been around for years (or even longer than I've been alive) that I have just visited only recently.
For example, L.A. is home to the world's wealthiest museum, the J. Paul Getty Museum. I had visited the museum's original home, the Getty Villa in Malibu, as a kid. The museum's newest addition, the Getty Center, opened in the northern part of L.A. in 1997. However, I visited the Center for the first time last March. The reason for my inertia? Although the museum has free admission, parking is $15 during the day, and $10 after 5PM. The Getty Center is tucked away on a hillside above the 405 Freeway.The 405 is the main north-south artery that bisects L.A. and goes from the beach communities in the south to the San Fernando Valley in the north. It is the most direct route to the Getty Center, but is one of the most congested roads in the U.S. One could take the bus to the museum, but from my house, a one-way trip on a good day would take an hour and a half. On the day I went, I was able to carpool with a friend, so we each paid $7.50.
The Griffith Observatory at Griffith Park opened in 1935 and is best known for being featured in the film Rebel Without a Cause (there's a bust of James Dean on the grounds). But I didn't get there until last April when I decided to organize a group to attend one of the Observatory's monthly amateur astronomer gatherings. Griffith Park is about 11 miles north of my house. The reason for my inertia once again: where am I going to put The Ball and Chain? So, it always just seemed too much trouble to try and go. The parking lot at the Observatory, while free, is not huge. If you can't find a space on a busy weekend, you'll have to park on one of the hills surrounding the grounds and hike up. An alternative is to take the Observatory shuttle, which runs only on weekends. But I still have to find a parking space near the shuttle stop, which is situated a couple of miles south of the park.
Taking an excursion to downtown L.A. can also be a parking nightmare, with lots on weekdays charging anywhere from $6 flat rate (the cheapest), to $4 an hour at the meters, to $3.50 every 15 minutes. When Occupy Los Angeles was a fixture at City Hall, I didn't camp, but because of the expense of parking, I couldn't hang out at the encampment as much as I would have liked. Instead, I went there twice, each time on a weekend, when parking can be found for $5 flat rate. Fortunately, if you want to enjoy downtown nightlife, many meters turn off after 6PM.
As for going to the beach in Santa Monica, I haven't been in years because it's too much trouble to find a space to put The Ball and Chain. I dread going to Hollywood for anything because first, it's congested, and second, sometimes I don't know how much I'll have to empty the wallet for the parking. I only occasionally visit Pasadena to the east - preferably on weekends - because weekday rush hour traffic that way is grueling. And since the 405 Freeway is gridlocked most hours of the day, I don't go to the San Fernando Valley unless I have a really good reason.
Because of the distances and difficulty in getting around Los Angeles, many people usually stay and socialize within their own enclaves: Westsiders like to stick to the Westside, Eastsiders to the Eastside, Valley dwellers to the Valley, downtown dwellers to central L.A. and so on. I'm one of those rare residents that will routinely drive from east to west. However, I fantasize about one day my city being connected by an extensive and complex web of rail connections, so as to make it possible to see far-flung friends once a week, instead of once a year. L.A. is inching its way there. For several years, we've had the Gold Line light rail to Pasadena, the Red Line subway to North Hollywood, the Orange Line to the San Fernando Valley, the Green Line to Redondo Beach, and the Blue Line to Long Beach. Yet none of these lines connect to where I live in south L.A., so I still have to take a slow bus ride or drive to the nearest stations. But within the next few years, my neighborhood could finally be within walking distance of a train.
I've been waiting with bated breath for the opening of the Expo Line, a light rail project that will connect downtown L.A. to Santa Monica (and the beach!). The first segment, scheduled to open early in 2012, will connect downtown L.A. to Culver City to the west. Construction on the segment to Santa Monica is scheduled to be completed in 2015. However, the nearest Expo station will still be 1.3 miles from my house. I don't own a bicycle, so unless I want to walk that distance, which would take about 30 minutes, I'll still have to drive up to the stop and park in the surrounding residential area before boarding the train. Anyway, I'll be able to go downtown anytime I want without having to endure our inefficient bus system or paying through the nose in parking. Downtown L.A. is currently going through a transformation and cultural renaissance, and the Expo Line could help speed that up. Watch video of a train test run below:
Despite the anticipation, planning for the Expo Line hasn't gone smoothly, because one of the stations was built at grade and next to a school. I hope that the safety enhancements there will do what they're supposed to. There is also controversy surrounding the future Crenshaw Corridor Line that will connect Expo with Los Angeles International Airport. This line would finally provide a station within comfortable walking distance of my house. Although the project will get some much needed financial help from the federal government, it's been hit with a lawsuit by south L.A. residents, who fear the current design could adversely impact businesses in the area. And the so-called "Subway to the Sea" connecting downtown and East L.A. to Beverly Hills, UCLA and beyond could be decades off.
As you can see, re-making a city that was built for the car into one that is inter-connected through rail is a tremendous, multi-generational undertaking, with hiccups and growing pangs along the way. Alas, it's still too dangerous to bike in most areas of L.A. But, maybe, one day my city will also build the kind of fantastic system of bikeways I saw and was so impressed by when I visited Copenhagen...well, not likely. But a girl can still dream.