Everyone has a worst traffic choke point in L.A. That part of the commute where everything stops, time seems to stand still and you debate how many red-light cycles it will take to get through the intersection.
It’s places like this you worry about getting into that fender-bender or witness an act road rage that will haunt your nightmares.
The Times decided to find out which are truly the worst crossing in the city, based on city data on traffic volumes and accidents.
James Moore, a traffic engineering expert from USC, reviewed The Times data and offered some analysis, both predictable and surprising.
The common denominator for the list was clear: Intersection at key traffic points, often near major shopping and business centers as well as freeways. That naturally creates choke points.
Many of the worst intersection were designed to take a lot traffic. They’ve been optimized for car movement (so pedestrians, buses cyclists come second to moving cars). This is controversial because some feel the city need to prioritize getting solo drivers out of cars and onto mass transit and other alternatives. But most of these intersections lack protected bike and bus lanes.
As frustrating as the waits at these intersections can be, Moore argues that the city had generally done a adequate job of moving so many cars and is skeptical much more can be done short the type of “congestion pricing” system being tried in New York and European cities.
Many of these intersections contain “protected” right turn lanes, which Moore said improve flow and reduce conflict among drivers.
One surprise is that not all them were the crossings of major thoroughfares. While those big intersections were represented — PCH and Sunset, Wilshire and Sepuleveda — others included smaller streets.
The reason? Often they marked key choke points just outside of major attractions like Hollywood, downtown L.A. and LAX. Intersection design also plays a role. Poorly laid out crossing can really back up traffic, especially in areas with few alternative route.
(Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; source photo via Getty Images)