Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Average L.A. Driver Stuck in Traffic 63 Hours a Year
Photo by Mark Luethi via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
()
Photo by Mark Luethi via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
The annual Urban Mobility Report results are in and...whoa: on average, a driver in Los Angeles spends sixty-three hours wasting away in traffic delays. Just. Ouch.
The news isn't all bad though: other cities have it worse and L.A. once topped the charts in traffic-delay rankings (we steering-wheel-tapped our way through 84 wasted hours on freeways in 2006.)
According to the LA Times, Chicago drivers spend 70 hours a year patiently (or not) waiting through traffic delays. Los Angeles also ranked #4 in the nation for transit improvements and #1 for operational improvements such as adding carpool lanes and freeway ramp meters.
Support for LAist comes from
Is this a sign that our roads and traffic and public transportation problems are on their way out? Hardly. Though Los Angeles has made strides in keeping traffic congestion at bay, researchers acknowledge that our roads are less crowded because less people have jobs.
Tim Lomax, coauthor of the mobility report, says "Part of what we are seeing across the board is that the economy and unemployment have had a clear positive effect on traffic congestion." Um, ok. Less positive for those without jobs.
As the economy bounces back, traffic is projected to increase in Los Angeles. What will you do with all that "free" freeway time in the meantime? Take the Metro?
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist