Los angeles transportation issues

Existing Pattern and Character of Development 1. The distribution and low-density of single- family units coupled with their physical separation from commercial services, jobs, recreation, and entertainment necessitates the use of the automobile. This, in turn, leads to numerous single-purpose vehicle trips, long distances traveled, traffic congestion, and air pollution. Existing residential densities inhibit the development of an effective public transportation system in many areas of the City.

Existing multi-family residential neighbor hoods approximately 53 percent of all housing units exhibit a variety of characteristics and conditions. Some have been developed at or near the maximum densities permitted and generally convey a homogeneous character. Some are developed with multi-family dwellings at lesser than permitted densities and have capacity for growth. Others exhibit a wide range of housing types and densities.

Residents from many neighborhoods have expressed their concern about further neighborhood intensification and their desire to retain existing units at present densities.

The narrow depth of parcels along many of the City's commercial corridors results in development which conflicts with adjacent residential neighborhoods. There is a significant lack of open space and parks in the City to support the needs of the population and there is a severe inequity of their distribution throughout the City. The transmission and utility corridors, flood control improvements including the Los Angeles River , railroad corridors, and other linear elements which cross the City provide the opportunity for the introduction of open space improvements.

The future of the City's industrial lands is uncertain due to the regional recession, national economic restructuring, and relocation of businesses to other cities and states. Due to the loss of industrial activity, the appropriate use of some of these properties is in question and has led some to propose their re-use for non-industrial purposes.

Of concern is the amount of industrial land that should be allowed to convert to other uses, e. Many of the industrially-zoned properties encompass large areas in the San Fernando Valley, Downtown, and Port area, affording opportunities to focus City efforts to preserve industrial planned lands for such use as the economy recovers.

Regional Patterns of Land Use and Development 1. The City of Los Angeles experiences a net in-migration of vehicular trips in the morning and a net out-migration in the evening, as it provides jobs for people living in outlying "jobs poor" communities. This pattern has remained rather constant despite the weak economy and the regional loss of employment opportunities. As a result, regional traffic congestion and air quality have not improved to desired levels.

New technologies may afford the opportu nity to reduce vehicular miles traveled by enabling employees to work at home and conduct many business activities electronically. Non Home-to-Work Destinations 1. Non home-to-work trips now result in more congestion and air pollution than home-to-work trips.

Land uses that primarily generate non home-to-work trips shopping centers, entertainment complexes, sporting venues, recreational and cultural facilities typically serve a retail function and draw customers from both the City and the surrounding region, thereby contributing to traffic congestion and air pollution. The retail function of many of the above mentioned destinations inhibits effective use of public transportation because customers often make purchases and need to transport packages home.

At the same time, these trips occur at the convenience of the traveler, the timing of which frequently does not coincide with a fixed transit schedule. It focuses growth in a number of Centers that are to be interconnected with public transit and conserves existing residential neighborhoods.

The "Centers" Concept differentiates these areas of growth strictly by density and does not reflect the diversity of their functional roles, land uses, physical form, character, and users. Consequently, this definition provides ineffective guidance for growth and development. Intensification of a number of the desig nated Centers, such as Boyle Heights and Highland Park, which are predominantly neighborhood-oriented one- and two-story areas, to their maximum permitted densities would adversely impact their present character.

The application of the existing "Center" designation is inconsistent and does not reflect the City's pattern or character of development. As such, many areas outside of the designated Centers exhibit the same characteristics that are supposed to define the designated Centers. For example, Brentwood and Westwood represent regional-serving retail and office commercial centers similar to the designated Sherman Oaks and Miracle Mile Center. The connection between public transit, employment, housing, and disability is clear for Arias.

Because there are still temporary periods where epilepsy prevents her from driving, she will always need to live near public transportation. And I have to be near it now to get to work. Ohland says that, because of L. The further out in the county one lives including beyond its borders into San Bernardino and Riverside counties , the less available public transportation becomes.

Thus, to get from the outskirts of the county or outside of the county to go to work in more job-rich, metropolitan parts of L. Despite the sluggish efforts, improving L. The development of better public transit in L. Despite improvements, civil rights issues and inequity related to transportation exist today. Examining this requires us to re-evaluate car culture and consider the entire human experience. Transportation is interconnected to and interacts with social issues related to race, age, gender, disability, employment, poverty, housing, and having basic household and personal needs met.

Further understanding how these issues inform each other is essential to moving toward an equitable L. Even knowing the county has a ways to go. People are realizing that equity is at the core of L.

County being a better place for everybody to live. Congestion in the downtown Central Business District is a serious problem now. In , the Central Business District, a 3.

Can the downtown area stand a comparable increase in vehicular traffic--either cars or buses--to accommodate this influx on a daily basis? Quite simply, no! The questions that actually need answering are: How will Los Angeles serve the transportation needs of its residents without further abusing an already overburdened infrastructure--its streets, highways and freeways?

And, how will the area respond to its future transportation needs as an international city serving the Pacific Rim countries and hosting millions of visitors? CUT is less congested, but is severely impacted by lack of chassis , which leads to day delay for on-dock rail program…. They need GACP chassis to perform the cross-terminal shuttle for the rail operation. With none chassis, the rail program seizes up [sic].

They get one ship a week and work it well. Any delays you see are the result of lines not being able to pick cargo up due [to] lack of chassis and truck. APMT is not a G6 terminal, but we have services there.

They have by far the largest throughput in both harbors combined, but they are fluid and uncongested. Pier A has been used as a relief valve… Terminal is well run and fluid, but they use BN as on-dock rail provider and we use UP…so, everything for HL is a truck move, and back to the same problem of no trucks and no chassis. That brings us to the next factor in all this congestion. A major problem facing the international shipping industry, especially right here in the U. Truck drivers are the basic unit of transportation capacity and the glue that holds supply chains together.

No container or straight truck or trailer moves without, at some point, a truck driver.