Carmageddon was a bust. Basically, it ended up being the Y2K of this decade. Thousands were gearing up for the closure of the 405 freeway last weekend. L.A. officials warned Angelinos to stay off the roads and even enlisted popular celebrities to tweet about it to their millions of followers in the days leading up to the closure. But, in the end, Carmageddon came and went with little to no consequence.
Thousands stayed off the roads, but those who did go out found no traffic and shorter travel times. PCH was practically empty, leaving beach bums free to catch some rays up and down the coast.
Carmageddon ended up going well for just about everyone. So now the question L.A. officials and Angelinos are asking is: “Should we do this more often?” Honestly, the answer is yes. We definitely should commute less and avoid clogging the freeways as much as possible. But, now that the first Carmageddon was a success, we aren’t likely to pull off another one.
Closing the freeway is a dramatic move, yes, but the fact that it took place over the weekend rather than during the work week proved beneficial for a lot of people in the area. Despite being stranded at home for an entire weekend, commuters who stayed home during Carmageddon saved on gas money and road rage-induced stress, a trade-off I’d gladly make every once in a while.
And even those who ignored the countless warnings from the city were rewarded. Caltrans reported 10,000 less vehicles on the 5 Freeway compared to the weekend before and 20,000 less on the 101 Freeway resulting in shorter travel times.
But, whether you spent your time at home or on the road last weekend, city officials saw Carmageddon’s success as an opportunity to close the freeways more often.
Plans are already underway to close the 405 again next year in order to finish tearing down the Mulholland Drive bridge and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Deputy for Transportation Borja Leon have already voiced their support in closing the freeways more often during the summer. But, in spite of the support coming from the city’s officials, how likely is it that Angelinos will support implement ing regular Carmageddons? How likely is it that those of us in the L.A. area, with its abundance of shopping, food and entertainment options, will gladly stay home for the weekend over and over again in the summer? The most likely result of this Carmageddon will be a complete disregard for the next one.
When the 405 closes next year, we’ll remember how empty the roads were and how easy it was to get from point A to point B. What’s most likely is that we’ll end up seeing the same amount of traffic we see on any other day in Los Angeles.
The success of Carmageddon was pure luck. We didn’t know what would happen if we closed one of the major freeways in the area so we expected disaster. Now that we’ve seen the results, expect Angelinos to take it for granted. The next Carmageddon won’t be nearly as successful.
Alexis Reza is a senior journalism major and an assistant opinions editor for the Summer 49er.
