Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version Vortex 1.1 8/4/83; site vortex.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!vortex!lauren
From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: L.A.: Density and Weather
Message-ID: <160@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Oct-83 23:18:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: vortex.160
Posted: Thu Oct  6 23:18:28 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Oct-83 03:51:47 EDT
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 53

It should be noted that L.A. is not at all laid out as a conventional
"Eastern" city, in that it is extremely distributed.  While there are
certain corridors that become quite dense during morning/evening
rush hours (e.g. the San Diego Freeway Southbound from The Valley in
the morning and Northbound in the evening) I haven't (in my lifetime
of living in different parts of L.A.) ever seen the sort of generalized
crowding of "Expressways" *and* surface streets that I've noted on
trips East. 

Part of the reason seems pretty obvious -- in many Eastern urban areas,
almost EVERYBODY seems to have to go downtown every day.  I've flown in 
a helicopter over Boston at 8 AM and the flow patterns (as static as
they were) are indeed quite impressive.  Out here, a much smaller 
percentage of the population lives or works in DOWNTOWN L.A.  However,
most people who work in L.A. *do* actually live in it, since the city
itself is so massive (for example, almost the entire San Fernando
Valley is actually in the city, even though there are popular place
names [Encino, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, etc.] that are commonly
used.)  However, large numbers of people virtually never go downtown,
instead working in suburban areas or one of the "mini downtowns" that
have developed over the years (like "Century City" in West L.A.).
I myself end up downtown maybe four or five times a year, and it's like
an alien city to me.  Who needs it? -- I live near the beach.

Oh yeah, one other point, if you Easterners got rid of those barbaric
toll booths on your roads and bridges, I think you'd find that your
rush hour traffic might flow a bit more smoothly.  Just an idea...

--Lauren--

P.S.  By the way, regarding weather... If I want snow, I drive a relatively
few miles out to the mountains.  If I want desert, a few miles in a 
different direction will do the trick.  If I want to see leaves change
color... well, I can always visit New Hampshire or just drive up
north a ways!  Frankly, I much prefer a very mild climate that stays
pretty much green all year long.  Actually, we do have two seasons
here -- wet (raining) and dry -- and indeed the weather has been rather
erratic the last couple of years when viewed from a climatic
perspective.  However, I still love it here.

I heard it well summed up a few years ago when I was flying back to L.A.
from Columbus in December.  It had been snowing hard for almost a week,
and it was about 5 degrees outside.  As the plane began to taxi out
to the runway, the pilot came on and said,

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to United Flight 101 direct from Columbus,
Ohio to Paradise." 

He was right.  When I stepped out of the terminal at LAX, it was 8pm 
and 69 degrees.  Was everything at the other end of that trip just
a dream?  Back to normality...

--LW--