01-13-2014, 04:19 AM
90 minutes is about right from Downtown LA to Santa Monica (20 miles) at 8am. A lot of people think the traffic into Downtown LA is bad, but in the last 30 years the Westside of LA, including Beverly Hills/Century City, Westwood/UCLA and Santa Monica, has become where many of the jobs are.
The morning commute to the westside from every direction horrendous. If you are coming from the Valley, South Bay or Eastside, don't expect to exceed 15 mph from 7-9am on the freeway. Going home is just as bad from 3-7p. If it's raining, there's a riot, or it's Halloween night, it can take 3 hours to get out. It's similar to my experience of living in the Berkeley and community to SF and I'm guessing it's similar to NY, Boston, Chicago, DC, Houston, etc..
It can be unpredictable too. If I go to Staples Center (just 10 miles east as the crow flies) on a weekday morning, it's 20 minutes. But on a Friday evening it can be anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hrs. It sucks because you have to assume the worst if you don't want to miss your event.
But since I hate traffic, I try hard to avoid it by. I easily lose touch with friends who live more than 20 miles away.
The morning commute to the westside from every direction horrendous. If you are coming from the Valley, South Bay or Eastside, don't expect to exceed 15 mph from 7-9am on the freeway. Going home is just as bad from 3-7p. If it's raining, there's a riot, or it's Halloween night, it can take 3 hours to get out. It's similar to my experience of living in the Berkeley and community to SF and I'm guessing it's similar to NY, Boston, Chicago, DC, Houston, etc..
It can be unpredictable too. If I go to Staples Center (just 10 miles east as the crow flies) on a weekday morning, it's 20 minutes. But on a Friday evening it can be anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hrs. It sucks because you have to assume the worst if you don't want to miss your event.
But since I hate traffic, I try hard to avoid it by. I easily lose touch with friends who live more than 20 miles away.