transportation

Another Obama fundraiser coming to our general neighborhood: LAPD is suggesting avoiding the streets listed below in the UCLA and Westside area: Sunday 12:30-2:30 p.m.Pico Boulevard between Overland Avenue and Beverly Drive.Avenue of the Stars between Beverly Glen and Doheny Drive.Sunset Boulevard between Beverly Glen and Doheny Drive. 3-5 p.m.Sunset Boulevard between Beverly Glen and Doheny Drive.N. Whittier Drive between Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard. 5-7 p.m.Avenue of the Stars between Wilshire and Pico Boulevards.Motor Avenue between Pico Boulevard and the 10 Freeway.Streets around L.A. Live and the Nokia Center. 9:30-11:30 p.m.Motor Avenue between National Boulevard and Pico Boulevard.Avenue of the…

From the LA Times: …UCLA researchers say that last year’s Carmageddon closure of the 405 Freeway rid Los Angeles of both traffic and another notorious problem: pollution.Air quality near the closed 10-mile portion of the freeway reached levels 83% better than typical weekends, according to research released Friday by a team at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.  More striking, the researchers say, air quality also improved 75% in parts of West Los Angeles and Santa Monica, suggesting that whole swaths of residents stayed off the road in those areas. Overall, air quality across the region was 25% better…

Excerpt from the Metro website: The demolition of the north side of Mulholland Dr Bridge has been scheduled for Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30, 2012. As with the demolition of the south side of the 608-foot-long bridge, the I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass will be closed in both directions that weekend to allow for demolition.  As with the south side demolition, Metro and Caltrans are concerned that closing the freeway will result in severe congestion on the I-405 and adjoining freeways, perhaps effecting [sic] freeways throughout the region. Motorists throughout the State of California are asked to “Plan…

The Sunset bridge area will be closed tonight 10 PM until 6 AM tomorrow.  The folks in charge of the project actually did the same thing last night.  And I can tell you from personal experience last night that they thought it was OK to direct lots of traffic to a dead end and then let drivers figure out how to turn around.  So stay away.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYdr-MslXkw?feature=player_detailpage]

From Zev Yaroslavsky:  A wider, modernized Sunset Bridge is set to reopen for business on Monday, September 24, marking a major milestone in the progress of the 405 Project to bring a northbound carpool lane and other improvements to one of the nation’s most heavily-traveled freeways.  The rebuilt bridge will be 120 feet across—30 feet wider than its 1950s-era predecessor. In addition to two travel lanes in each direction, it also has new, dedicated turn lanes for motorists to access the freeway without affecting the flow of east-west traffic. Sidewalks and shoulders are wider, too, and the bridge has been…

From the LA Daily News:In another minor preview of “Carmageddon II,” the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway will be closed Saturday night through the Sepulveda Pass. Beginning at 11 p.m. Saturday, the northbound freeway will be closed from Getty Center Drive to the Ventura (101) Freeway. The freeway is expected to reopen by 9 a.m. Sunday, according to Metro, which is overseeing the San Diego Freeway construction project. The Mulholland bridge over the freeway, which closed tonight, will remain blocked until 8 a.m. Sunday… Full article at http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21549600/northbound-san-diego-405-freeway-closed-saturday-night [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b5LzCOc98E?feature=player_detailpage]

At least two fires are reported burning north of UCLA causing major traffic disruptions this afternoon.  The most recent alerts (as of around 5 PM today) say: Please be advised of a hillside brush fire in the Sepulveda Pass which has closed Sepulveda Blvd and slowed traffic more than normally on the I-405.  Additionally there are reports of car fires on Mulholland Drive and near Coldwater Canyon.I-405 is still open in both directions but moving slowly.  Heavy smoke from the fire is visible on campus. == Coldwater Canyon is closed between Ventura Blvd and Sunset Blvd. This is in addition…

There are warnings of 405 closures this weekend in the UCLA area on the Westwood-Century City Patch (excerpts): As drivers are warned of I-405 closures starting Saturday in preparation for Carmageddon II, they are also learning the full Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project is running about four to six months behind schedule. At a community meeting Thursday night in the Skirball Cultural Center, project manager Michael Barbour said crews have encountered delays in getting the Mulholland Bridge ready for the full freeway closure Sept. 29 to Sept. 30. But in preparation for the second phase of the Mulholland Bridge demolition and reconstruction,…