Study: Pandemic Eases LA Traffic; 101 Freeway Still One Of Most Congested Freeways In The Nation
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An annual study released Tuesday confirmed what most Angelenos already know – Los Angeles has some of the worst traffic in the nation.
Two traffic corridors that were considered among the 10 worst in the nation were the 101 Freeway from New Hampshire Avenue to the 110 interchange and La Cienega Boulevard from the 405 Freeway to West Adams, according to the 2020 Global Traffic Scorecard released by transportation analytics firm Inrix, Inc. Another infamous traffic corridor that made the ranking was the 101 Freeway from the 405 to the Hollywood Freeway, at No. 13. Drivers using these corridors at peak congestion wasted as much as 19 hours a year.
However, the study determined that the pandemic made a big impact driving in Los Angeles, where drivers saved 58 hours on the road from 2019. Government restrictions and the continued spread of the virus seemed to have changed travel behavior overnight, according to INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue.
"Morning commutes in cities across the world went without delay as people reduced auto and transit travel to offices, schools, shopping centers and other public spaces," he said in a statement.
The 5 Freeway is a case in point – that corridor topped the list at 80 hours of daily delay in 2019, but dropped completely out of the top 25 most congested corridors in the U.S., according to INRIX.
