Mixer: Is LA making traffic inroads?

I don’t know where you are right now… but if you’re reading this, chances are you’re close to a web page that will show a geographic freeway map of Los Angeles.

And the 10, 110, 101 or 405 may not be cooperating with your travel plans.

But is it getting better, or are Angelenos still languishing in congested ridiculousness, with no end in sight?

Laura J. Nelson covers transportation issues – among other things – for the LA Times, and Joe Mathews is California Columnist at Zocalo Public Square.

Kajon Cermak is KCRW’s afternoon traffic reporter.

They all joined us for a conversation on the state of LA traffic, a subject Zocalo discussed this week over at the Peterson Museum.

I would’ve gone, but traffic on Wilshire was just awful.

To be sure, part of Laura’s beat is the street. And we all, for that matter, report on the large number of hit and runs that happen on LA streets. Cars hit people on foot and on bike or motorcycle. And then split.

For his part, Mayor Eric Garcetti says – as part of his ‘urban acupuncture’ initiative – he’d like to make streets more pedestrian friendly, but will his idea for fountains and grand avenues make for safer streets?

There’s also an ongoing event that’s happening again this weekend that’ll take cars off several big LA throughfares: CicLAvia, the mass bike event that features thousands of riders and a festival like atmosphere.

How are events like that changing our perception of alternative transportation?

Gauging by its popularity, a lot.

By the way, catch the Mixer anytime by subscribing to the podcast. Through any iTunes account or smart device, search for ‘KCRW Mixer’.