Patch Blog: The Aftermath of Carmageddon

Carmageddon.  Who coined that phrase?  If I hear that word again...  I was so sick to death of the media saturation on Carmageddon.  Was the world going to end due to the 405 freeway closure?  Was California going to implode?  Are we that dependent on our cars that we need a special month almost two months of in-your-face blaring on the radio and TV, to stay away? I guess it worked. I decided to do my own investigation on this weekend from Hell.

I had to be in Hollywood and Highland at 12:15 p.m., on one of the most infamous days, Saturday, July 16, 2011. Well that’s easy there is a Metro Red Line stop right there. My partner-in-crime Dave went on this mission to see how mankind was faring on that fateful day. 

We started out at 10:00 a.m. on the Metro Gold Line because we did not want to be backed up with the mass crowds riding the Metro.  We approach the parking lot so carefully as to sneak into a parking space because we just knew it was going to be packed.  I get on the first floor next to the elevator.  So much for that strategy.

We board the train with almost nobody on it, and I decided to bother (I mean interview) other riders. I asked a young group of people that appeared to be in their 30s, if Carmageddon was a factor of riding the Gold Line.  The gentleman said that was one of the reasons and since they had never been on the Gold Line before they thought it might be better.  They were going to Hollywood anyway .  Great, one group.  I decided to pester (I mean interview) others.  A young couple with a small child, said they had to go somewhere where one of the Metro stops, stopped right at their destination.  Another couple said no, they ride it anyway.  Interesting. This went on for awhile.  I was sure that when we got off at Union Station it was going to be packed.

We exit the Gold Line and go down the stairs and what do we see?  Warnings posted everywhere for the 405 closure and riding schedules.  We get to the Metro Red Line platform and it was empty.  I mean empty. Not because it was a Saturday either. I asked one of the Metro employees was it this empty on Saturdays and he said no, he thought it was the Carmageddon hysteria.  Alright, now we are getting somewhere.  We get onto the Red Line train and I decided to “interview” fresh people.  Most of them don’t make eye contact. It’s best that way.  The only way I was going to get a story here was to just appear to be the crazy woman and fire questions.  The guy sitting next to me, who had his eyes closed, seemed to be resting,  so I poked him ever so gently and in his most non-annoyed self said no, I ride this anyway to work.  The poor kid who I was harassing (I mean interviewing) sitting behind me also said he rides it anyway. He even shared with me that if I wait till I get to the 7th and Metro transition stop, that’s where I’m going to see a crowd.  Ok, I was all pumped.  My poor hubby, was bored and annoyed because I was annoying others. 

Here it comes, 7th and Metro, oh the suspense is killing me.  No one. It was an absolute ghost train. I thought to myself if anyone comes in here with the intent of killing us or mugging us, now is there chance. Nothing.  Because I believed in the hype of Carmageddon and I left early due to the anticipated crowds, we get to our destination an hour early. We decided to take a walk. I said “Hey, let’s people watch, that’s always fun.”  My poor hubby just mumbled, I want some coffee.  He’s not such a good partner-in-crime. I think he goes with me because he is bored and I give him plenty of entertainment.  He’s my Ethel to my Lucy.  We get coffee and I did my job on Hollywood and Highland (NO NOT THAT TYPE OF JOB, MY GOD!), but I took care of our business, and decided to walk around Hollywood.  The streets were empty, except for a sprinkling of Chinese and Japanese and German tourists. 

We stopped for a $3 beer and appetizer at the Pig N’ Whistle and people watched.  I asked a couple next to me if they were out because of Carmageddon, and they said no, they worked there.  Darn it.  As we headed back to our Red Line connection at Hollywood and Vine, I was a bit disappointed that I did not get a juicy story. As we are heading back home on the train, at one point, there was only had my hubby and myself on it.  My husband decides to ask me to recreate scenes from certain films and I just wanted to fling myself off that train at that moment. Now he decides to come alive.

So maybe all the Carmageddon hype did work.  Metro had offered free rides all weekend on their Red, Purple and Orange Lines as well as various bus lines.  Jet Blue was offering $4 fares from Long Beach to Burbank.  There’s always an angle and a marketing strategy to everything.  It got people to rethink their transportation options.  I know it certainly worked on me. I passed on a lunch in LA Sunday because it twas on Santa Monica Blvd. and I didn’t want to deal with it again. It turns out that the powers that be who worked on this 405 project completed their task 18 hours early.  I saw it on the news.  It was basically an anti-climactic event.  There’s supposed to be a repeat of this 11 months from now.  How are we going to handle it? Just because it was very quiet on the streets and busses, will people ignore it this time and go to their destinations anyway? 

Write back with your comments on how Carmageddon affected you?