So I was out of town when, with the flick of a switch a couple of weeks ago, Mayor Villaraigosa allegedly synced every traffic light in our fair city. My first reaction was “I’ll believe it when I seen it.” Well, I’ve seen it. I’ve been driving around for a week now, and the only thing I can deduce is that no one in Los Angeles actually knows what the word “sync” means because things are as bad as they ever were.
Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa flicks switch… and nothing happens.
I headed to my favorite out-of-sync spot — Sixth and Western. I was expecting to sail through the area. Instead, just as always, I sat at the red light on Sixth, heading East, watching the green light shining at the following street, Oxford. And just as my light turned green, the light on Oxford turned red. This is where I bail out and make a left turn because when the light at Oxford turns green, the light at the next street, Serrano, turns red. This is “in sync” to someone?
I had similar issues on La Brea, where I sat at every red light, just as I did before the outgoing mayor flicked his little switch. Here, it was clear that the geniuses in the Los Angeles transportation department really don’t understand how to make traffic flow. I was sitting at a red light at La Brea and Third, heading North. My light turned green, but the light at Second remained red. When it finally did turn green (when I was halfway there), traffic was already backed up. The light at Second needs to turn green first, to get things moving to accommodate the cars coming from behind. This is simple stuff. I cannot fathom why the city can’t figure this out.
As hard as this is to believe, the city fathers have been working on this syncing project since the 1984 Olympics. That’s nearly 30 years, folks! And they still can’t get it right.
I Love Los Angeles, But… sometimes you just have to shake your head in amazement.