An Expert's Look At L.A.'s Congestion

"Wachs has been working on a new RAND study exploring options for the short-term future of L.A. gridlock, turning stones including congestion pricing, which entails charging drivers when they use certain roads at certain times, and hot lanes, policy parlance for special highway lanes that charge some users, among other options.

CityBeat: How should we look at gridlock so it doesn't seem intractable?

Martin Wachs: The situation in Los Angeles is typical of many large cities in the world. There is a general frustration with the growth in traffic in urban areas, and an unwillingness politically to face up to what it will take to actually resolve the issues. I'd like to be on record as saying congestion isn't always a bad thing, that congestion exists where there is economic activity, where people are going to schools, taking part in cultural activities, and so on. That doesn't mean traffic can't under any circumstances get so bad that it actually becomes a problem that has to be solved, as well as a by-product of growth, but we should bear in mind that many of us think of Paris as a wonderful place to go; we hardly ever say, 'I won't go to Paris because the Champs-Élysées is congested.'"