OVERVIEW
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The average driver takes about 15 minutes to search for street parking in Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles is a pedestrian’s worst nightmare.
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Los Angeles is the 6th city with the worst traffic in the U.S.
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For every forty hours, one person dies in the streets of Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles has a culture of extreme car use.
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Finding parking in LA is extremely difficult
FINDING PARKING AFTER YOUR LOS ANGELES DRIVE
Like any busy metropolis, parking is hard to come by in Los Angeles. In fact, the leading transportation analytics solutions company INRIX states that the average driver takes about 15 minutes to search for street parking in Los Angeles. This should come as no surprise given the influx of people coming from all over the world to bask in the amenities that the city has to offer. Coupled by the amount of aggressive drivers roaming around these Los Angeles streets, it’s especially important to be aware of signs to look out for when finding parking. As you’re driving in Los Angeles, you can find parking in either one of two ways:
STREET PARKING
Finding street parking in LA is nothing short of a miracle. But when this miracle does happen, get your coin purse out and put in a couple of quarters in the parking meter. Parking in these meters could cost you 50 cents to three dollars at most. You may even find street parking devoid of these meters if it’s your lucky day! But when you do, you need to be sure that it is okay to park in these spaces, or you could get cited or towed. Here are some signs you need to look out for:
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Street signs: Before parking, check to see if there are any street signs prohibiting drivers from parking at certain times.
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Red curbs: Don’t park here! These spots are typically reserved for transit buses. The red curb may also be in close proximity to a water hydrant and is therefore reserved for fire trucks who have to park there in case of an emergency.
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White curbs: Don’t park here! These are simply loading or unloading zones.
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Green curbs: You may park here but only for a limited amount of time (15 mins to 20 mins).
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Grey/Unmarked: Free parking
PARKING STRUCTURES OR PARKING LOTS
When you’re driving in LA and all else fails, you may have to shell out a couple more bucks out of your wallet and resort to parking in garages or lots. They cost significantly more, ranging from $10 to $30. However, parking in these spaces is not a total loss as it provides an alternative for safety-conscious drivers. These closed-off spaces are usually staffed with a security guard, away from the lurking eyes of passersby who may be up to no good. So if you have valuables in your vehicle, parking structures or parking lots may be the better choice for you.
SPEED LIMITS WHEN DRIVING TO LA
If you don’t already know, driving to Los Angeles is an extremely dangerous task. This is why safe driving is increasingly more important and should be placed at an utmost priority when you drive in this city. One way of fulfilling this task is to be aware of the speed limits in various parts:
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Street Speed Limit: 35 mph to 50 mph
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Freeway Speed Limit: 65 mph
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Alley Speed Limit: 15 mph
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Residential Area Speed Limit: 25 mph
Make sure you stay within the confines of the speed limits or you may find yourself getting a ticket, or worse, into an accident.
THE DANGEROUS DRIVE TO LOS ANGELES
To have a clear picture on how bad the city’s traffic congestion is, it’s important to note that Los Angeles is heralded as the 6th city with the worst traffic according to a study done by INRIX, despite the fact that the lockdown has significantly reduced car use.
Los Angeles has a culture of extreme car use. People use the freeways to get to work and to get home, which sometimes causes gridlocks. This can be traced back to the beginnings of Los Angeles’ rise. In the 1920’s, the city quickly caught on to the rapid ascent of the automobile and designed the city’s infrastructure to accommodate for its heavy usage. Coupled with the city’s dated public transportation system, the incentive to use cars is higher for Angelenos and tourists alike than for the people who are in any other major cities in the United States.
The LA traffic jams are often the source of frustration among drivers, and this often manifests in the way they drive in the side streets as well. The Auto Insurance Center has cited Los Angeles to be the most dangerous city for pedestrians, with one person dying every forty hours in the streets of LA; In 2019, 536 and 888 pedestrians, children and the elderly respectively, were involved in a fatal accident as reported by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
So, when driving to Los Angeles, it’s best to do so with extra caution.
CALL OMEGA LAW GROUP
But fact remains that caution isn’t at the utmost priority for some drivers in LA. You can go ahead and do all the right things, and there’s an incredibly high likelihood that you could still wind up in a car accident. If that happens, you will need the services of the best personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles. Omega Law Group just happens to be where they’re at.Visit our Contact Us page or give us a call at 866-942-3881.