As a carless Angeleno, I don't often have this feeling - that twinge of regret that I should have taken the Metro bus or rail somewhere, but I had this feeling the other week and I'm surprised the drivers of Los Angeles don't have this feeling more often.
I was headed to see Iris by Cirque du Soleil at the Kodak Theatre with a friend. When I meet anyone for anything near Hollywood/Highland, I generally say "I'll meet you there."
Why?
The Metro Red Line stop at Hollywood/Highland practically drops me off there.
But my friend attending the show with me that night is also my co-worker and my co-worker had a car parked in Downtown Los Angeles. Figuring that the car had to be moved by a certain time (as some lots require), I joined the carpool to the show which started at 8.
A few caveats:
- We had wanted to try and catch dinner beforehand.
- We weren't exactly sure how to get there so we leveraged the GPS and the iPhone.
- We figured that taking a route avoiding the freeway was better than taking the freeway.
- Did I mention it was rush hour on a Tuesday?
We headed out about 6:30. By the time we walked to the lot where the car was parked it was nearing 6:50. In our navigation of the streets from Downtown to Hollywood (cutting through K-town, north on Highland) and the traffic we encountered, we had moments where we weren't sure we were going to make it in time - let alone eat.
We neared our destination around 7:30 (but still hadn't eaten). Eventually we bee-lined to an In & Out - ate food in the car and while waiting in line at will call - and finally got into the show just shy of 8pm. Total travel time? Nearly 1.5 hours.
Our office, by the way, is down the street from the 7th/Metro Station. According to the Metro Trip Planner, our transit would have been 15-30 minutes with a .48 mile walk total. If we had caught the 6:32, we would have arrived at 6:48. If we had caught the 6:43, we would have arrived at 6:59. As much as I love In & Out, we could have picked up tickets, sat down and had a real meal at one of the many Hollywood restaurants, and pretty much strolled into the show.
Go Metro = Less stress and No Traffic? Yes.
We should have gone Metro.to the Kodak Theatre.
-Charity Tran
Should Have Gone Metro. is a series of blog post featuring the moments where we should have listened to the call to "Go Metro".
Photo: "Hollywood & HIghland" by JohnnyRokkit from the ExperienceLA Flickr Pool.
3 comments:
Great post! I completely agree, and honestly the only reason I don't think of using the subway more often is because it just doesn't go everywhere! If we had a broader public transit system I think a lot of punctuality, environmental, and attitude problems could be solved. On another note, vespas/motorcycles are the keys to the city! Having one has eliminated so much traffic stress from my life and made me so much more timely :)
Great post! I completely agree, and honestly the only reason I don't think of using the subway more often is because it just doesn't go everywhere! If we had a broader public transit system I think a lot of punctuality, environmental, and attitude problems could be solved. On another note, vespas/motorcycles are the keys to the city! Having one has eliminated so much traffic stress from my life and made me so much more timely :)
I took the metro from Universal City to Nokia for a concert. At the end of the show I walked to the station nearest Nokia/Staples and waited. Then realized, yep, missed the last train. Walked briskly to Union station in hopes of catching the last one there, missed it. $30 cab ride later was back at the car. Metro fail.
If I need to leave a concert before the show ends then I won't use the metro. They really need to extend their hours.
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