Los Angeles Now a Pedestrian Paradise

Mar 31, 2008
May 1, 2024
Once a car-clogged six-lane nightmare, this street in downtown Los Angeles was transformed almost overnight thanks to congestion pricing.

LOS ANGELES--A bicyclist pedaling leisurely down Wilshire Boulevard spots a friend strolling down the sidewalk and pulls over to chat. A tall, tanned man wearing a Versace suit stops in the middle of a crosswalk to flirt with a blonde woman in a short skirt and high heels. Welcome to rush hour in L.A.

Vehicle traffic in Los Angeles is down 88 percent since congestion pricing was introduced six months ago, making the former world capital of automotive excess into one of the world’s most livable cities.

The air is cleaner than at any point since the days of silent movies, and a lively street life has emerged to rival that of Paris, Barcelona and Copenhagen. Business executives now brag about the sleek Italian design of their $6500 commuter bikes and Hollywood’s biggest stars are regularly seen boarding buses and trains.

What happened in the city that most people thought would be the last in the world to give up its cars? Rising gas prices, global warming and concerns about quality of life along with the runaway global popularity of congestion pricing all converged to help L.A. turn over a new leaf.

Congestion pricing was pioneered in Singapore in the 1970s, proven to work in the Norwegian cities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim in the 1990s, and finally captured the world’s attention in 2003 when London implemented it to great success. From there the idea was adopted in Stockholm in 2006 and quickly spread to Milan, Melbourne, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Tokyo, New York City, Beijing, Minneapolis, Nairobi, Mexico City, Mumbai, Dallas, Peoria, Poughkeepsie and many other North American cities.

Los Angeles closely watched the success of congestion pricing in nearby Pasadena, Irvine, Anaheim and Redondo Beach before embarking on its plans—now considered one of the most successful in the world because of the steep $100 daily charge to drive a car into the city.

Tolls in New York City by comparison are only $80, and as low as $10.25 in cities such as Jackson, Mississippi and Cheyenne, Wyoming. On Monday, Grinnell, Iowa (population 9300) became the latest city in the U.S. to adopt congestion pricing.

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