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Navigation in Driving in Los Angeles County
Navigation in Driving in Los Angeles County
No one should drive around Los Angeles without a Thomas Guide. If you don't want to purchase a full Thomas Guide (about $20-$30 at bookstores), you can purchase Rand McNally maps which incorporate the Thomas Guide at most gas stations, supermarkets, and convenience stores (Costco and Walmart usually have the cheapest prices). The maps cover a given geographical area and cost about $4-$6. Use of an online mapping tool, such as Mapquest, is also recommended. As a general rule, time estimates given by Mapquest should be at least doubled during rush hours.
In his parody traffic reports, Tonight Show host Johnny Carson used to refer to the "Slauson Cutoff". While driving around LA you often have the option of taking freeways or surface streets. Some locals rely on surface streets to avoid rush hour traffic on the freeways. For example, many people driving to the San Fernando Valley during rush hour will opt to take Sepulveda Blvd, which runs parallel to the 405 Freeway, since the 405 often takes longer at this time of day. In nearby Culver City, La Cienega is used as a cutoff from I-10 to LAX. The effectiveness of such strategies is debatable, and it may be difficult for inexperienced drivers to accurately guess which way will be faster. Outside of rush hour, the freeways will almost always be faster for longer trips around LA.
One particularly annoying aspect of freeways in Los Angeles County is finding an onramp. The onramps are marked with
signs marked "Freeway Entrance" but these can be frustratingly difficult to find.
Driving with a GPS unit is highly recommended.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Driving in Los Angeles County
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Driving in Los Angeles County Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.