Driving in LA this Friday

[KforKitty]

Those who know, tell me if we are totally crazy attempting to cross Los Angeles and back this Friday.

The story is this. We land at LAX on the afternoon of Thursday 25 May. As we will have had a long flight I didn't want to drive far so have a reservation with the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach for two nights. On Friday we plan to visit friends who live North West of Redondo Beach in Azusa. Our friends have told us we are crazy to return to Redondo Beach to stay Friday night because the holiday weekend traffic is likely to be horrendous. I did try and find a hotel closer to them for the Friday but rooms for 4 were either not available, at a much higher rate than I'm paying (I got an Entertainment Rate at the CP), or still a fair drive away. Besides which I would prefer to hang around Redondo Beach for a morning, before we drive to the Lawrence Welk resort Saturday afternoon.

So just how bad is it going to be? Will it still be busy later in the evening? Give it to me straight so I know what to expect.

Thanks

Kitty

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by KforKitty

Those who know, tell me if we are totally crazy attempting to cross Los Angeles and back this Friday.

The story is this. We land at LAX on the afternoon of Thursday 25 May. As we will have had a long flight I didn't want to drive far so have a reservation with the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach for two nights. On Friday we plan to visit friends who live North West of Redondo Beach in Azusa. Our friends have told us we are crazy to return to Redondo Beach to stay Friday night because the holiday weekend traffic is likely to be horrendous. I did try and find a hotel closer to them for the Friday but rooms for 4 were either not available, at a much higher rate than I'm paying (I got an Entertainment Rate at the CP), or still a fair drive away. Besides which I would prefer to hang around Redondo Beach for a morning, before we drive to the Lawrence Welk resort Saturday afternoon.

So just how bad is it going to be? Will it still be busy later in the evening? Give it to me straight so I know what to expect.

Thanks

Kitty

L.A. traffic on a "getaway holiday weekend" is going to be busy. However, if you leave Azusa after 7 or 8pm to get back to Redondo, it should not be too bad. Unless it rains ( drizzles ) or there is an accident.

Assumming you take the 210 or 10 west, 605 south and the 91 west into Redondo... you should be going against traffic if there is such a thing here.

Hmmm... morning in Redondo Beach or ... morning in Azusa? No offense to Azusa but... have a fun Saturday morning in Redondo!

Kevin

[ricoba]

Originally Posted by KforKitty

Those who know, tell me if we are totally crazy attempting to cross Los Angeles and back this Friday.

So just how bad is it going to be? Will it still be busy later in the evening? Give it to me straight so I know what to expect.

Thanks

Kitty

I think you are making much ado about nothing.

Will there be traffic, yes of course, it's Los Angeles.

But will driving from Azusa to Redondo be the worst thing that could ever happen in life? No, of course not.

First you will be traveling against most of the "get out of town" traffic on Friday night. People are leaving LA to get to Vegas or San Francisco, so going south from Azusa to Redondo won't be as bad as going "out of town".

Second, if you leave your friends home in the evening traffic will be lighter already after 7 or 8 pm.

Can something happen that will make traffic heavy? Yes, again it's LA and there are always incidents that can slow things down. But relax, don't worry and have a good time in Redondo. The Crowne Plaza is in a nice location with a great view of the beach and harbor. Have fun!

Rick

[KforKitty]

Thanks Rick and Kevin for your reassurance. It was our Azusa friends who had wound me up as I hadn't really thought about it until they mentioned it. Like you have both implied, I know I'd rather be by the beach than in some roadside motel.

24 hours to go and I'll be on our AA flight bound for LAX.

Kitty

[ricoba]

Good to hear!

By the way the weather should be lovely this weekend. A bit of morning cloud or fog and mostly sunny & pleasant the rest of the day - about 70 - 75 F or 20 - 22 C.

Have a great time and feel free to explore the Southbay (Redondo, Hermosa, Manhatten Beach) beach communities.

Rick

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

My concern about traffic would be the drive INTO Azuza. Traffic starts getting bad leaving LA area and going west about noon on Fridays, even without a holiday weekend. So, it would be good to plan to leave Redondo Beach by 9 or 10 Friday morning for your visit to Azuza.
Liz

[chemteach]

All the other LA posters seem to think it's a sane idea. I would agree with your Azusa friends that the drive back is going to be miserable. People are also leaving to head south to san diego. If you don't mind sitting in traffic, it's no big deal. At best it will take you an hour, at worst, 3 hours. You just never know.

You may want to wait until more like 8 or 9 pm to head back. The regular (non-holiday) traffic flows often have the freeways busy until at least 7 pm.

The traffic heading out does begin by around 1 or 2 pm.

Edye

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Liz Wolf-Spada

My concern about traffic would be the drive INTO Azuza. Traffic starts getting bad leaving LA area and going west about noon on Fridays, even without a holiday weekend. So, it would be good to plan to leave Redondo Beach by 9 or 10 Friday morning for your visit to Azuza.
Liz

Redondo to Azusa is

East on the 91 freeway
North on the 605 freeway
West on the 210 or 10 freeway

There are other ways to go, but that is the most direct and easiest if you're not familiar with the area.

Going back to Redondo in the evening is opposite. I don't think you wil get very much "San Diego" traffic, as you will not be on the 405 or 5 freeways.

As stated earlier... this is L.A.... you are bound to run into traffic at some point, but generally speaking, you should not have to leave that early or that late to get to your destination in a timely manner.

Kevin

[labguides]

Hope your drive was easier than mine today (the 25th).
Traffic Pasadena-Camarillo was fierce. Took me 36 minutes to go the last 7 miles to Camarillo.