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Each vehicle represents 1,000 units. In the 1920s, Los Angeles had the best public transportation system in the nation with 1,270 streetcars covering all the commuters around the city. Currently, there are more than 7.8 million registered cars in LA. This number does not include a large number of vehicles entering the city during commute hours. LA is now ranked 6th as the most congested city in the nation.

In the book “The High Cost of Free Parking”, Donald Shoup explains how our cities actually have 8 parking spots for every car, covering an average of 30% of space in our cities. Collectively, we have enough parking spots to fill West Virginia.

Studies show that cars spend 95% of their time parked, which means that cars are only used for 5% of the time. This brings up the question of where these 7.8 million cars are parked on a daily basis.

With 7.8 million registered cars in LA and a population of 9.8 million, that equates to 0.8 cars per person. LA has one of the top amount of cars in the nation due to the fast adjustment of automobiles.

Visual representation of 200 people in different modes of transportation. Cars on average have 1.5 occupants during commute hours and streetcars and trolleys are able to fit about 70 passengers in a single car.

All major streetcar companies were bought out by General Motors and destroyed in an effort to sell more cars.

Under the National Highway Act, neighborhoods were destroyed to make space for the gigantic highway system. Low-income communities, mostly African American communities, were targeted under the federally supported program
to be removed.

The big question! I must admit that I am also obsessed with cars.
This hasn't changed over time.

A 2009 study called “The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion” has found that traffic on urban freeways always increases to meet maximum capacity. It also found that adding new roads or lanes doesn’t help. In fact, a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority study showed rush-hour travel times actually slowed by a minute on average during the year after completion of a freeway.

Southern California roadside monitors show that the number of cars on the road decreased by 60%. An analysis of satellite measurements by Cohen and his team found a 32% decline in levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in Southern California in the three weeks after the stay-at-home orders compared to the three weeks before. However, similar results were shown around the same time in 2019.