“Imagine Los Angeles without its infamous traffic jams” I ask you. It’s hard to picture, isn’t it? But today, we’re diving into the History of Transportation in Los Angeles. It’s a story filled with innovation, ambition, and a few surprising twists.
Los Angeles wasn’t always car-centric. Believe it or not, the city once boasted an extensive network of public transportation. We had horse-drawn systems. There was even an Ostrich Farm Railway. Cable cars debuted in 1873 and ran through the late 1890s.
Fast forward to the early 20th century. The city had a strong streetcar service. It was called the Los Angeles Railway. There was also an interurban rail called the Pacific Electric Railway. Automobiles were around but not as dominant.
Henry Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway opened its line between Los Angeles and Long Beach in 1902. It heralded a period of rapid growth for public transit. Think of the Pacific Electric Railway as the Metrolink of its day. The Los Angeles Railway was the grandfather of the current urban bus system.
By 1915, horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, and automobiles shared the roads. This slowed down the streetcars. Passenger volume on the Los Angeles Railway fell between 1913 and 1919.
The number of automobiles in Los Angeles quadrupled from 1914 to 1922. Yet, Pacific Electric Railway president Paul Shoup believed that interest in automobiles had peaked in 1920. Streetcar service was flourishing at the time.
In 1922, the Los Angeles Traffic Commission pointed out that the city had more automobiles per capita than any other large city in America. They warned that Los Angeles had narrow streets, narrow sidewalks, and dangerous grade crossings. Something had to be done.
The 1925 Comprehensive Rapid Transit Plan proposed 153 miles of subway, elevated rail, and street railways. The cost was projected at $133,385,000. The plan was shelved due to opposition from the business community. Voters were reluctant to tax themselves for the benefit of the private railway companies.
Los Angeles experimented with alternative fuels in 1925. Gasoline-electric double-decker buses began running as auxiliary vehicles to streetcars.
Track miles for the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway systems peaked around 1925. They stretched across the Los Angeles Basin.
By the late 1940s, Angelenos considered cars and freeways as necessities. The prototype Arroyo Seco Parkway opened in 1939. The Hollywood Freeway followed in 1948. Comedian Bob Hope called it “the biggest parking lot in the world.”
The last Red Car ran in 1961. Freeway construction boomed. By the 1970s, the system was largely finished. Increasing traffic, delays, and pollution fueled renewed interest in public transit.
In 1993, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority was created. It would build and operate a new transit system.
Today, Los Angeles has a subway, light-rail lines, transitway buses, and express buses. Metrolink connects Los Angeles with neighboring counties.
The History of Transportation in Los Angeles is a reminder that our city’s relationship with transit has always been evolving. From horse-drawn carriages to electric railways to the car-centric culture we know today, Los Angeles continues to seek better ways to move. The journey is far from over.