sense, it was as if a breath of fresh air had descended on the city. People realized that maybe they didn’t need cars to survive in Los Angeles. This realization only strengthened the response to the need for public transportation in Los Angeles.
A year later, in 2012, the second closure was scheduled for another summer weekend. This time, there was little hullaballoo about the closure: the term “Carmageddon” had been just about forgotten. Instead, Angelenos seemed to welcome the respite from reliance on cars and traffic that the closure afforded them. More residents stayed in the city the second time the closure occurred, and a much more relaxed attitude was palpable: airlines did not offer hour‐ long lifts across the county, and helicopter tours were not advertised.
Perhaps residents’ experience with both years of closures will pave the way for more support for public transport and maybe even more transportation legislation. One thing is clear, though: Los Angeles is in dire need of a solution to its traffic problem. The sooner this fact is accepted, the sooner change will occur.