Carmageddon

[BigEvil]

Just a friendly reminder that there should be a TON of action july 15-17th as they're shutting down the 405 from the 101 all the way to the 10.

Its going to he a psychotic mess to say the least.

my feed covers valley traffic and van nuys (as well as ALL code 3s etc) so it should be nice and rockin those days.

LAPD - Code 3/Hot Shots, Air/K9 and Van Nuys/Valley Traffic Live Scanner Audio Feed

 

[lbfd09]

Just a friendly reminder that there should be a TON of action july 15-17th as they're shutting down the 405 from the 101 all the way to the 10.

... ... ... ...

Why, did someone forget to pay for the pavement and they have to replace the roadway?

Sorry (just could not resist the silly comment), this sounds like when they closed the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge a number of times over the past dozen years.

 

[BigEvil]

405 Freeway Closure Will Make July 16, 17 the 'Carmageddon' of Traffic Mayhem in Los Angeles - Los Angeles News - The Informer

 

[LAflyer]

Yeah might get interesting particularly if large events occur in the Valley.

I know the LAPD and LAFD will have additional resources stagged in the Valley, including having extra staff on duty. There was even talk about a potential pre-planned divisional tactical alert that would help mitigate number of people having to commute over the weekend. LAFD will have all its helicopters staffed and available for medical transport as the Valley is already limited on ER beds and relies on the basin particularly for pediatric and burn care.

 

[karldotcom]

I certainly hope it is more like the 1984 Olympics where there was no traffic, as everyone was scared to go anywhere....but I certainly do remember and had friends stuck in the mess when the Grapevine closed after New Years this year.....

A shame the Helicopter Show was cancelled.

 

[Eng74]

I think this has more too do with getting the word out so people will remeber that it will be closed. I don't know how many times you go by an off/on ramp with the sign that it will be closed from ---- to ---- at times. They are so common that people do not notice them anymore. They have closed down the Bay Bridge in San Francisco over three day weekends and that is the main way into the city and they have done the same thing, get the media to get the word out and make a big deal about it so people will remember.

 

[LAflyer]

LAFD today announced they plan to staff and stage 15 additional engines plus 6 RA's during the weekend in the Valley and Westside in addition to air-ops being fully staffed for any Valley ER responses.

 

[karldotcom]

I wonder if they will have knuckleheads wrong way it up the Southbound 405 to try to get around the closure at the 10....

You do read of some pretty stupid behavior whenever the Grapevine gets shut down due to snow, with people that "just have to get through"

 

[RadioDaze]

They can prepare all they want for this thing, but the real disaster would be if it wasn't completed in time for Monday morning's commute.

Incidentally, KFI radio will be covering it extensively, and most likely poking fun at the whole situation. Out-of-town listeners can stream KFI through its website at Survive The 405 - KFI AM 640 More Stimulating Talk Radio
Tim Conway, Jr. is having a pool party at the Marriott perched above the 405 in Sherman Oaks. He will be broadcasting live on Friday night after 7:00 pm PDT.

 

[brandon]

I'll be glad when it's over. Not that I care about the people stuck in traffic on the west side, I am just so sick of hearing about "carmageddon" every 2 minutes on the evening news. They sure know how to milk it.

 

[karldotcom]

I had to drive through the pass twice this morning...there is already a lot of activity going on....I saw a lot of Penhall trucks on the bridge...

 

[RadioDaze]

I'll be glad when it's over. Not that I care about the people stuck in traffic on the west side, I am just so sick of hearing about "carmageddon" every 2 minutes on the evening news. They sure know how to milk it.

But you know that no matter how much exposure this thing gets, there will be thousands who will jam the freeway because they had no idea it was going to happen.

 

[Radio_Lady]

If you're looking to cover the LAPD side of the traffic situations, your best bet will most likely be the Citywide Tactical Frequencies, channels 44 - 49 and 177. I understand that they will be restricting as many as six of those seven for the weekend, for the four ICS-type divisions and 13 sectors they have created in West L.A., West Valley and Van Nuys divisions.

In addition to all of LAPD's 350+ motor officers from across the city who will be on duty, most of the other personnel working the event will probably be designated as "Paul" (Task Force or Mobile Field Force) and possibly "Queen" (Unusual Occurrence) units. I don't know what kind of unit numbering scheme they'll be using.

No word of any planned tactical alerts, and with the maximum deployment they'll have, there shouldn't really be a need to do that unless things go super-dramatically sideways. In that extremely unlikely event, they could next suck all the patrol divisions almost dry, leaving them with only what's called their Minimum Operating Force. The MOF for patrol divisions is one half of their smallest regularly deployed number of "A" cars plus one supervisor and essential station personnel. I can't imagine, with all the pre-planning and advanced scheduling they've done, that it would ever get even close to that. It could turn out like 1984 when the great Olympics traffic jams not only didn't materialize, but the freeways were practically wide open even at 7:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m.

Just a friendly reminder that there should be a TON of action july 15-17th as they're shutting down the 405 from the 101 all the way to the 10.

Its going to he a psychotic mess to say the least.

my feed covers valley traffic and van nuys (as well as ALL code 3s etc) so it should be nice and rockin those days.

LAPD - Code 3/Hot Shots, Air/K9 and Van Nuys/Valley Traffic Live Scanner Audio Feed

 

[LAflyer]

I suppose there would also be some listening on Caltrans frequencies, and on whatever the contractor crews doing the actual work are using (which I have no clue on).
The paper said their would be "hundreds" of folks involved with this project around the clock and large amount of truck staging along the 405 from Westwood up.

I also read a blurb the MTA was going to make their Freeway Service Patrol vehicles available on adjacent surface streets to help clear and stalls or accidents quickly, so those TGs on the MTA TRS might have some listening. Plus the LA DOT I'm sure will be busy manning all the road blocks on both sides of the hill.

, for the four ICS-type divisions and 13 sectors they have created in West L.A., West Valley and Van Nuys divisions.

You would not happen to have more specifics about this would you?

Related I read the LAFD has also modified its CAD response boundaries taking into mind the inability to move units to/from the Valley except in the most dire circumstances.

 

[Radio_Lady]

, for the four ICS-type divisions and 13 sectors they have created in West L.A., West Valley and Van Nuys divisions.

You would not happen to have more specifics about this would you?

Not really. The "13 sectors" has been batted about in TV clips for a week or two. Then this afternoon some Dep Chief or Commander expanded on it, that the four divisions will be split by the 405 north-south, and by Mulholland Drive east-west. That corresponds to LAPD West Valley Area being the northwesterly division, Van Nuys the northeasterly, and the West LA Area split in half by the 405. The southeasterly "division" was shown as having four sectors, and the other three divisions three sectors each. It was a fuzzy map that I saw, and I don't think they even showed any numbering system

Related I read the LAFD has also modified its CAD response boundaries taking into mind the inability to move units to/from the Valley except in the most dire circumstances.

That makes absolute sense. The mild weather, if it lasts, should be helpful to them, too.

 

[Radio_Lady]

Constructiion communications

I suppose there would also be some listening on Caltrans frequencies, and for whatever the contractor crews doing the actual work are using (which I have no clue on).
The paper said their would be "hundreds" of folks involved with this project around the clock and large amount of truck staging along the 405 from Westwood up.

The primary Construction Contractor is Kiewit Infrastructure Group. FCC database shows nine current Kiewit licenses in California, with WQGP456 being the closest in name, with statewide auth in CA, NV and AZ for four 4-watt UHF itinerant frequencies, 451.8, 451.8125, 456.8, and 456.8125. If anyone wants to dare getting within 4 watt UHF range <vbg>.

If the 118 freeway rebuilding after the Northridge earthquake is of any remote relevance, the parades of subcontracted debris-hauling trucks all used CB radios for what little they had to say, with people waving arms and flags doing most of the communicating with them.

 

[BigEvil]

Perhaps I'll broaden my feed to include the citywide tacs for those two days!

 

[code3cowboy]

LAFD today announced they plan to staff and stage 15 additional engines plus 6 RA's during the weekend in the Valley and Westside in addition to air-ops being fully staffed for any Valley ER responses.

So they are just returning to pre brownout staffing for the weekend?

 

[karldotcom]

Well, LAFD isnt really "browning out" stations anymore...they eliminated rigs and the overtime associated with staffing them in the latest budget.

 

[Radio_Lady]

Perhaps I'll broaden my feed to include the citywide tacs for those two days!

That would be great, and if you do I would suggest locking out the Air/K9 frequency, otherwise the "Carmageddon" messages will be obliterated by 25 divisions worth of routine emergencies that will continue to happen at the same pace as on any summer weekend.

Not unexpectedly, I am noticing a lot more L (or XL, TL, ZL) cars in many divisions yesterday and especially today, as they have obviously shifted days off and watch assignments to make more ofcrs available for the weekend.