Based on the last 1998 Los Angeles County Profile Study, prepared by the California Department of Transportation, the Southern California Association of Governments, and other State agencies, by extrapolation, if there was an estimated vehicle miles traveled of 76,973,000,000 or just about 77 billion miles traveled annually in 1998, then using a conservative multiplier of a 40% growth rate since 1998–using Los Angeles County’s population growth as the hypothesis–equates to a current estimated figure of a 1 trillion vehicle miles traveled per year in Los Angeles alone. Holy Crap!!
This story is not political, nor has as its intent the notion to have people think that it is—from a layperson’s perspective, it’s important to understand the magnitude of the sustainability of our way of life in the Golden State, and how to deal with the complex changes required to maintain our current quality of life.
Can the 1 trillion miles driven annually per year, grow into 400 trillion miles? Simply put—yes.
The growth in the number of people, the number of cars, and the number of drivers would generate astronomical numbers. (Not that we don’t already have them currently).
What and how can we stop this trend in our reliance on the use of cars, ease traffic, decrease carbon emissions, and improve the quality of our lives here? First some background:
Los Angeles County Profile
| Countywide | Statistic |
| Land Area: | 4,079 sq./miles |
| Incorporated Cities and County: | 89 jurisdictions |
| Central City: | Los Angeles |
| Population (1-1-99): | 9,757,500 |
| Estimated Vehicle Miles Traveled in Millions (1998): | 76,973 |
| Estimated Vehicle Registrations (1998): | 6,133,216 |
| Estimated Licensed Drivers (1998): | 5,407,400 |
Population Growth
| Sub-Region | 1994 | 2020 | Increase |
| Arroyo Verdugo | 538,000 | 684,100 | 27% |
| Gateway Cities | 1,982,100 | 2,368,600 | 19% |
| Las Virgenes/Malibu | 75,300 | 108,000 | 44% |
| North Los Angeles County | 451,400 | 1,213,400 | 169% |
| San Gabriel Valley | 1,482,100 | 1,805,700 | 22% |
| South Bay | 819,000 | 925,600 | 13% |
| Westside Cities | 227,000 | 253,000 | 11% |
| City of Los Angeles | 3,656,700 | 4,890,900 | 34% |
| Los Angeles County Total: | 9,231,600 | 12,249,300 | 33% |
There is an Easy Solution or in the alternative, there’s Solutions that are Easier
Over the next year or more, Travelin’ Local’s staff and I are going to take a look at the myriad of regional local, national, and international varied and innovative proposals and perspectives on how we can implement changes to our current transportation conundrum. There are many and varied proposals and solutions out there to find answers to our vexing need to alter our reliance on carbon and coal energy, which include, carpooling, biking, ride sharing, mass transit, and even walking.
Each has its own set of options, pros and cons, and features and benefits. All of them will make the future of California a better place to live and work.
If we—and that doesn’t mean your neighbor but you too–don’t start making some serious changes in our energy and transportation behavior now, what kind of world can we expect to see in our lifetime, let alone the world we’ll be leaving for our children?
Your parents probably asked themselves the same question—but from an economic and educational perspective no doubt. But today’s circumstances are far removed from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and even 80s.
It will take a few changes on our part; however, in the long run, it’s a win/win situation for everybody. As we expand upon our Travelin’ Local project here and as it comes to life, we’d love to hear your thoughts.
What changes have you made? What changes might you make in the future?
As obvious from the major Transportation bills making their way through the halls of Congress, the changes underway are the most radical shift in the use of economics and politics in our history, and it all has to do with how we are Travelin’ Local and elsewhere too.
June 1st, 2009 → 6:06 am
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