Ginny Brideau (@ginnycase) on May 22, 2010, at 02:18PM – #1

Two things:

1) Isn't it a little ironic that a bike race has gridlocked downtown.

2) Is it a real bike race when there are no cars to dodge? Comeon! DTLA bikers do this every day and rock at it. They don't get a leaders jersey...they just get honked at.

Nancy Richardson (@nanorich) on May 22, 2010, at 06:07PM – #3

Seeing this isn't about me....I took the Gold Line to South Pasadena to get away from the chronic honkers and endless whiners!

Bolt Barbers on May 22, 2010, at 11:10PM – #6

Just wanted to point out that Phillip De Castro, That guy with the Mohawk from Bolt Barbers caught Tony Martin's Bouquet after the stage 7 trials today in DTLA. Just more proof that rocking a mohawk gets you all kinds of swag!

Tornadoes28 on May 23, 2010, at 11:16AM – #8

That first guest comment sucks. That person's logic would basically have us ban all sporting events that don't take place in a stadium. No more marathons, triathalons, cycling events, etc. What a selfish idiot.

I was at the races Saturday and it was an excellent day of racing. Thank you LA for hosting this awesome event. An event that really showed how great downtown and LA Live are.

I hope we do it again.

bill on May 23, 2010, at 02:04PM – #9

If you live downtown this was a disaster. I had friends driving in from Palm Springs to visit for the day. The tried for an hour and a half to get to Market Lofts. They finally gave up and turned around and drove back to P.S. I had to leave for work - It took 30 minutes to go from Market Lofts to Olympic. BUT far worse - when I returned it took OVER ONE HOUR to go from the Ritz Carlton to Market Lofts - a distance of three blocks. Except that they wouldn't let you turn onto 9th. It was a horrible experience. Every street I needed turn on was blocked off. Finally, when I reached Figueroa and Wilshire, which is the last chance to go east to catch Hope, it too was closed. I was so frustrated I stopped in the intersection. When the cop came over I asked him how the hell I was supposed to get home. He was VERY nice and moved the barrier and let me pass.
After living downtown for five years this is the worst gridlock I have ever seen. EVER. Cars honking, people yelling, engines idling, unable to move, spewing fumes into the air can't have made an favorable impression on anyone. I sat in one spot without moving for 20 minutes.
I then decided to cool down by taking my dog for a walk. Well, that too was a disaster. Extremely rude race people barked at me at every corner 'GET BACK' 'YOU CAN'T CROSS HERE!' 'GET OUT OF THIS AREA'. Excuse me, this is my neighborhood. I belong here. YOU get out. No - it didn't bring money to the neighborhood. Local business were choked out. The vendors set up at the rally area are the only ones who made money. This was possibly the worst idea I have ever seen.

Simon Ha on May 23, 2010, at 04:35PM – #10

I watched the gridlock on 9th and Hope for hours from my window. What a nightmare! There has to be a better way to deal with drivers who weren't informed about the street closures by signage, traffic cops, or better outreach.
I had a friend walk from Central City East to my place so we could carpool out of downtown, which luckily took me only few minutes.
Dealing with street closures is part of living in Downtown. The best advise I can give to those who had to endure the worst traffic debacle since I have lived here is to be informed and coordinate your schedule and mode of transport accordingly.

Jeremy on May 23, 2010, at 06:58PM – #12

It's a good thing for the Amgen Tour of California to have a time trial in LA. The Giro d'italia has a TT in Rome, and the Tour de France has a TT in Paris. If those other cities can handle their TTs, LA can do it too.

It was a real exciting day of races, and I look forward to the time trial coming back to downtown. It was great to see the world and several national champions in time trialing race through our downtown streets.

I biked over from arts district to watch the tour, and was able to get around downtown really easily. I had to leave the race early and got back to arts district and out of traffic in 10 minutes tops. Goes to show that sometimes the best way to get around downtown is to get out of your car.

bill on May 23, 2010, at 07:39PM – #13

Guest #11 - No - I didn't say I worked three blocks away. I was coming from west L.A. along Olympic. The gridlock started at L.A. Live. And yes, it did take over an hour to get from there to Market Lofts - a distance of three blocks. To block access to people's homes and make them completely inaccessible for a race is selfish. Thousands of people were forced to change their lives, their schedules, their business and deal with the worst traffic gridlock ever so that a race could be run. I don't know how this was a benefit to downtown. It certainly wasn't a benefit to downtown residents.