One Way Or Another, I'm Gonna Pico... I'm Gonna Pico, Pico, Pico You

(Flickr pic by Jan Eden.)

Back in January when L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky suggested turning Olympic and Pico Blvds. into one-way streets, I thought there was no chance in hell. But the L.A. Times reports today that, oh, it's a real possibility, and a study of the possibility is about done:

It remains to be seen exactly how much the conversion would improve traffic. The study marks the beginning of what would probably be a more than yearlong process to reconfigure the streets. The change would require approval of the L.A. City Council as well as leaders in Beverly Hills, home of a small stretch of Olympic.

As the plan moves forward, officials will have to balance the potential inconveniences from rerouting two of L.A.'s busiest streets with the potential for traffic relief...

Still, Pico and Olympic are unusual candidates for one-way conversion. Most one-way streets are one block apart, making it easy for drivers to switch directions.

By contrast, the distance between Pico and Olympic varies. Through large swaths of West L.A., Mid-City and Beverly Hills, the streets are only two or three blocks apart. But in Century City and neighborhoods south of Hancock Park, the gap widens to up to three-quarters of a mile.

Yaroslavsky said his plan calls for making Olympic westbound and Pico eastbound. Two lanes of each street — one in each direction — could be dedicated to bus traffic. The traffic consultant is completing a preliminary study to determine if the idea would work...

L.A. city traffic officials estimate it would cost millions of dollars to make the boulevards one way. The costs could include relocating street signs, moving parking meters, removing some signals, adding underground traffic detectors and re-striping the road, said John Fisher, assistant general manager of the L.A. Department of Transportation.

I seriously wonder how much of an impact one-way streets will have. One thing's for sure: Something's gotta be done. Both Olympic and Pico are parking lots come 4 p.m. each weekday. The few times I've been stuck in that beyotch of a traffic mess, I've counted my blessings that I live on the east side. Sorry, west side suckas!