One of the biggest reservations I had about moving here was having learn my way around a whole new city, and quite a large one at that. I've been pleasantly surprised how easy West LA is to navigate if you stick to the grid of major streets that run through the majority of the city. Most of these are 4 lane roads that widen for a turn lane at the major intersections. For the most part, these roads move at a good pace and the drivers tend to give each other some breathing room. When you are given directions, the starting point is always the closest major intersection. I'm still learning the layout of these streets so when I'm told where something is, my first step is to check the map like I was playing a game of "Battleship" ("3rd and LaBrea? HIT!)
The fun part begins when you reach an intersection where you turn. If you are turning right, no big deal. However, left turns on these streets require you to learn the unspoken rule of LA: 2 cars per yellow. The majority of these intersections do not use turn signals and have a constant flow of traffic. The rule is, the next two cars in the turn lane move up into the intersection once the light turns green. Those two cars get to turn after the light turns yellow/red. This keeps the turn lane from backing up and keeps traffic moving along. Not following this unspoken rule will get you a rather stern honking from the cars behind you. Fortunately, I was told the rules well in advance and have been able to assimilate into the hive-mind that is traffic in LA.
Using the grid, I've very easily made it to just about every place I've set out to find with only the occasional instance of driving around in a circle trying to figure out where I am. For those of you who know me and my god awful since of direction, this is quite the accomplishment. With any luck, a few more weeks and I'll have mastered the "grid" and will be ready to start figuring out the freeways.
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