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A question for the LA natives on here. Last year at this time, I had the chance to visit LA for my first time. I stayed in a B&B in Los Feliz and spent a few d

by bpyne 11y ago

A question for the LA natives on here. Last year at this time, I had the chance to visit LA for my first time. I stayed in a B&B in Los Feliz and spent a few days walking around it and Silver Lake. My first day I asked the B&B owner about walking to the reservoir because I read online that it's a gathering point for people in the area. The owner told me he had never walked there and recommended that I drive. At most, it was a 2-3 mile walk. Do people in LA really consider it incomprehensible to walk that distance?

ibejoeb 11y ago
Well, a lot of people are happy to walk, run, and hike, but they typically pick a destination to do those activities. Driving to the reservoir, Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, is just the first step. Also, it's pretty pleasant to walk around for a while at this time of the year. Do the same walk in the unrelenting sun of July and you might change opt to find a shady spot half way through.
- bpyne 11y ago
  So they drive to a destination and then walk/run/hike as exercise? I can understand LA having some periods of the year in which walking isn't pleasant. But, there can't be many.
  - kylek 11y ago
    I often picture people sitting in traffic, to go to the gym, to run in-place on a treadmill.
  - mturmon 11y ago
    You have asked a question ("for the LA natives on here") and gotten some reasoned answers from people who seem to be locals (as am I). Then, you argue with the answers. Very odd.
    - bpyne 11y ago
      Not arguing. Just clarifying. The answers were odd to me, perhaps because I'm used to cities in the Northeast. While I was in LA, back home it was 40 degrees colder. We had come out of a Winter with temperatures in the low single-digits and, at times, negatives. I couldn't wait to walk in the sunshine and warmth. To me, wanting to drive when the weather was beautiful was odd.
maceo 11y ago
Yea, 2-3 miles is a very long walk in LA. Walking from los feliz to the reservoir would be especially tedious since the most direct paths are on boring residential streets. No one would ever do that walk unless they 1) dont have a car 2) are looking to get exercise.
- bpyne 11y ago
  For me, the residential streets were even pretty cool. There was some great graffiti art, lots of Mexican food available, etc. I found a good comic bookstore to get something for my daughter. Overall, it's a pretty nice walk.
  - smelendez 11y ago
    I've had similar experiences in other U.S. car-oriented cities, too. I have a driver's license, but I've lived in big cities and literally haven't driven in years and always walk or take transit anywhere I visit. I think people with cars in those cities often just don't know what routes are walkable and which aren't and assume the worst. People do the same with "the bus," I've found--I've been to many places where people who don't take public transit and don't even know how much it costs or where the routes go assume that it's dirty, unreliable, filled with criminals, etc. But I'm probably doing the same with renting a car when I travel--overemphasizing the expenses and inconveniences and discomforts involved. One problem I have had walking in various car-oriented cities is poor-to-nonexistent signage for pedestrians. A busy, curvy street might suddenly go from having sidewalks on one side to sidewalks only on one with no prior notice pretty far from the last crosswalk, forcing you to backtrack half a long block, walk on the shoulder of the road or jaywalk-sprint through traffic. Or a complicated highway interchange running through the middle of a city might be easily circumvented on foot, but there's no signs telling you how to do it, leading to a lot of backtracking and meandering through no-man's-land. I think the transportation planners unfortunately fall into the car-only group in a lot of cities, so they don't notice the need for pedestrian signs, or to adjust traffic lights so they're more visible to pedestrians, or trim foliage encroaching on sidewalks.
skosuri 11y ago
I walk 2.5 miles everyday from UCLA to my place in West LA. That said, everyone looks at me weird.
CodeWriter23 11y ago
Next time I suggest hiking up Fern Dell to The Observatory. Much nicer, and also a big gathering venue. Then maybe hike back down to Home on Hillhurst for some serious grub. I believe a 3-mile walk (about an hour), one way, is considered long in any city. The round trip takes about 1/4 of a standard work day. And in 90 degree heat...well, if you want to enjoy the walk around the reservoir, maybe your host was on the right track.

by bpyne 11y ago

ibejoeb 11y ago

Well, a lot of people are happy to walk, run, and hike, but they typically pick a destination to do those activities. Driving to the reservoir, Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, is just the first step. Also, it's pretty pleasant to walk around for a while at this time of the year. Do the same walk in the unrelenting sun of July and you might change opt to find a shady spot half way through.

bpyne 11y ago
So they drive to a destination and then walk/run/hike as exercise? I can understand LA having some periods of the year in which walking isn't pleasant. But, there can't be many.
- kylek 11y ago
  I often picture people sitting in traffic, to go to the gym, to run in-place on a treadmill.
- mturmon 11y ago
  You have asked a question ("for the LA natives on here") and gotten some reasoned answers from people who seem to be locals (as am I). Then, you argue with the answers. Very odd.
  - bpyne 11y ago
    Not arguing. Just clarifying. The answers were odd to me, perhaps because I'm used to cities in the Northeast. While I was in LA, back home it was 40 degrees colder. We had come out of a Winter with temperatures in the low single-digits and, at times, negatives. I couldn't wait to walk in the sunshine and warmth. To me, wanting to drive when the weather was beautiful was odd.

maceo 11y ago

Yea, 2-3 miles is a very long walk in LA. Walking from los feliz to the reservoir would be especially tedious since the most direct paths are on boring residential streets. No one would ever do that walk unless they 1) dont have a car 2) are looking to get exercise.

bpyne 11y ago
For me, the residential streets were even pretty cool. There was some great graffiti art, lots of Mexican food available, etc. I found a good comic bookstore to get something for my daughter. Overall, it's a pretty nice walk.
- smelendez 11y ago
  I've had similar experiences in other U.S. car-oriented cities, too. I have a driver's license, but I've lived in big cities and literally haven't driven in years and always walk or take transit anywhere I visit. I think people with cars in those cities often just don't know what routes are walkable and which aren't and assume the worst. People do the same with "the bus," I've found--I've been to many places where people who don't take public transit and don't even know how much it costs or where the routes go assume that it's dirty, unreliable, filled with criminals, etc. But I'm probably doing the same with renting a car when I travel--overemphasizing the expenses and inconveniences and discomforts involved. One problem I have had walking in various car-oriented cities is poor-to-nonexistent signage for pedestrians. A busy, curvy street might suddenly go from having sidewalks on one side to sidewalks only on one with no prior notice pretty far from the last crosswalk, forcing you to backtrack half a long block, walk on the shoulder of the road or jaywalk-sprint through traffic. Or a complicated highway interchange running through the middle of a city might be easily circumvented on foot, but there's no signs telling you how to do it, leading to a lot of backtracking and meandering through no-man's-land. I think the transportation planners unfortunately fall into the car-only group in a lot of cities, so they don't notice the need for pedestrian signs, or to adjust traffic lights so they're more visible to pedestrians, or trim foliage encroaching on sidewalks.

skosuri 11y ago

I walk 2.5 miles everyday from UCLA to my place in West LA. That said, everyone looks at me weird.

CodeWriter23 11y ago

Next time I suggest hiking up Fern Dell to The Observatory. Much nicer, and also a big gathering venue. Then maybe hike back down to Home on Hillhurst for some serious grub. I believe a 3-mile walk (about an hour), one way, is considered long in any city. The round trip takes about 1/4 of a standard work day. And in 90 degree heat...well, if you want to enjoy the walk around the reservoir, maybe your host was on the right track.