Posted on 04/04/2018 2:42:57 PM PDT by jeannineinsd
Nobody could have known, several years ago, that technological progress could make life so complicated in Echo Park.
But along Baxter Street, everyone seems to have a story about the ineptitude of drivers — following directions from navigation apps — who can't seem to handle one of the steepest inclines in Los Angeles.
"The car came through our garden, went through two fences and ended up backwards hanging over our driveway," said Jason Luther, who was describing an accident that happened during the last rains.
"A lot of people can't make it up the hill," Baxter resident Robbie Adams said.
Why not? I asked.
"Because it's too steep, and they don't know how to drive up. So they stop and try to back down, and it's a mess because people are coming up behind them."
And that's in good weather.
"Rain is a huge problem," Adams said. "People start skidding and spinning. We had our garden wall knocked down twice, and my wife's car got hit in our own driveway. I've seen five or six cars smash into other cars, and it's getting worse."
Adams said "we sent a letter to Waze" — a GPS navigation service — suggesting removal of Baxter as a shortcut possibility, or at least listing it as hazardous during wet weather.
"They said they couldn't do that because it involves changing the algorithm of the app in a weird way," he said.
Adams' wife, Amy Talkington, helped organize neighbors in a call for a meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. Several possible solutions are on the agenda, but there will be no easy fix.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Baxter Street in Echo Park has seen increased traffic because of navigation apps. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
"The Times has reported that Baxter ranks as the third-steepest street in Los Angeles with a 32% grade, behind 28th Street in San Pedro (33.3%) and Eldred Street in Mount Washington (33%)."
Another view.
I drove thru there a few times to this restaurant close-by, and sometimes to Dodger Stadium LOL. No sweat as I’d rather cruise thru Baxter than say, Mulholland Drive where you cant even see the edges of the road at night and in a split second, you could end up 200 feet down a hill.
Be tough on an icy day. :-)
.
I could look it up, but I’m to busy. But there is a New Jersey suburb suing Google maps for routing drivers through the little town as they take a shortcut to bypass traffic.
I think it starts with an L.
In any case, these apps do cause problems. Google map directions to my place might be the shortest route - but that route takes longer due to narrow country roads.
Going to work - Google wants me to take a road that is under construction and a route that takes 20 extra minutes.
It always surprises me how many steep hills are in LA.
There is a “secret” route out of Dodger Stadium that goes through residential areas of Echo Park. I used it back in the 80’s. It saved me about an hour of time on the way out of Chavez Ravine.
I recall a Google exec following Google maps in the winter in Oregon and it cost him and his family their lives. A good road in the summer ain’t necessarily so in the winter.
It was a CNET editor named James Kim. He missed a turn and took the wrong road, no mention of GPS leading him astray. His wife and kids survived.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/07/missing.family/index.html
There may have been GPS used, but I don't recall.
Google maps in my area routes people over SR 120, Tioga Pass, into Yosemite Nat’l Park, which is fine, except it is closed for 6 months of the year due to snow. Lot of people have tried it during Winter using Google maps. They don’t get far.
They were using GPS. There are now gps warnings and BLM, NFS signs all warning of the winter dangers of Bear Camp road.
Yep, Kalifornika all right.
There’s a very steep street in Signal Hill, Cal (oddly named Hill Street) that I remember driving as a lad. You go over and keep waiting to see the road, and keep waiting to see the road. I just YouTubed it and the main difference is that there are now buildings on either side. I remember it being just oil wells.
There was a case of something like this in England where the GPS sent traffic through villages that couldn’t handle it. Some streets were smaller than the semis trying to navigate them.
Ping
The only ice there would be in somebody’s margarita.
When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to drive up it for fun.
I you can't do it, why not hire someone who is smarter than you who could figure the "weird way" out?
We used to live near that street, made for a great walking workout!
The street next to it....fatgo street is almost as steep...i have gone up either street many times...if your engine aint powerful...start fast stay on lower gears...no problem
.just.be careful going.over the crest...cuz you cannot see whats on the downside..
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