Holmby Hills / Bel Air
Lea esta pagina en español ~ Leia esta página em português ~ Lire cette page en français
Go Back to Los Angeles Home ~ Go Back to Beverly Hills ~ Jump Ahead to Brentwood
This is the part of Sunset where I almost died.
I’m not being dramatic. You see how there are no sidewalks here? In this image at right, least you see some dirt. For most of the journey from Beverly Hills to UCLA there are no sidewalks. Sunset curves a lot. Rich people like fast cars and they don’t like to drive them slow. So take a walk where there are no sidewalks, incredibly fast drivers and hairpin turns with little to no visibility or warning. What does all of that combine to make? A very dangerous pedestrian experience that is for sure.
UCLA
Few people realize that the upper end of the campus of UCLA borders Sunset Blvd. I had mapped out my journey so I was prepared to see the school but I did not exactly know what to expect. The campus is enormous and because it is one of the oldest universities in Los Angeles, its campus is lush with trees to the point that you almost feel as though you are in a forest.
The Getty Center and the 405
Bel Air borders Interstate 405 on its western edge. Looming large above the freeway is the $1 billion museum built by the J. Paul Getty foundations and trusts. Quite honestly, it is one of my favorite places in LA. Beyond being an art museum, it is a living garden, an architectural masterpiece and a center for art restoration that is world-renowned. They have an extensive photography collection with rotating and permanent exhibits. Too bad on this trip I was too busy taking photos. For more information about the Getty Center. <- click there.
The 405 is one of the most trafficked freeways in the world. Over 600,000 cars per day can pass through the intersection of I-405 and I-10 just a few miles south of where these photos shown below were taken. I-405 has recorded as many as 378,000 cars in one day. The spot you see below was famously shut down in 2011 an effort to demolish and install overpasses. The shut down famously called “Carmaggedon” became a cultural phenomenon such that Jet Blue offered flights from Long Beach to Burbank in a marketing ploy to take advantage of Southern Californian’s need for mobility.
The Sepulveda Pass, partially seen below is currently being studied for several transit projects which would revolutionize mobility in this part of Los Angeles. Due to the 2028 Olympics, there is intense efforts to accelerate this project to help with the severe congestion faced by travelers here.
