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It's unanimous, president's visit leaves L.A. boiling
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| Contributor | particleman |
| Last Edited | particleman Aug 18, 2010 09:22pm |
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| Category | General |
| Author | Carla Hall |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Thursday, August 19, 2010 03:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | We have one word for you, Mr. President, the next time you want to sweep into Los Angeles late on a weekday afternoon: Helicopter. That way, you can avoid the streets the rest of us mere residents must use to get around.
President Obama's fundraising mission in Los Angeles on Monday evening may have been a whirlwind trip for him, but it was a tedious slog for the thousands who found themselves in gridlock from the Westside to downtown.
No matter their politics, Los Angeles residents found themselves united. "It was a beautiful thing," said Brentwood resident Myles Berkowitz, commiserating with his neighbors on Montana Avenue. "Young, old, black, white — everyone was pissed off."
All this traffic angst was stirred up by street closures as the president made his way from the Beverly Hilton hotel to the Hancock Park home of "West Wing" and "ER" producer John Wells to raise $1 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Frustrated motorists took to websites — including that of the Los Angeles Times — to vent.
If you want an investigation, start with John Wells and everyone at his fundraiser who thought this was a good idea," wrote one man on The Times' website. "Yes, I understand that the actions yesterday were at the Secret Service's direction, but you'd think the president should know by now that when he travels, this is what happens. He could have easily said no or done it at a hotel near the airport. All of that yesterday for a million bucks, just phenomenally inconsiderate."
The U.S. Secret Service puts together the routes for motorcades along with local and state law enforcement agencies, said Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan. But in this instance, officials had to get Obama across town without benefit of an easy freeway route. Residents trying to navigate their way — at rush hour, no less — from Beverly Hills to Hancock Park know that the drive requires a patchwork of surface streets. |
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