Starting to Really See the People

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Pedestrian traffic on the 7th Street sidewalk is definitely beginning to pick up for today’s march. From my view on the 19th floor of the MCI Center I’m watching big clumps of people emerge, ostensibly as a new train pulls in and unloads.

Putting aside for a moment the politics and the cause, I love seeing this many people Downtown. It’s great to see the transit system getting a workout and the sidewalks getting so many feet on them.

Yesterday I walked from Figueroa over to Spring Street right after the Lakers’ game (I wasn’t there… just coincidental timing). It was cool to see how you had the Lakers traffic on this side of Downtown and the Fiesta Broadway (pedestrian) traffic on the other, and Downtown was able to just swallow them both. I doubt most Lakers fans knew there was anything even going on over at Broadway.

Update (1pm): As others have noticed (and here and here) today has actually been a great day to be driving around LA. Downtown traffic is lighter than most days, though I would suspect the detour routes around Broadway might have slightly more traffic. Night and day different traffic-wise from the first time around, though.