Public Transportation - LA Style
Having grown up in LA, I remember when Hollywood was the sort of place I dreaded taking out of state visitors. They were expecting glitz and they were going to get grime. Now, as reported by David Pierson in the LA Times, it’s the place to be - so much so that the City of Los Angeles (Hollywood is part of LA, not a separate city) set up a mass transit system for the late-night crowd:
“If you said five years ago that Paris Hilton was going to get into a car accident in Hollywood, no one would have believed you, because Paris Hilton wouldn’t have been in Hollywood,” said City Councilman Eric Garcetti, referring to a recent incident that made tabloid headlines.
But this new popularity has caused near-gridlock across Hollywood — it can take more than half an hour to travel just a few blocks.
The Holly Trolley is designed to reduce congestion and make it easier for clubbers to get around. The trolley picks up clubgoers and barhoppers at a handful of parking structures, one being the Cinerama Dome/Arclight. A $1 token grants unlimited access between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
“The infrastructure has been stretched in Hollywood,” Garcetti said. “People are paying $10, $20 and $50 for valet. The last thing we wanted to do was strangle success. Here, the city can step in and solve a transportation problem and protect jobs. Government doesn’t have to be boring.”
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Some of the scene’s stalwarts include Avalon, Cinespace, LAX, Level 3 and Ivar, clubs with expansive dance floors, no shortage of mannequin-esque patrons and swank decors. Getting in can be as challenging as finding an empty parking space.
Three acting students from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts had no such difficulties getting past the velvet ropes Saturday morning.
Alicia Lagam, a native of Ireland, Tricia Hoffman from New Orleans and Andrea Bailey from Atlanta moved to L.A. a year and a half ago for their studies. The girlfriends embraced Hollywood’s nightlife almost instantly.
“We just have to stand outside and look pretty” to get in, said Lagam, who, like her friends, is 21.
About 1 a.m., the women abandoned Basque at Hollywood and Vine, where they drank several rounds of cranberry and vodka cocktails donated by a bevy of young men.
Wearing denim miniskirts, cowboy boots, high heels and tank tops in the brisk evening, they got more than their share of attention. On the itinerary that night were clubs Avalon, Cabana, White Lotus and Forbidden City.
They said they were interested in trying the trolley.
“We would definitely use it,” Lagam said. “We had to get into a stranger’s car to get around. It’s dangerous.”
