Dennis RomeroOh boy. Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional start of summer (so soon?), is almost here.
If you're road trippin,' be prepared to spend much of your three-day weekend huffing exhaust fumes from the comfort of your vehicle. Traffic data service INRIX gave us the 411 on the upcoming holiday crush, including ways to beat it:
An INRIX rep broke out the data for L.A., but it's pretty much the same as it is for the rest of big-city America:
-Friday will be the worst day to get away.
-Leaving for your road trip extra early or extra late on Friday might save you some time.
-Monday afternoon will be the worst time to return from said trip.
Credit: Eric Demarcq / Flickr
According to the service (which has reduced the price of its traffic app from $24.99 to $9.99 through May 29), getaway traffic will start building as early as … 1 p.m. on Friday, with the worst congestion peaking 1 to 2 hours earlier than usual!
Expect the return rush from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday.
INRIX says you should leave early or after 6 p.m. if you want to beat the Friday parking lot. In L.A. we have to imagine that the time would be later — 7 or so — as 6 is still a pretty lousy time to be on a freeway around here, even on a regular weekday.
INRIX traffic analyst Jamie Holter:
The drive out of town will be much different than what drivers experience on a typical Friday.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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