After decades of relative quiet, downtown Los Angeles is teeming with commercial and residential life. The growth, coupled with a strong economy and a surge in construction, has sparked what residents and commuters say is some of the worst traffic they can remember.
Over a two-year period, the number of lane- and street-closure permits issued by the city rose by 147%, from 43 in March of 2014 to 106 in March of this year, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. The increases were most dramatic for permits related to construction, which soared 181% over that period, from 32 in 2014 to 90 this year.
Source: latimes.com