Originally Posted by
paytonc
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is obviously a dramatization, but it has some basis in reality: the initial sprawl of Los Angeles was driven by streetcars, not automobiles, and even today many of the freeways follow old Pacific Electric routes.
Slight correction...other than Cahuenga Pass, mostly the old trolley right-of-way have become major city streets or railroad lines, not freeways. This has to do with the fact that Pacific Electric, Los Angeles Railway, and other major trolley companies had specific language in their franchises with the city that required them to run on public streets...and pay for all the maintenence. When they years of losses finally resulted in their abandonment (the city had also capped the fares, and been very slow to raise them), the city pulled up the tracks that were not still in service by Southern Pacific RR for freight service, and added lanes or center parkways.
There's also
this NYT piece on Santa Monica and Venice largely without a car. The Big Blue Bus heads from LAX's bus terminal right through Venice and into SM.
You can also ride Big Blue Bus #3 from the airport all the way out to UCLA's Ackerman Bus Terminal...where you can connect to numerous MTA routes.