TRAFFIC A GRIDLOCK ON LIFE TOO LITTLE ROAD, TOO MANY CARS HAMPER ANGELENOS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Harry Figueroa was aching for the chance to see last week's Yankees- Angels game, but the prospect of a rush-hour drive from his job at JPL in Pasadena to the stadium in Anaheim dashed any hope of passing a summer night at the ballpark.

Earlier in the week, the recent East Coast transplant had tried to make it to a soccer game in Carson, but arrived long after the opening whistle.

``I left at 4:30. I got there at 8,'' said Figueroa, an electrical engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory who lives in Woodland Hills. ``It just makes me think I'm not going to a game on a weekday.

``Between 3 and 7, there's nothing I can do. I'm never going to get anywhere.''

Traffic affects the way Southern Californians live, altering lifestyle choices by making it increasingly difficult to get from one place to another.

The region boasts some of the world's most famous attractions - sun-kissed beaches, popular theme parks and star-studded entertainment venues.

But getting there - or even just getting out to visit friends and family - can be an unbearable chore that can drain the energy out of even the most anticipated events.

A recent online poll by the state Department of Transportation found that 87 percent of respondents in the Los Angeles-Ventura County area had changed jobs, residences or commuting patterns because of traffic congestion.

``The freeways are not as free as they used to be,'' said urban scholar Joel Kotkin, author of ``The City: A Global History,'' and an Irvine Fellow at the New America Foundation who lives in the San Fernando Valley.

``The idea of going to West L.A. for anything - it has to be unbelievable for me to do it. Going to Venice is a once- or twice-a-year thing. If I lived down there, I'd probably never go to the Valley,'' he said.

``It really defines how we live and what we do.''

Kotkin, who has long theorized that the 465-square-mile city is simply too big, says staying close to home isn't necessarily a bad thing.

He points to the creation of vibrant, self-sustaining neighborhoods seen across L.A., each with its own great restaurants and shopping areas that give Angelenos a sense of place.

``L.A., it's too big and needs to be broken down into constituent parts. Even if we're not doing it politically, we're doing it in terms of our lives.''

Experienced commuters know all the tricks for getting around traffic- clogged L.A.: On long-haul trips out of the city, leave early in the morning, midday or late at night. For shorter jaunts, take surface streets rather than freeways. Keep the Thomas Guide handy.

``And always have the cell phone,'' said Petra Rathfelder, a celebrity photographer who just moved to the area from Germany.

But even with the best-laid plans, a freeway fender-bender can cause a traffic jam and ruin what was supposed to be a bearable drive to see friends.

Hedieh Rabizadeh says traffic is always on her mind.

The 27-year-old speech therapist is constantly calculating the time it will take to commute between her home in West Los Angeles and her job in Woodland Hills.

She's trying to figure if she'll be able to meet friends for dinner or make a weeknight hair salon appointment back in West L.A.

Most of the time, the answer is no.

``I think about it constantly,'' she said. ``If it's 6:30 on a weekday, I'm not going to go to a restaurant by the beach.''

Still, the L.A. native says it comes with life in a big city.

``I love L.A., so it's a give and take.''

But Barry Shapiro is just about finished with fighting traffic.

He and his wife plan to move to Palm Springs because he can no longer bear the long drives, whether it's to see clients for his home-remodeling firm or friends for dinner.

``I just have zero interest in the intensity of the energy that's developed because of the density of people, and the density of cars,'' Shapiro said.

Javier Jimenez couldn't bear it any more.

The father of two had been commuting daily from his home in Tarzana to a warehouse job in San Bernardino, a two-hour trip each way on the worst days.

He took a job at veterinary offices nearby, and is just a 20-minute drive from home.

``The traffic affects our life - daily,'' Jimenez said.

Experts say the number of vehicle trips being made on Southern California freeways increases 1.25 percent a year, which means an additional 680,000 cars and trucks zipping around the region.

And while the number of drivers statewide has nearly doubled over the last 30 years, the miles of roadways has increased just 29 percent, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

One study says it would take nearly 40 new freeway lane miles each year in Los Angeles and Orange counties just to keep traffic congestion at current levels.

Some experts say Los Angeles needs a radical change in thinking - from new parking policies or alternatives to freeway investment - to get residents to reconsider their love affair with their cars.

Robert Gottlieb, director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, said Angelenos will always criss-cross the region because people need to travel to jobs, families and attractions. But how they'll get around is key.

``It is a quality-of-life issue,'' he said. ``The focus needs to be, how do you get at the root of that ... and how do you really move aggressively to create that shift so people can see their alternatives to driving alone?''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN

SOURCE: 2005 Highway Maintenance Customer Survey

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist