I was browsing through another thread about freeways and couldn't help but notice that the freeways in Los Angeles do not have street lights on them.

Just wondering what the deal was with that because I have never seen that before in urban areas. Is there some environmental restriction or something?

Thanks...

all the freeways near me have lights on them. I have really bothered to notice if there are any on the freeway area in downtown

Freeways have lights. I always notice them at night flashing in my eyes

I agree that's it's really bizarre that there are no freeway lights here in the land of the busiest most chaotic freeways around. It's pitch black on them. Every other city I've been/lived in have them, either along the side on in the center divider. I find it very dangerous--especially since on many freeways there is no inside shoulder--and I've heard of lots of fatal accidents where poeple plow into broken down cars or previous accidents at night. Must be typical CalTrans shoddy cheapness. Don't know how they get away with it.

There are lights in some areas, and most exit ramps have lights, but for the most part the freeways near me (405, 91, 710, 110) are not lit. I don't think that the rest of LA is much different. You don't normally notice the lack of light because there are normally other light sources (cars, moonlight, surface street lights, etc.). If you drive on the 405 on a moonless night at 4am you'll find that most of the freeway is very dark.

I don't think that it's an LA characteristic as much as a California one. The lighting on LA's freeways is similar to San Diego, Oakland, Fresno, etc.

Hmm do the Toronto Ones have lights? Because I hear that is the bussiest freeway in the world, and If the TO one doesn't and the LA ones dont, then it must be for a reason, maybe because if they're so busy, they dont need street lights.

Toronto freeways are well lit, as are pretty much every metropolitan freeway in the country. That is why I asked because I found it strange that LA ones were not lit, at least from the pictures I saw.

Toronto:

http://img171.exs.cx/img171/4272/toronto401day7qd.jpg

its certainly the widest freeway in the world.

I think LA has the busiest and that may be why it doesnt have light, cause of so many cars producing light. That or the authority on this issue is very cheap

LA should have those freeway light systems, but it's too bad they don't. Seattle metro area has tons of them, I-5 in Olympia, I-5 in Tacoma/Lakewood, I-5 at I-405 and I-5 Junction, SR 509 to I-405 in south part. SR 520 on the floating bridge and SR 520 east of I-405. I-5 all the way thru Seattle city limits. I guess they are on a limited budget and decided not to add those freeway lighting system in California.

California does have freeway lighting, and so does most of LA, just some parts of the freeways do not.

This is the LA highway photo.

http://users.adelphia.net/~royjea/IMG_4234.jpg

There is one part of the 57, around Imperial highway and north of there, that is completely dark. At night, when there are no other cars around, it is actually quite creepy!

This one is good.

http://www.geocities.com/los_angeles_coast/Four_Level.jpg

Freeways have lights. I always notice them at night flashing in my eyes

hahahhahahahahahaha.......... yeah.

PHOENIX I THINK HAS BEST LIT FREEWAY SYSTEM IN THE USA
THERE ARE TONS OF LIGHTS IN ALL THE FREEWAYS.
IT LOOKS LIKE DAY TIME

^I went to phoenix the day after christmas and it was raining. Well, the freeway I was on there didnt have any of those reflective markers on the ground and you could NOT tell what lane you were in, it was madness. Hopefully they changed that. Very dangerous.

i think the reason that most cities in California don't have those high tower freeway lightings or any other lighting is because California's freeway system was built way before the other states,so when the other states started building their freeway system it was required by the federal government that they were lit and to have exit numbers and mile markers..California's Freeway System was always excused by the Federal Government,so i guess that's why the state never bothered to have the Lighting,Exit Numbers or Mile Markers,but it's changing now..i've seen exit numbers on our freeways and i'm sure our freeways will have lighting and mile markers too...California's Freeways are finally trying to catch up with the rest of the country.

^I went to phoenix the day after christmas and it was raining. Well, the freeway I was on there didnt have any of those reflective markers on the ground and you could NOT tell what lane you were in, it was madness. Hopefully they changed that. Very dangerous.

I found that driving around much of Europe - virtually none of the freeways I drove on had them. Especially when you have rain and fog, it is quite dangerous. Although, the lines themselves usually have glass beads in them so the car headlights can reflect off the lines as well.
All freeways and major roads in Sydney have them.

This one is good.

http://www.geocities.com/los_angeles_coast/Four_Level.jpg
What freeway is that, it looks ill and I seen it in a bunch of videos.

What freeway is that, it looks ill and I seen it in a bunch of videos.

The Four Level
101 & 110

What an awesome overpass....freeways can be so damaging but the architecture of them can be so awesome!