TRAFFIC SHORTCUT: The Outpost Outback

When the Hollywood Bowl overflows  it seems like there's no other way around it, but to stew in the traffic along those side streets on either side of the 101 in the Cahuenga Pass. Don't boil over, there is another way.

The 101 always seems to get stymied in the Cahuenga Pass as the contents of the San Fernando Valley spills through the narrow valley. Here's an alternative, but be careful about sneaking around and up Mulholland Drive and down Outpost because if you do it at the wrong times, you'll get a ticket.

To avoid the early-morning traffic leaving Studio City and heading toward downtown, or Hollywood, if you snake up Mulholland Drive and try to take a left down Outpost, there's a sign that says "No Left Turn 7 am to 10 am Weekdays." 

And, the police are there to hand out tickets, often like shooting fish in a barrel. They will especially be around when school begins, to break parents of the habit of taking this shortcut.

You cannot easily just continue down Mulholland and make a U-turn. There are no U-turn signs all the way around the corner and even up to the top of Runyon Canyon, and it's not worth driving that far and going into the parking lot and turning around.

And, too many people are making illegal U-turns just after the "No Left" sign. There are blind curves in both directions and traffic specialist Sharon Shapiro of Councilman Tom LaBonge's office is aware of the problem and says, "There are plans for repainting the stripes to make it clear that U-turns are not permitted there."

Here's the secret: in the mornings, rather than going up Mulholland, away from the congestion of the Cahuenga Pass, take a right and go up Woodrow Wilson Drive. Be careful, there are children walking on streets without sidewalks getting to Valley View Elementary School, and there are a lot of stop signs.

When Woodrow Wilson forks with Pacific View Drive, take a left and follow that around and up the hill. At the top, take a quick left again and you are out on Mulholland Drive at the first no U-turn sign.

Take a left here legally, and then turn right down Outpost. A series of half a dozen stop signs takes you down to Franklin Avenue and the heart of Hollywood. You have to make it all the way down to Franklin, however, because there are restriction signs about taking a right at certain intersections to avoid more traveling through neighborhoods in Outpost Estates as well.

Here are other TRAFFIC SHORTCUTS to get out of Studio City:

▪                The Barham By-Pass 

▪                The Franklin Canyon Fake 

▪                The Laurel Canyon Loop 

▪                The Benedict Canyon Cheat

▪                The Coldwater Sneak 

▪                The Wrightwood Wind 

But don't tell anyone!