Carmageddon in the Palisades

Carmageddon is over. And it seems Angelenos came out on top! Lucky for Palisadians, it wasn't so bad staying home. After all, there are beautiful beaches, pretty parks and super savings at local stores and restaurants. In fact, once official word hit that the 405 Freeway was open, most residents almost wished it wasn't so!

Patch had a live blog from Carmageddon Command Central, but Patch contributor and Editor went out to see how Palisadians were surviving the car crisis.

If you have photos, or want to share an update with us, please send us a note at amanda.salem@patch.com. Show us how you spent the weekend!

Sunday, July 17

8 p.m. -- Christina Logan: Carmageddon weekend has officially come to a close and the Palisades is it's usual calm self on Sunday night. People are even winding down with a cool treat at The . Sounds like a sweet ending to a great weekend!

4 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: Spoke to a Palisades resident who was just coming home from Santa Barbara. She said there were tons of people on the beach in Malibu. Driving down to Sunset and PCH, you could definitely see more traffic than Saturday. Even the parking lot at was looking full!

3:45 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: Checked back in at to see if business really did pick up on Sunday. The staff said it was almost like a normal Sunday earlier in the day, but it pretty much died out.

3 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: The Village wasn't bustling, but definitely had a bit of life to it. More cars seemed to be cruising past Swarthmore Avenue on Sunset Boulevard.

2:30 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: The 405 is up and running! But that also means there isn't anything special to see over the Sunset Bridge anymore. Traffic was flowing on both the northbound and southbound sides.

11 a.m. -- Christina Logan: It seems that an overwhelming majority of Palisadians have enjoyed this weekend and don't want the chaos that comes with the 405 traffic. Here's what some of them said at a garage sale just now:

"[I] would prefer to keep the freeway closed as long as possible because I'm enjoying the quiet," said Michele Baron, a Palisades resident.

Baron also wondered why the 405 was such a quick fix when it takes months just to pave one road.

Palisadian Kathi Taylor said, "I don't want the freeway to open! But since it is, can they come over and fill our potholes?"

"It's been nice to stay home and keep things quiet," said Susan Karp, resident. "Maybe we can come up with a way to only let half the population out at a time so we can enjoy this more!"

10:56 a.m. -- Carmageddon Command Central: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says the 405 will reopen at 11:30 a.m.

7:45 a.m. -- Christina Logan: Another clear morning! Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day for the beach. With the calm day, yesterday I bet a lot more people will be venturing out today!

Saturday, July 16

8:45 p.m. -- Christina Logan: A beautiful quiet night in the Palisades! Even the local restaurants were empty; which was nice for us, not so much for them! We chose to dine at . The streets are free and clear. Now is the time to venture out and enjoy the perfect evening and sunset!

4:10 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: I took a turn farther down Sunset Boulevard to the 405 … because I was curious. Turns out, I wasn't the only one. Handfuls of looky-loos were snapping photos of an empty freeway. I did too!

3:30 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: Barely a soul on Sunset! Cars were flying by Will Rogers State Park.

2:15 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: The Martinez family braved the roads from South LA to take a walk in the park Saturday afternoon. They said it only took them 15 minutes, when it usually takes them 45, to get from home to Temescal Gateway Park. Nagel, Kelly, Bertha and Nathan Martinez all said they were having a great afternoon in the Palisades!

1:45 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: on Palisades Drive in the Highlands seemed like a great place to stop for a bite on a sunny Saturday. But the staff said it was much slower than usual. They said they get a fair amount of out-of-town customers on the weekends, so the restaurant was pretty empty just after lunch. The staff suspects it'll be busier tomorrow if everyone is encouraged by how light the roads were today.

1 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: The valet stand wasn't bustling as it usually is at about this time on a Saturday. As they ripped off a ticket for a customer, Alex and Rodney told me that one of their guests said it took them only 25 minutes to drive to Gladstones from Long Beach.

12:37 p.m. -- Amanda Salem: I stopped near at Sunset Boulevard and PCH. Traffic was moving smoothly. I ran into Shane O'Neal, Nate King and Dominique DeFeliz who drove up from Santa Monica to look for a sweet surfing spot. Shane is a Las Vegas photographer who is looking for a place in the LA area. What a weekend to come looking for a house!

12:27 p.m. -- Christina Logan: It's a Palisadian's dream today! Even coming down to the beach at noon I got great parking on Temescal. Compared to last weekend, the beach is virtually empty today with just a few locals riding bikes, playing volleyball and enjoying the sun. Today's a great day to enjoy the beauty of the Palisades!

11:47 a.m. -- Palisades Resident Rod Aragon (via Facebook): The way I see it is: The Palisades seems to be booming with local business right now! Shops, resturants, cafes ... People are smiling! This is a good thing. It took a freeway to close to force people to stay local and shop local ... This should be a message to ourselves. Have a great weekend!

9:15 a.m. -- Christina Logan: Pretty dead here! The Village is still asleep and PCH/Temescal Canyon Road is more scarce than normal. Not sure if it's our overcast morning or the lack of wanting to drive! I've never seen all green lights!! Check out the photos.