> "Richard Close, 73, who has lived in Sherman Oaks for 43 years, said his daily commute to Santa Monica has become easier, and with the construction crews gone, he has come to appreciate the new 405. He said he leaves his office after 7 at night, to miss the worst of rush hour, and it takes about 75 minutes to go 15 miles, which he said saved him 15 minutes a night on his old commute."<p>So he went from going an average of 10 miles/hr to 12.5 miles/hr. Never mind the ever-increasing population of the area and this little boost in commute time is just going to evaporate as more people congest the highway. Ideally they'd take away a lane on each side and build a new Metro rail line. It might not alleviate traffic much, but it would give people an alternative to driving.