commuting to downtown LA from the city of san gabriel (Los Angeles: living in, restaurants)

[pbergen]

just wondering what my options would be other than driving.

i looked on some transit agency websites, such as the lacmta, and got the impression that mass transit from san gabriel to downtown isn't that great. i realize that it's "only" about a 10 mile drive, but i'd rather not do that if at all possible.

are there any direct express buses that pass in or near san gabriel and make stops in the vicinity of union station? are there are any park-and-ride lots in the san gabriel area that are viable options?

any train stations in nearby towns with commuter parking lots?

i'm not from the area but am thinking of moving, and am attracted to the san gabriel/alhambra area for a number of reasons. but i don't want to settle there if the commute to downtown is going to be murder.

for what it's worth, how long of a door-to-door commute could i expect i were to drive from san gabriel around 7:30 or 8am?

thanks for any advice.

[Rats]

my estimate is 30-60 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. stay off the 10 freeway... take city streets as much as possible.
and stay off san gabriel blvd. south of las tunas.

[frcal]

Traffic at that time is very challenging. Look up metro lines for commuting. Public transportation bus lines, but very lengthly. There are some commuter vans to various points. Try the chamber of commerce at cities you are interested in to obtain some info. Good luck!

[VillageLife]

Where do you want to stay? If you live near west covina area,you would take the arrow highway all the way down to the 605 freeway near El Monte.then go from either n to the 60 west or 10 W. If you go N on the 605 you would hit 210 w. If you go to the EL Monte terminal,there would be lots of buses. You can also go on the surface streets on 6th street in Monterey Park go all the way downtown. You can also take Valley Blvd all the way to Alhambra to avoid the freeways first then get on the freeway.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by dragonten

Where do you want to stay? If you live near west covina area,you would take the arrow highway all the way down to the 605 freeway near El Monte.then go from either n to the 60 west or 10 W. If you go N on the 605 you would hit 210 w. If you go to the EL Monte terminal,there would be lots of buses. You can also go on the surface streets on 6th street in Monterey Park go all the way downtown. You can also take Valley Blvd all the way to Alhambra to avoid the freeways first then get on the freeway.

i'm looking to stay in the city of san gabriel itself--maybe somewhere around the intersection of valley and delmar (i.e. near all the strip malls with the good restaurants and cafes), but i'm not 100% sure. all i know is that i want to live somewhere in that town, maybe alhambra or rosemead.

if you were to live in one of those towns, what would be the best way to commute to downtown? car or mass transit? if mass transit, then bus or train, and from where?

thanks.

[VillageLife]

Have you been to these areas?

[abstrak_tokatl]

metro.net | Transit Services and Information for Los Angeles County

the 70, 78, 79 (378, 379 express) all go from San Gabriel to union station. There are more such as the one that takes the carpool lane on the 10 freeway, but that's a little south of where you are mentioning.

The thing about all those buses is that it will take about 30-60 minutes to get there from san gabriel, but you are pretty much stuck with that at that hour. Also, the buses tend to be packed, so expect to be standing.

There are short cuts but i'm going to keep those to my self.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by dragonten

Have you been to these areas?

yes, i've been to the city of san gabriel, monterey park, alhambra, rosemead, temple city, and arcadia. i'm most interested in living in the city of san gabriel itself, with alhambra, rosemead, and monterey park being my next options. i have a decent feel for the layout of those towns based on short trips to the LA area, but as mentioned earlier i have never lived in southern california and would like to hear about the best/most realistic options for commuting on a day-to-day basis to downtown.

abstrak_tokatl,
you mentioned the bus that takes the carpool lane of the 10 freeway; is this the bus that leaves from el monte? if so, i probably wouldn't take it because it would require about a 6-7 mile backtrack to the east before getting on the bus. i'd assume that the door-to-door commute (driving east from san gabriel to el monte, then parking at the el monte bus station and getting on the bus) wouldn't be any faster than simply taking one of the bus routes from san gabriel that you mentioned...or am i wrong?

are there any reliable train stations within a 10 minute drive from the city of san gabriel that have parking? the closest ones i could find online were in south pasadena (the light rail) and at cal state la (in east la). do you think these would be viable options for commuting to downtown if i lived in san gabriel, or too much hassle? any other train stations/park-and-rides that you can recommend?

thanks again.

[Sorcerer68]

South Pasadena and Pasadena are a shorter commute, nicer towns and next to the 110 fwy which is a LOT quicker. You can also ride the Gold Line which has multiple stops in both. If you're attached to San Gabriel, I'm afraid your commute will be much longer. Alhambra would be a little better. You can at least (reasonably) take surface streets if the fwy is too clogged.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

South Pasadena and Pasadena are a shorter commute, nicer towns and next to the 110 fwy which is a LOT quicker. You can also ride the Gold Line which has multiple stops in both. If you're attached to San Gabriel, I'm afraid your commute will be much longer. Alhambra would be a little better. You can at least (reasonably) take surface streets if the fwy is too clogged.

yeah i've seen quite a bit of both south pasadena and pasadena on previous trips to la and definitely agree that they're nice towns with lots of stuff to do. not to mention, they have great access via roads and light rail to downtown.

my reason for wanting to live in san gabriel is mainly so that i'd have an extremely short drive to all the strip malls/restaurants/shopping in town (and neighboring towns, but i think san gabriel itself has the most to offer me).

the way i look at it, i have two options:
-i can find an apt in pasadena or south pasadena so that my commute to work via light rail will be easy, but i'll have to drive a bit anytime i want to eat and hang out in san gabriel (acc. to google maps, it's 5.1 miles/16 minutes via surface streets from the mission light rail station in s. pasadena to the heart of san gabriel at valley & del mar).
-my other option is to live in san gabriel/alhambra and drive to south pasadena (mission station) every day to catch the light rail to downtown.

my question (aimed mainly at people who take the light rail into downtown everyday): if i choose option #2, how bad is the drive via surface streets from san gabriel or alhambra in the morning to the mission train station (i.e. arriving at the station around 8-8:15am)? google maps tells me it's about a 15 minute drive, but i'm wondering if it's far worse during rush hour.

if i can realistically expect to drive 30+ minutes via surface streets every day just to get to the train station during the morning rush, then i may as well drive the whole way into downtown or just live in s. pasadena/pasadena, as others have suggested. after all, the train ride from s. pasadena to downtown is 16 minutes alone. but i'm trying to see if my proposed commute (a mix of driving and train) would work, and if anyone else here does something similar.

thanks to everybody who's replied thus far--it's been immensely helpful for me. looking forward to any other responses.