Is the I-15 as bad as the I-5? (San Diego, San Marcos: house, live)

[djxpress]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

What looked scary was the southbound traffic that was stop and go north of the split. Good grief, it was crazy to see 8 lanes of traffic at a standstill.

The southbound I-5 traffic during PM rush hour from Carlsbad down seems to be a newer phenomenon. I don't remember sb traffic at 4 pm being bad 5 years ago (unless it was during the fair or horse racing). Wonder why?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by djxpress

The southbound I-5 traffic during PM rush hour from Carlsbad down seems to be a newer phenomenon. I don't remember sb traffic at 4 pm being bad 5 years ago (unless it was during the fair or horse racing). Wonder why?

I think there has been a lot more job growth in the industrial parks near palomor airport road than there has south and east of 56. A lot of those people are going back to residences in central SD beaches and beyond.

[Joseph_Hotto]

9 out of 10 times, I-15 is far less congested than the I-5. Caltrans recently expanded the I-15 to include a couple toll lanes in both directions between the 78 and the 163, although it's brutal on the weekdays coming out of Temecula. I-5 is usually a bad choice during the weekdays, especially in Encinitas during the morning and after the 56 merge during the evening.

[The Flying Dutchman]

If roads were priced according to their demand and true cost to society (negative externalities such as pollution, reduced property values, etc.), we'd see reduced congestion. But they're not, so we won't. As this thread proves, people will put up with an insane amount of wasted time on "free"ways.

[NYSD1995]

As of 2012 15 was worse. Now 5 is much, much worse, from Oceanside to the 805/5 split. They added a lot of room on the 15 corridor over the years.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

My husband drove from Vista to Kearny Mesa for 10 years. The mileage was almost equal but he always took the 5 because 15 was so much worse, even after widening the 15.

[sdurbanite]

The 5 is definitely worse than the 15 these days. And don't get started on the 805 around 3pm.

[DaveK33]

It's been my experience that I-5 is much worse over all.

I'd say one of the biggest problem areas on the I-15 that I've encountered on more than once occasion is where I-15 and the 163 split and the 52 intersect. Folks make last second decisions to switch lanes, the on ramp to the 52 gets backed up going east etc. The 15 can get jammed up in that area in either direction too.

At the end of the day I'm just happy it's not L.A. traffic! :-)

[RosieSD]

Let's face it, three years ago when this thread was started, there were certain freeways that were worse than others. Now, there isnt a freeway anywhere in San Diego that doesn't have "bad" traffic during rush hour. Not sure why things have changed so much, but I used to zip from point A to point B with no problem on most freeways. Now, I plan all my freeway travel between the hours of 9 and 3.

[moved]

I try not to drive on the freeways during rush hour unless I absolutely have to.