Using the trolley system for commuting & Santee/La Mesa (San Diego: to rent, crime)

[kel-w]

Hi all -

We are going to be relocating to SD, actually Santee or La Mesa and I want to use the trolley to commute to downtown. Can anyone let me know how well it works, reliability, on-time, etc. Also if you had a choice between La Mesa or Santee which would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance for any comments,
Kelly

[TheCaliforniaBear]

Originally Posted by kel-w

Hi all -

We are going to be relocating to SD, actually Santee or La Mesa and I want to use the trolley to commute to downtown. Can anyone let me know how well it works, reliability, on-time, etc. Also if you had a choice between La Mesa or Santee which would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance for any comments,
Kelly

The trolley is pretty slow. It takes about 30 or 40 minutes to get from La Mesa to Downtown. But it's reliable and in-time.

It can be a bit sketchy and dangerous. There's been a lot of crime at trolley stations and even on the trolleys. And it's been on the rise.

Santee: Conservative, rural, wild-west vibe, redneck.
La Mesa: Family-friendly, suburbia, soccer mom vibe.

I would take La Mesa over Santee for sure. Not as hot, closer to San Diego, safer, more laid back.

[kel-w]

Originally Posted by TheCaliforniaBear

The trolley is pretty slow. It takes about 30 or 40 minutes to get from La Mesa to Downtown. But it's reliable and in-time.

It can be a bit sketchy and dangerous. There's been a lot of crime at trolley stations and even on the trolleys. And it's been on the rise.

Santee: Conservative, rural, wild-west vibe, redneck.
La Mesa: Family-friendly, suburbia, soccer mom vibe.

I would take La Mesa over Santee for sure. Not as hot, closer to San Diego, safer, more laid back.

Thanks for the info! How about the bus system? Is it hard to find places to park a vehicle in downtown ? Between La Mesa and Lemon Grove, which would you choose? I'm glad this forum is here.
Kelly

[dthatcher7]

The trolley is very reliable. Unfortunately, trolleys are often used by drunks who won't hesitate to pester you and talk and poke at you like you are an old friend. There are too few transit police to really clamp down on this kind of thing. I just came back from a trip to LA on Amtrak. My wife and I and our son got on the Orange Line at America Plaza heading west. Two stops later a drunk woman (you could smell it) about sat on my wife, who was forced to move over and balance my son and car seat on our baggage. She pushed up against my wife and proceeded to grab on to our luggage for a minute to push herself up. After scratching her rear, she began to poke at our baby, trying to touch him. We told her to stop three times and my wife actually had to SLAP her hand the fourth time. Then she insisted on telling us how sorry she was, about five times trying to get our attention trying to say sorry even though we kept on saying "okay." Later, she began to pester the lady across the aisle, asking her at every stop how much longer until a particular stop. She moved opposite from us after a few more stops and asked us about three times if a particular bag was ours, again touching it, after we kept telling her it was. Suffice it to say, once we got home, it was baths for all and Lysol spray on everything.
Buses are less reliable. I used the bus to go to Coronado July 4th, 2008. I went to wait for the bus to go home.... for 2 1/2 hours no buses came although they were scheduled. When the bus finally came by, it was too full of people to get on, and the driver made excuses instead of owning up to the situation. Worse yet, by the time a bus with room stopped, trolley service had ended, so I had no way to get home even if I took the bus to the trolley station at 12th and Imperial. The driver said the trolley service was not being extended even under the circumstances. 3 1/2 hours later I had a friend drive to Coronado from Spring Valley to take me home.
I have written to MTS with no response. Truly it's pay and pray with the transit system because nobody is going to listen to your complaints if you have a problem. Do NOT rely on the transit system unless you are taking the trolley/coaster/sprinter, and even then be prepared for the drunks.

[leighland]

I used to take the Trolley from La Mesa to Downtown. Its a 45 min. ride. Yes there are drunks, which I have seen puke on the trolley seats during my ride. The scary part are the Tweekers who hang out at 12th & Imperial. When those crazys get on, its frightening. However, during Padres Season, SDPD clears them all out and away from most stops so it's a safe, clean, but slow ride. From my experience, most white collar jobs downtown give you a parking space, you don't need to be a Manager or VP to have a space assigned to you, so you should ask about that for sure. I'd rather deal with the 25 min car ride.

[kel-w]

Thanks for you folks for responding. Can you tell me if these drunks and tweakers are using the trolley M-F, 8-5 or are they on like during the weekends and nights? I don't mind the speed of getting there because I have anxiety issues on freeways so I avoid them by taking side streets. Looks like taking side streets from La Mesa to downtown would be quite a challange. With that said, how would you get from Poway to downtown without driving?

BTW what is the Coaster and where does it operate?

We are not dead set on La Mesa yet. We like El Cajon but we wanted to be closer to downtown. A friend recommended Poway. We are looking for a community to rent in for a year as we search for the best place to buy a house. And the research I have done shows La Mesa as a safe place and is close to shopping. We are coming down the first week of November to meander around different areas. I can't take another summer of months of triple digit temperatures.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by kel-w

Thanks for you folks for responding. Can you tell me if these drunks and tweakers are using the trolley M-F, 8-5 or are they on like during the weekends and nights?

I used to take the Blue Line Trolley from Old Town to Downtown Mon-Fri 9-5 for a year and rarely had these problems with drunks or tweakers, if any at all. BUT the Orange Line goes through worse neighborhoods and generally has more problems on it than the other lines, so that could be part of the reason.

With that said, how would you get from Poway to downtown without driving?

Route 820 Timetables

If you decide to take the Express Bus I would join the Guaranteed Ride Home program so in case something comes up and you can't take the bus to Poway from Downtown you have several subsidized taxi/shuttle rides you can use in case an emergency comes up.

BTW what is the Coaster and where does it operate?

North County Transit District - WE MOVE PEOPLE

[dthatcher7]

kel-w:
The drunk we ran into was on the trolley during the afternoon commute time.
The Coaster runs from Union Station in Downtown to all the way up the coast to Oceanside. This may make some of the nicer coastal communities relevant to your search, such as Solana Beach and Del Mar. Hop on the Coaster and you are downtown in a jiff. The Coaster is a little different clientele as well.
If you live in Poway, you will find it difficult if not impossible to get anywhere without taking the freeway. Also public transit service to Poway is rather scarce. Yeah, if you don't like freeways, don't live in Poway.
I would really look hard at La Mesa. Some on this board may take exception, but Lakeside/Santee/El Cajon is pretty blue collar/redneck IMO. And El Cajon is probably one of the hottest places in the SD Metro area.
Also if you live in La Mesa, either El Cajon Blvd or University Ave will take you pretty much all the way downtown if "light after light after light after light" is better for you than I-8 or CA-94. Also there are two or three trolley stations in and around La Mesa if you decide you like the trolley (La Mesa Blvd/Spring St/Grossmont Center).
I live in La Mesa, so I know whereof I speak. However, you also need to take a look at the San Carlos area to the N/NW of La Mesa.
Most people pan San Diego city proper because of the schools. Basically many people feel that the school system is controlled (to it's detriment) by the teacher's union, and there is some merit to that. We seem to go through superintendents like poopy kid goes through underwear. Once they wise up to the power the union has.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by kel-w

I can't take another summer of months of triple digit temperatures.

I don't have the numbers but keep in mind El Cajon and La Mesa get into triple digits.(CA is a desert after all) If you want the moderate temps, you need to stay pretty close to the coast.

[kel-w]

I'll definetly look into San Carlos, we don't have an school age children so schools are not a factor. I'm having a hard time findiing a property manager in the Eastern area, any ideas?

The MTS schedule online shows the green line trolley only goes to Old Town, so how do you get from there to downtown?

Kelly