SoCal Traffic-Just Awful (Fresno, Santa Ana, Bakersfield: 2013, rent, mortgage)

[Des-Lab]

Damn. I knew that LA/SoCal traffic was bad. But yesterday (Saturday) probably set a new record.

Drove to Orange from Tulare (that's in the Central Valley on Hwy 99 roughly halfway between Bakersfield and Fresno for those of you for whom there is nothing north of Sylmar except the North Pole.)

Took two hours to go from Tulare to Castaic, which is par for the course.

Castaic to Orange?

Another FIVE hours on top of that.

My GOD. How do you people live like that? And pay triple or quadruple the national average on rent or mortgage for the "privilege" of having to deal with that. Day after day, week after week. One afternoon and it was absolute hell. Normally for that drive I would take either 5/210/57/91/55 or 5/91/55. I was listening to the traffic yesterday and attempted to dodge some of the traffic that was being reported (KNX 1070's traffic reports leave a LOT to be desired. Can anyone suggest a better radio station?). So I ended up taking 5/10/710/91/55. THAT was a self induced trip through hell if I'd ever seen one.

FIVE hours. To go approx. 100 miles. I must've gone through about eight packs of cigarettes and was still wound up tighter than a snare drum by the time I arrived. Again, I know that some traffic is to be expected. For instance the 5, 55, and 57 in Orange County are also known for their wretchedly miserable morning and afternoon commutes. But this was bad, even when compared to those.

Sheesh. Ok. Rant over.

[skelaki]

ROFL. Yes, the traffic can be a nightmare but people who live in the OC and LA (and to a lesser extent the Inland Empire) are used to it.

And, by the way, I do know where Tulare is. I used to live in Modesto and my Grandparents were in Stockton.

[NativeOrange]

I can tell you that of all the road trips I've taken up north it has NEVER taken me that long to go the same distance on the same route. The longest it has taken me driving from the grapevine to Santa Ana in 3 hours.

[KeithM7]

5 hours? On a Saturday?

Are you sure you didn't take a detour through Arizona or Nevada?

[HyperionGap]

Originally Posted by KeithM7

5 hours? On a Saturday?

Are you sure you didn't take a detour through Arizona or Nevada?

Pretty much. I drive from orange to Pasadena monthly. Without traffic it's 40 minutes. Bad traffic is 1 hr, horrible traffic is 1:15. Traffic westbound from Pasadena on the 210 to the 5 is non existent.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Des-Lab

Damn. I knew that LA/SoCal traffic was bad. But yesterday (Saturday) probably set a new record.

Drove to Orange from Tulare (that's in the Central Valley on Hwy 99 roughly halfway between Bakersfield and Fresno for those of you for whom there is nothing north of Sylmar except the North Pole.)

Took two hours to go from Tulare to Castaic, which is par for the course.

Castaic to Orange?

Another FIVE hours on top of that.

My GOD. How do you people live like that? And pay triple or quadruple the national average on rent or mortgage for the "privilege" of having to deal with that. Day after day, week after week. One afternoon and it was absolute hell. Normally for that drive I would take either 5/210/57/91/55 or 5/91/55. I was listening to the traffic yesterday and attempted to dodge some of the traffic that was being reported (KNX 1070's traffic reports leave a LOT to be desired. Can anyone suggest a better radio station?). So I ended up taking 5/10/710/91/55. THAT was a self induced trip through hell if I'd ever seen one.

FIVE hours. To go approx. 100 miles. I must've gone through about eight packs of cigarettes and was still wound up tighter than a snare drum by the time I arrived. Again, I know that some traffic is to be expected. For instance the 5, 55, and 57 in Orange County are also known for their wretchedly miserable morning and afternoon commutes. But this was bad, even when compared to those.

Sheesh. Ok. Rant over.

Strange post. First you make it sound like you don't live here with your "how do you people live like that?", than it sounds later on like you do live here. So which is it?

I drove from the Pasadena area up to Oak Glen, CA about 80 miles on Friday....no traffic going, and some traffic it was around 4pm coming back, but not until Arcadia, which if you don't know is next to Pasadena.

Sounds like you encountered an accident.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Des-Lab

My GOD. How do you people live like that? And pay triple or quadruple the national average on rent or mortgage for the "privilege" of having to deal with that. Day after day, week after week. One afternoon and it was absolute hell. Normally for that drive I would take either 5/210/57/91/55 or 5/91/55. I was listening to the traffic yesterday and attempted to dodge some of the traffic that was being reported (KNX 1070's traffic reports leave a LOT to be desired. Can anyone suggest a better radio station?). So I ended up taking 5/10/710/91/55. THAT was a self induced trip through hell if I'd ever seen one.

The traffic on the Google maps app is the best source for traffic info. It seems to be updated faster than the sigalert app.

I think you stayed on the 5 too long. In times of extreme traffic I might have tried 210 to Rosemead Blvd. Rosemead south,stop on Valley Blvd. for lunch. Continue south on Rosemead to 60 east. Exit at Hacienda Blvd and take the scenic surface road through Hacienda Heights. and come out in OC in La Habra. Or skip the scenic route and take 60 east to Brea Canyon Cutoff(avoids the 60/57 interchange). Then take Brea Canyon Cutoff to 57 south.

I never sit on a jammed freeway. I will exit and take the surface roads to keep moving at all times. This may not be faster most of the time but it is less stressful for me and one gets to know the roads really well with this method.

[NativeOrange]

Originally Posted by capoeira

The traffic on the Google maps app is the best source for traffic info. It seems to be updated faster than the sigalert app.

I think you stayed on the 5 too long. In times of extreme traffic I might have tried 210 to Rosemead Blvd. Rosemead south,stop on Valley Blvd. for lunch. Continue south on Rosemead to 60 east. Exit at Hacienda Blvd and take the scenic surface road through Hacienda Heights. and come out in OC in La Habra. Or skip the scenic route and take 60 east to Brea Canyon Cutoff(avoids the 60/57 interchange). Then take Brea Canyon Cutoff to 57 south.

I never sit on a jammed freeway. I will exit and take the surface roads to keep moving at all times. This may not be faster most of the time but it is less stressful for me and one gets to know the roads really well with this method.

Google maps is the most accurate. They acquired Waze, which uses phone gps to detect how fast people are traveling. It's updated constantly.

[pacific2]

I haven't found any LA or OC average commutes over say, 40 minutes, an extreme, on this map. Nothing even begins to approach an hour.
LA-OC commutes among longest in US: Calculate yours in this new map | 89.3 KPCC

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Des-Lab

Damn. I knew that LA/SoCal traffic was bad. My GOD. How do you people live like that? And pay triple or quadruple the national average on rent or mortgage for the "privilege" of having to deal with that. Day after day, week after week.

We don't. I don't know anyone who has commutes like that.

Again, I know that some traffic is to be expected. For instance the 5, 55, and 57 in Orange County are also known for their wretchedly miserable morning and afternoon commutes. But this was bad.

Last Saturday, I drove from the San Gabriel Valley to Orange County, 46 miles: 50 minutes on the way down in the early morning, 52 minutes back that night.