Unimaginable traffic levels in South OC (San Diego, Anaheim: how much, home, maintenance)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by expatCA

It gets worse slower. Build Apts, etc and it gets worse faster. Try and build trains, etc it doesn't help. The key, drive the prices so high fewer people move to OC and, ...... it stabilizes.

That is happening. Rent In Southern California Skyrockets, Especially In Orange County « CBS Los Angeles

Rent in Orange County hits all-time highs after rising for at least 4 years.

You need to earn $62,000 a year for an OC studio.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by KaraG

They could finish the 241, for one.

This is the typical backwards OC mentality I was referring to. Still stuck in outdated ideas that more and wider freeways will "solve" congestion issues.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by expatCA

It gets worse slower. Build Apts, etc and it gets worse faster. Try and build trains, etc it doesn't help. The key, drive the prices so high fewer people move to OC and, ...... it stabilizes.

No it doesn't. You just push people farther out to where it's cheaper forcing people to commute farther while worsening congestion and pollution. You're basically just making your current situation worse. I guess that must be that "OC urban/transportation planning logic" there lol.

[pacific2]

Tourism is getting bigger in Orange County. OC has created a lot of jobs, but some of them (I can't look-up the breakdown right now) are in the low-paying service sector.

With the high cost of housing here, many new hires are forced to commute into OC from LA/IE/SD, further clogging the freeways. I don't blame them, 'cause you gotta eat, and OCers also obviously rely upon service workers beyond the leisure sector.

6 reasons why O.C. is a tourist town - The Orange County Register
Through all the ups and downs since 2000, Orange County employers added a net 182,000 workers while just 114,000 more locals said they’ve gotten a job. That 68,000-job gap helps explain crowded rentals and congested freeways.

Orange County’s evolution from a bedroom community to employment hub comes with a steep price for those working traditionally lower-wage jobs offered in industries such as leisure and hospitality.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by sav858

No it doesn't. You just push people farther out to where it's cheaper forcing people to commute farther while worsening congestion and pollution. You're basically just making your current situation worse. I guess that must be that "OC urban/transportation planning logic" there lol.

Not really as if the drive is too long they will look for work closer to where they live. The people being pushed out are not the ones that are with good paying jobs/businesses in OC that do not exist elsewhere. McDonald's is everywhere.

Look how few people are moving into OC now, that have low paying jobs. They can't afford the rent. Oh and even those commuting reduce day time traffic and weekend traffic in OC to a degree as they shop and such, where they live. Of course the weekend traffic on good beach days is ..... well really, really bad. There is no transportation fix, other than fewer people. Too spread out for any municipal type transportation that would help any at all.

[KaraG]

Originally Posted by sav858

This is the typical backwards OC mentality I was referring to. Still stuck in outdated ideas that more and wider freeways will "solve" congestion issues.

Well no, the backwards mentality was approving thousands and thousands of new homes on the eastern edge of the county, as well as a freeway, in a deserted, beautiful area, then having the freeway stopped by out of town attorneys and special interest groups for decades.

In other states, they would designate that section of the 241 as a scenic highway and put some politician's name on it, so millions could enjoy the state's natural beauty on their drive.

But no, instead of moving forward with the transportation plan for that area of the county, it is stopped, leaving some families with only one way out in case of wildfires, in that high fire danger area.

At least the Antonio/La Pata route was finished - very good news for those neighborhoods!

[sav858]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Not really as if the drive is too long they will look for work closer to where they live. The people being pushed out are not the ones that are with good paying jobs/businesses in OC that do not exist elsewhere. McDonald's is everywhere.

Look how few people are moving into OC now, that have low paying jobs. They can't afford the rent. Oh and even those commuting reduce day time traffic and weekend traffic in OC to a degree as they shop and such, where they live. Of course the weekend traffic on good beach days is ..... well really, really bad. There is no transportation fix, other than fewer people. Too spread out for any municipal type transportation that would help any at all.

Not if there aren't any good jobs. This is the current reality where you have tens of thousands of people commuting from the IE to OC as it is so I'm not sure why you think that high prices are somehow keeping people from commuting into OC. Whatever argument/logic you came up in your head simply isn't reality. High prices just pushes commuters farther out and doesn't reduce traffic, that is the case in every large metro area across the nation and LA/OC/IE is no different.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by sav858

Not if there aren't any good jobs. This is the current reality where you have tens of thousands of people commuting from the IE to OC as it is so I'm not sure why you think that high prices are somehow keeping people from commuting into OC. Whatever argument/logic you came up in your head simply isn't reality. High prices just pushes commuters farther out and doesn't reduce traffic, that is the case in every large metro area across the nation and LA/OC/IE is no different.

There are good jobs in OC.

Originally Posted by expatCA

Not really as if the drive is too long they will look for work closer to where they live. The people being pushed out are not the ones that are with good paying jobs/businesses in OC that do not exist elsewhere. McDonald's is everywhere.

Look how few people are moving into OC now, that have low paying jobs. They can't afford the rent. Oh and even those commuting reduce day time traffic and weekend traffic in OC to a degree as they shop and such, where they live. Of course the weekend traffic on good beach days is ..... well really, really bad. There is no transportation fix, other than fewer people. Too spread out for any municipal type transportation that would help any at all.

People choose to move to the IE not just because it is cheap, but because it offers larger SFRs on single lots, something that is desirable to many. Some of those who commute have somewhat decent jobs, at least my some standards. Some likely have good jobs too.

3 tales of housing woes: What do you do when Orange County is too pricey? - The Orange County Register

Dave Miller leaves work in his gold, GMC Sierra in mid-afternoon, loaded up with Arizona iced tea and sesame seeds. He tunes the radio to 95.5 F.M. KLOS, classic rock.

An auto maintenance supervisor in Garden Grove, Miller lives in Moreno Valley. On a bad day – a Friday – the drive home takes three hours.

The roughly 120-mile round-trip commute is a trade-off. Miller and his wife, Gigi, a hairstylist, bought their 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house with a three-car garage last year.

The price: $285,000.

“In Orange County, I couldn’t have half of what I have,” said Miller, 49.

Indeed, the Millers paid less than half of Orange County’s latest median home sale price, which hit a record high $651,500 in May, according to data firm CoreLogic. Riverside County’s median was $330,000, and the six-county Southern California region reached $459,500.

[Finper]

A relative of mine is selling their house in OC and buying a house for cash that's being built in Riverside. They're planning ahead for retirement but I don't think they'll commute to OC. The 91 is a nightmare.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

There are good jobs in OC.

I know, that was kind of the whole point of my post; people commuting from the IE to OC for good jobs. expatCA seems to think people can just find good jobs wherever they live. Also seems to think the only people priced out of OC work at McDonalds.