Traffic in Berkeley? (Sacramento, Oakland, San Leandro: neighborhoods, schools, university)

[snarkadoodle]

We're moving to Berkeley this summer and trying to make some decisions about neighborhoods, schools, etc. We have visited for a very short time, but won't be able to get back down before we have to make some big choices.

In my conversations with school directors, etc., I have heard a few comments about (for example) how "inconvenient" it would be to live in north Berkeley and have to drive to south Berkeley for a school or program, etc. When I was in town, Berkeley seemed quite small and manageable, traffic-wise. Am I wrong? Are there some "commutes" within the city limits that I should absolutely avoid?

[04kL4nD]

Traffic in Berkeley sucks. People are terrible drivers- absent minded, slow, inconsiderate, indecisive, etc

For a relatively small city, it takes forever to get anywhere. You might not notice it at first, but if you drive around town enough, you'll quickly know what I mean...

[jade408]

The freeway is only on the west side of town, so anyone who needs to get on the freeway needs to drive all the way through town. The main ateries are always clogged most times of the day. And the speed limit is 30 or less in the entire city. There are lots of round abouts, one way streets, etc.

If you needed to drive to let's say: Ashby and Telegraph from let's say Cedar and Sacramento, it would easily take 15 minutes with no traffic at all. But on Cedar, you'd need to contest with BART traffic, downtown Berkeley Traffic, Berkeley High traffic, Cal traffic, University Ave traffic, and Highway 13 traffic. It would likely take 30 minutes most times of the day.

I live about 4 miles from Berkeley. 90% of the time it is faster to go to San Leandro, 12 miles away than Berkeley from where I live in Oakland. And all of the traffic is in Emeryville and Berkeley. And I live by the freeway.

[snarkadoodle]

Originally Posted by jade408

The freeway is only on the west side of town, so anyone who needs to get on the freeway needs to drive all the way through town. The main ateries are always clogged most times of the day. And the speed limit is 30 or less in the entire city. There are lots of round abouts, one way streets, etc.

If you needed to drive to let's say: Ashby and Telegraph from let's say Cedar and Sacramento, it would easily take 15 minutes with no traffic at all. But on Cedar, you'd need to contest with BART traffic, downtown Berkeley Traffic, Berkeley High traffic, Cal traffic, University Ave traffic, and Highway 13 traffic. It would likely take 30 minutes most times of the day.

I live about 4 miles from Berkeley. 90% of the time it is faster to go to San Leandro, 12 miles away than Berkeley from where I live in Oakland. And all of the traffic is in Emeryville and Berkeley. And I live by the freeway.

So, if I needed to drive from just north of the university (right around Hearst) south to Telegraph/Ashby, would that be a total nightmare, or pretty reasonable? Time-wise, I'm talking getting kids to and from school, etc.

[04kL4nD]

Nah, that's probably 10-15 mins. But it'll be annoying as hell. Think lots of traffic lights

[jade408]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Nah, that's probably 10-15 mins. But it'll be annoying as hell. Think lots of traffic lights

I'd add a few more minutes, those streets can be congested! ~20 minutes.

[04kL4nD]

Ok, 15-20 of the LONGEST minutes of your life

[snarkadoodle]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Ok, 15-20 of the LONGEST minutes of your life

Sheesh, really?

Ok, what about driving north from Hearst to the Grizzly Peak Park area? I assume that will involve fewer traffic lights, yes?

[04kL4nD]

It's certainly more scenic, but it's really out of the way. There's also UC traffic to worry about over on the north side of campus. Plus if you get stuck behind a slowpoke or a trail of cyclists you'll probably be even more irritated.

I guess it's all relative though. My threshold for freeway traffic is probably higher than stop and go traffic in a town like Berkeley. For whatever reason, I find sitting on the Bay Bridge far less irritating than trying to make my way up University or College Ave. The only way you can be certain is to try it out during peak hours for yourself. If it's seems ok, maybe it won't be as big of deal for you.

[mayorhaggar]

Berkeley is small, like 2 miles from north to south. I've never found traffic to be that bad except around downtown which is easily avoided. Definitely way less cars than in SF. Berkeley does have a lot of side streets blocked off though so people can't go flying through them, which means more cars on the main roads instead of on the side streets.