PE.com - Commuting Blog

The Caltrans office covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties began running videos on YouTube.com earlier this year. The spots offer updates on significant projects underway in the Inland area and allow motorists to watch, not just read about, the stuff Caltrans is trying to accomplish.

Now the statewide office is using YouTube and the social networking site MySpace.com to reach out to teenagers with driving tips and other driving-related information. The idea is to get these tools to teens; whether they will read them or not, or even go to the sites, is largely unknown.

If they do, they will find things like "Top 10 Reasons for Failing the Drive Test" or videos designed to show the view a trucker has from the cab. Here's a hint: it's not nearly as wide as you might think.

While the offerings are aimed largely at teens, there is other information there that could be useful for commuters, especially if they have a son or daughter who is reaching driving age.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 9:59 AM, October 30
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Tags: caltrans
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The parking situation at the North Main Metrolink station in Corona has been pretty bad for years, with commuters filling the existing lot and then spilling onto side streets. The Riverside County Transportation Commission is moving forward with plans to build a six-level parking structure there.

Much work remains to nail down exactly what the project will look like and who will build it, but we know this -- it will be expensive. The most recent cost estimate is $25 million. Sealed construction bids are due Thursday. Once they are opened and evaulated, the commission can vote on awarding the contract and finally get construction underway.

The commission plans to start work by the end of the year. Construction is expected to take 12-18 months. Because the structure is going to be built on top of the existing parking lot, construction will take some existing parking spaces out of action. The commission plans to run a shuttle bus for people who want to park at a nearby movie theater, but they also are advising riders to think about using Metrolink stations at La Sierra in Riverside or the West Corona station.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 7:04 AM, October 29
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Tags: corona, metrolink
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In another sign that tolls and toll roads are here to stay, a Bush administration official praised, of all places, the Bay area, for its approach to fighting traffic congestion.

What’s next, Dodger and Giant fans uniting as one?

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters was in San Francisco recently and gave kudos to a proposal to charge motorists who are exiting the Golden Gate Bridge a toll as they enter the city by the bay. Peters said the effort, along with new parking meters and traffic signals, is an example of how areas can reduce traffic congestion without building millions of dollars worth of new roads.

The important thing to note here is that Peters’ rhetoric also was matched with action. The Transportation Department provided a $159 million grant in August to help the idea along. With money like that falling out of the sky, transportation agencies take notice.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 11:01 AM, October 26
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Better weather and a lot of hard work by firefighters have combined to eliminate the threat of closure on major freeways used by Inland commuters. A quick check of the Caltrans website reveals that only highways around the affected communities in the San Bernardino Mountains are still dealing with significant road closures.

That's a big shift from only a couple of days ago, when Interstate 15 was closed south of Temecula and just north of Cal State San Bernardino, slamming shut two important sections of the biggest north-south route in the area. Interstate 10 in the Banning/Beaumont area also was beset by some pretty significant winds earlier this week, sending many commuters scurrying for alternate routes on side streets.

So, what have we learned in the process? I'm interested in hearing from commuters how they handled the problems earlier this week and what improvements we need in our local transportation system to prevent another round of these problems in the future.

I know some commuters on other routes -- Highway 60, Interstate 10 west of the 215 and Highway 91 -- flock to Metrolink when weather and/or accidents close their main transportation route. But for most of the people affected earlier this week, that was not an option since Metrolink does not operate there.

Feel free to post a comment on this blog, or send me an email at ppitchford@pe.com

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 8:43 AM, October 25
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Some roads, major and minor, are experiencing varying levels of closure this morning as a result of wind, fire, dust -- pretty much everything except locusts.

Here's the skinny:

Highway 79 between Interstate 10 and Hemet -- dust storm with limited visibility.

Highway 371 between Highway 74 and Highway 79 -- fire.

Southbound Interstate 15 between Interstate 215 and Interstate 10 -- closed to trucks.

Southbound Interstate 15 connectors to the Interstate 10 east and west -- closed, truck has gone off the connector.

No idea how long these closures are going to last, but if you're planning to go into those areas today, you should probably call Caltrans at (866) 383-4631 or look at www.caltrans8.info for updates.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 9:09 AM, October 22
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In a pairing I suspect nobody saw coming, comedian and game show host Drew Carey has joined forces with Reason Foundation, the libertarian think tank, to promote toll roads as a solution to Los Angeles area traffic.

Carey, who once starred in a sitcom bearing his name and now hosts "The Price is Right," can be seen in a video on Reason's web page that is definitely amusing and also pretty informative. Carey rides with a commuter whose 16-mile trip takes 90 minutes, then treats him to a free helicoptor ride that cuts his commute to a mere nine minutes. Of the drive, Carey says, "No one should have to live this way."

In a portion of the video that explores the 91 Express Lanes, Carey says that Hollywood is not the only path to millions of dollars. "I would love to own a freeway in LA," Carey says.

I guess for Drew Carey, the price really is right -- for driving without traffic, that is. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Reason says the video is but the first of many for Carey. He will be back on the small screen -- ie, your computer monitor -- discussing abuse of the eminent domain process, which allow government to buy property from unwilling sellers, as well as immigration and medical marijuana.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 8:58 AM, October 19
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Yet another story is out seeking to quantify which drivers across the country have the worst commutes. Stop me if you've heard this before, but Riverside/San Bernardino falls into that category. Specifically, we are ranked #5 behind New York, Washington, Atlanta and Chicago, in that order.

This study from Bizjournals used 2005 data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to generate its rankings. Right after us, by the way, was Baltimore, followed by, of all places, Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.

Of interest to me was the finding by Bizjournals that in this area, the same percentage of people -- 1.4 percent -- walk as use public transit. Are there really that many people walking to work in car-crazy SoCal?

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 4:44 PM, October 17
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Commuters to LA County are well acquainted with the many light rail lines that run across the area, typically identified by colors. Most commuters I know use these lines -- red, green, blue -- after first using Metrolink to get into the county. And as they will tell you, the ride is free with yoour valid Metrolink ticket. But, the rub has always been, you gotta get to LA County first.

That may be on the way to changing. Transportation planners are discussing the possibilityt of extending the Gold Line, which reaches roughly from Union Station to the Pasadena area, all the way to Ontario International Airport. The gist of it is, the city of LA, which owns ONT, wants more people to use ONT as LAX gets crowded. They think an extension of the Gold Line could help, but they are several billion reasons, each representing $1, why it won't work.

The upside is, if it does, it will be just as easy for a commuter to use the Gold Line to get into LA as a person using to get out to Ontario. Stay tuned . . .

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 8:56 AM, October 17
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The anti-smoking/pro-health bill I mentioned last week has been signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. As of Jan. 1, 2008, it will be illegal to smoke in an enclosed vehicle if there are minors present.

The new law makes California the third state to prohibit such a practice, which has been blamed for exposing children to second-hand smoke. The $100 fine applies to both drivers and passengers.

"Protecting the health of our children is among government's highest responsibilities," said state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, who sponsored the bill.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 11:04 AM, October 11
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After about five years of astronomical growth at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the amount of goods being imported from overseas -- and moved by truck and train through the Inland area -- was roughly unchanged in August compared to the same month the previous year. In fact, imports of goods shipped in cargo containers actually dropped about 1.4 percent nationwide, according to a new study.

So, with this slowdown, the freeways should be easier to drive, right? And motorists should be able to spend less time waiting for trains to pass?

Not exactly. The existing congestion problem is still the same -- it just didn't get worse toward the end of the summer. Inland economist John Husing estimates that port traffic at LA/Long Beach would have to drop more than 20 percent for port-related traffic to ease up. And nobody expects August's modest decline in growth to even approach that kind of impact.

“With the volumes we are dealing with, you would not notice that at all,” Husing said. “For you to really notice a change, it would have to be huge.”

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 12:30 PM, October 09
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Caltrans said today that it has delayed the planned 10-day closure of the connector road between eastbound Highway 60 and westbound Highway 91. That closure, which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, has been pushed back to Oct. 26 to dovetail better with the actual construction being done in that area.

I took a gander at the connector road Thursday afternoon to count a few cars and try to determine how many vehicles go through there in, say, an hour. The plan backfired though when I got there and every car on the connector road was at a standstill. It's tough to count cars when no cars are moving.

So head into your weekend knowing that the closure, and the traffic hassle expected to accompany it, is at least a couple of weeks out. Just don't think too far down the road to the 26th.

(Disclaimer: No references to the new closure period and Halloween were made in the writing of this blog item, such as "bewitching hours" or "just a trick, no treat." Even though it was very tempting.)

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 3:06 PM, October 05
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As part of the ongoing reconfiguration of the 60/91/215 interchange in north Riverside, Caltrans is planning to close a connector road that normally links the eastbound 60 and the westbound 91. You can view the news release by clicking here.

This connector road is used mostly by people heading from points west (Ontario, Mira Loma, etc.) toward areas of Riverside generally east and north of Van Buren Boulevard. In my experience, anyone heading to the other side of Van Buren usually gets off the 60 at Van Buren and takes that into the city, but maybe that's just me.

As anyone who has used this connector road recently can tell you, it's a bit of wild ride now that it is in the midst of a bunch of construction. It takes kind of a sharp swerve off the 60 and, before you know it, you're being dumped onto the 91 pretty darn close to vehicles already moving at a high rate of speed.

The closure is scheduled to kick in at 6 a.m. Wednesday and last 10 days. I am betting this will lead to a lot of motorists exiting at Market Street and cutting through downtown Riverside, so drive accordingly with extra caution.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 10:45 AM, October 04
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Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, but lawmakers are taking an increasingly dim view of people who smoke in the car when minors are present. Their thoughts are based on the idea that, like in the workplace, restaurants and bars, second-hand smoke is bad for you, especially if you are strapped into a car seat and can't exactly get out of the car and away from the fumes.

A bill from state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, calls for prohibiting the practice. It is on the governor's desk and awaits his signature. He has until Oct. 14 to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. A variety of pro-health and anti-cancer groups are supporting it.

Violators would be issued tickets, but only as a secondary infraction, ie you get stopped for speeding and they also notice you are smoking in a car with a minor present. The punishment would be a $100 fine.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 10:36 AM, October 03
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Metrolink doesn't open new stations every day, so when they do, it's worth mentioning.

The newest addition is Buena Park, and it is reachable from the Inland area on the 91 Line. In a nutshell, it's a little further down the line than the Fullerton station, but a little closer than Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs.

The station is roughly north of the intersection of the 91 and the 5. Bus connections, of course, are available through Orange County Transportation Authority. There are some direct trains there from Riverside County, with travel time of about an hour. Others require switching trains in Orange, which makes the trip quite a bit longer. All of the trains that originate in San Bernardino County require switching trains in Orange.

Posted by Phil Pitchford at 7:31 AM, October 02
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