Freeway gridlock has dropped in San Diego
Steven Goetsch
Interesting “State of the Commute” report from SANDAG: Sort of defeats a lot of their argument for a gigantic expansion of Interstate 5:
Full report on SANDAG web site: http://www.sandag.org/index.asp?projectid=257&fuseaction=projects.detail
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REGION: Report says freeway gridlock dropped from '06-'09
The number of hours drivers spent stuck in San Diego County's rush-hour freeway traffic was cut by well over half from 2006 to 2009, the San Diego Association of Governments said in a report released on Friday.
It's not all good news, however. Gridlock on Highway 78 through San Marcos got worse during that period, the report said.
In its State of the Commute report, the transportation planning agency said the overall improved flow of traffic is due to the weak economy, improved freeways and greater use of public transit.
Five years ago, drivers wasted more than 7 million hours while stuck on gridlocked county freeways, according to the report. In 2009, the last year for which figures are available, the total was down to 2.8 million hours.
The greatest improvements were on southbound Interstate 15 in North County and northbound Interstate 5 from Sorrento Valley to Cardiff, according to the report, which was presented Friday to SANDAG's board of directors, made up of representatives from area cities.
Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, who sits on SANDAG's board, said he credits the "highly successful" I-15 Express Lanes project with reducing North County's traffic.
The report said the only freeway that saw more rush-hour traffic was eastbound Highway 78 through San Marcos, which is now the most consistently congested highway in the county.
Abed said that once I-15's "freeway within a freeway" extends north to Highway 78 in Escondido (which is planned by late 2011), traffic delays at the notorious Highway 78/I-15 bottleneck should lessen significantly.
Despite the report's data on reduced hours spent in gridlock, staff and board members expressed concern over I-5, where the southbound drive is worsening in the afternoon ---- opposite of the typical commute pattern ---- and has become very difficult on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner said it is difficult to draw conclusions about the role freeway improvements played in reducing congestion, given that the economy faltered so severely (and fewer commuters had jobs to drive to) during the study period.
"Is it a statement on the economy or a statement on the (road and freeway) improvements? I don't know. I guess time will tell," Heebner said.
Regarding the worsening I-5 traffic, Heebner said more mass transit options, not just freeway expansion, are needed.
The SANDAG report said transit use is up 8 percent since 2006, with the bulk of the increase on Metropolitan Transit System buses and the North County Transit District's Sprinter rail line ---- which opened in 2008.
The report is available at www.sandag.org, search for "State of the Commute."
Steve Goetsch
Solana Beach, CA