Post by nickv on Feb 11, 2008 23:45:08 GMT -8
I-10 Corridor through the San Gorgonio Pass
One of my favorite routes is the I-10 corridor going into the Palm Springs area. It will be a blessing once RCTC manages to get some passenger trains to go out there. If anybody happens to be traveling out into the Palm Springs area during rush hour, count on a bunch of commuters and excessive speeds on the I-10 into the desert.
Last Friday, I had some work to do out in the Palm Springs area and I had a chance to observe the I-10 corridor during the PM rush hour on the way back to the Inland Empire.
The westbound I-10 coming out from the Desert into the Inland Empire was very heavy, but the speeds were very fast. Truck traffic was very typical and the rigs were pretty much parading in the right lane. Once in Beaumont, there was a big line of cars at the SR 79 westbound offramp.
Now here's a prime example of why freeway widening doesn't reduce, but simply rearranges traffic. The SR 79 was recently widened from a 2 lane road into a 4 lane divided highway. Of course, I'm for safe roads and this route is much safer than it was a few years ago. But did the widening project reduce traffic? I read time and time again that transportation planners want to expand and build freeways to reduce traffic. Headed southbound on SR 79, a large volume of cars were flying down the hill into the Hemet Valley. Once the SR 79 reached the Romona Expressway traffic light, I got to say "hello" to the chokepoint. The line of cars at that traffic signal was almost a mile long...
The I-10 corridor connecting the Inland Empire to Palm Springs lacks commuter transit options, period. The only transportation alternatives to car travel are private carpools/vanpools. SunLine used to operate the SunLink express bus connecting Palm Springs, Cabazon, Banning, Beaumont, and Riverside together. The SunLink superbus was a coach with coffee and snack service, restrooms, reclining seats, computer hookups and workstations, and overhead storage. SunLine cancelled this backbone commuter line in 2004 despite productive ridership.
One of my favorite routes is the I-10 corridor going into the Palm Springs area. It will be a blessing once RCTC manages to get some passenger trains to go out there. If anybody happens to be traveling out into the Palm Springs area during rush hour, count on a bunch of commuters and excessive speeds on the I-10 into the desert.
Last Friday, I had some work to do out in the Palm Springs area and I had a chance to observe the I-10 corridor during the PM rush hour on the way back to the Inland Empire.
The westbound I-10 coming out from the Desert into the Inland Empire was very heavy, but the speeds were very fast. Truck traffic was very typical and the rigs were pretty much parading in the right lane. Once in Beaumont, there was a big line of cars at the SR 79 westbound offramp.
Now here's a prime example of why freeway widening doesn't reduce, but simply rearranges traffic. The SR 79 was recently widened from a 2 lane road into a 4 lane divided highway. Of course, I'm for safe roads and this route is much safer than it was a few years ago. But did the widening project reduce traffic? I read time and time again that transportation planners want to expand and build freeways to reduce traffic. Headed southbound on SR 79, a large volume of cars were flying down the hill into the Hemet Valley. Once the SR 79 reached the Romona Expressway traffic light, I got to say "hello" to the chokepoint. The line of cars at that traffic signal was almost a mile long...
The I-10 corridor connecting the Inland Empire to Palm Springs lacks commuter transit options, period. The only transportation alternatives to car travel are private carpools/vanpools. SunLine used to operate the SunLink express bus connecting Palm Springs, Cabazon, Banning, Beaumont, and Riverside together. The SunLink superbus was a coach with coffee and snack service, restrooms, reclining seats, computer hookups and workstations, and overhead storage. SunLine cancelled this backbone commuter line in 2004 despite productive ridership.