Traffic Commute Times Down From Previous Years

Traffic jams have been cut down significantly in the last five years, according to a report released Friday by the San Diego Association of Governments. SANDAG says commute times in the county have decreased by more than half since 2006.

The report attributes the drop in traffic times to increased use of public transportation and improvements to freeways. These changes have brought the number of hours spent commuting in the county from 7 million in 2006 to 2.8 million in 2009.

Public transportation use has increased by 8 percent and the total miles traveled by commuters dropped by 1.3 percent, as noted in the report.

Both southbound Interstate 15 and northbound Interstate 5 had the greatest improvements for traffic.

However, SANDAG officials are concerned about the southbound Interstate 5 route that seems to be worsening in the afternoon and on weekends.

One driving route has gotten worse over the last few years — eastbound state Route 78 in San Marcos. It’s San Diego County’s most regularly congested freeway.

County supervisor Ron Roberts, however, called the information collected by Caltrans “obsolete.”

SANDAG Director Gary Gallegos announced a $100 million state award for construction of carpool lanes, specifically for state Route 805 between state Route 94 and Chula Vista. The addition is expected to start next spring.

City News Service contributed to this story.