Marc_ely

Hi

I have been offered a job in Irvine Orange County, CA

I am currently near Cambridge in the UK. One of the things that drives me nuts is the traffic in the UK now with little to no investment in roads, more and more cars and all the freight on the roads. Pretty much every journey is behind a lorry and a tail of cars/vans at 40mph.

But I keep reading that OC traffic is terrible, dire, awful etc etc.

Does anyone have an idea on just HOW awful the traffic would be for workday commutes to Irvine from say:
- Yorba Linda
- Aliso Viejo
- San Clemente

Can anyone put forward any rough numbers for averages?

Thanks
Marc

GeoffM

Something I found which is a good idea in principle is the commute times bit on the Trulia website. I have no idea whether it is accurate. Go to their website, do a search for houses/rentals in the area you're looking for (it's not important, it's just to get a map up), then on the left click "Local Info" and the "Commute Times" radio button. Then drag your car symbol on the map to your home (or workplace) and it'll draw a jagged polygon around that icon showing where you can get to in 15 minutes (configurable).

I suspect you'll have to be a little more specific than "Irvine" to get any useful answers. Being close to the "wrong" freeway or even on/off ramp can make a big difference! I live in a very different area but usually drive an extra couple of miles beyond my exit to avoid traffic at the exit, then double back again on quieter roads.

md95065

I am not sure about the specific commutes that you mentioned but, yes, generally speaking, traffic pretty much anywhere in the urban areas of southern California is about as bad as it gets anywhere in the known universe ...

Oh, and people there would be really happy to be moving at 40mph most of the time.

Alan17

Yorba Linda to Irvine on the 55 in the rush hour could take an hour. You're lucky if you're doing 4mph. It gets worse when it rains.

There are toll roads which run that route as well which are virtually empty. Costs around $4 a time though (not sure of the exact price as I have a transponder and never stop).

Marc_ely

Thanks for the rapid replies.
The workplace is Jeronimo Rd, Irvine, so quite close to the '5'

The Trulia link was interesting and that gives me times of:
- Yorba Linda 25-30mins using the toll road I think
- Aliso Viejo 10-15mins
- San Clemente 25-30mins

The toll road is worth looking at.

Thanks

Sally Redux

Most of the road surfaces are terrible too.

Phoodilicious

I live in Lake Forest and commute to Jeronimo and I-405, just over 10 miles. I leave home about 6.15am and can be at work in 15-20mins. Coming home is about 35mins if I leave work close to 4:30pm but can be a lot longer. There is an HOV lane if there is more than just you in the car. The traffic snarls up badly just after my exit (Lake Forest or Bake) towards the El Toro exit and the Aliso Viejo exits. A friend goes from AV to South Coast Plaza exit (just an exit or two further than mine) as her commute and she says it takes her about an hour because of the distance it takes her to get to the I-5 on top of the traffic on the 5.

Bootle

All those times are using the regular freeways. The estimate is correct using the just the 55 although in traffic its much worse. All three places have toll roads but are really of no significant use as to get to most places in Irvine you will either need to take the surface streets, whilst great abound with traffic lights, or head back on the regular freeways. People who hate traffic in OC either get up really early or leave work really late.

Ozzidoc

The Toll road is a bit pricey for regular commuting in my opinion....it would depend on what numbers you're working with.

We love San Clemente.

Enjoy your new life

limeynus

Hi!

I live in Lake Forest and commute to the John Wayne Airport area. I leave around 7:30am and am usually at work around 8am - so about 30 mins for me.

HTH!

MarkCowan

out of interest, if your working in the Irvine area, why are you wanting to live south of Irvine? have you though about Laguna, Dana Point, Newport Beach, Coronoa Del Mar - all within 10-20 minutes drive to Irvine and you have the beach life.
San Clemente is super nice though.

Marc_ely

Thanks for all the responses.
We are coming out to visit next week and I will be attempting to see for myself what the traffic is like in various areas.

Bootle

San Clemente would be significantly cheaper than each of the places you identified.

To the OP, if you can you should try to see traffic during your commute times and on a Friday night. Also, for some of the toll roads you will need a pass as they don't accept cash.