Congested Interstates Traffic through the Temecula Valley: Options

Michael H. Momeni, Environmental Nuclear Scientist

The average daily traffic through Temecula Valley was about 165,000 vehicles during 2015 (source Caltrans: 159,000 to 169,000).  This number was projected to increase to 250,000 by 2030 at the junction of the Riverside and San Diego county line. A review of construction expansion within the Interstates 15 and 215 corridors would indicate that the 2030 projection is expected to be much larger. Interstates 15 and 215 connect San Diego to Ontario and to Riverside, respectively.

To reduce traffic on Interstates 15 and 215, several options have been presented. Among these is an improvement of California State Route 79 from Highway 8 to Aguanga, north to Hemet connecting to Highway 10 and 60 at Beaumont. It would allow an alternative route for trucks and cars passing through the region to the north and east of Temecula Valley.

The second option is an improvement of both Interstate15 and 215.  These improvements would include the addition of traffic lanes and an extension of the express lanes from Escondido to Ontario and Riverside. This option relies on the concept that once a highway is expanded by adding more lanes, the problem of the congested road will evaporate.  This concept is fully false. Indeed, expansion of Interstate 15 in Temecula may make the commuting time shorter but it allows more distant places such as Hemet to become more desirable because of the affordability condition:

http://sierraconservation.blogspot.com/2017/09/dealing-with-traffic-on-interstate-15.html

The third option is the creation of a commuter train linking San Diego to Ontario and Riverside:

 (http://sierraconservation.blogspot.com/2017/02/transportation-workshop-rapid-mass.html)

The creation of a regional commuter train connecting East Ontario to San Diego has been previously reported here (Palm and Pine Publication, September/October 2017, page 3) and was the topic of a Regional Transportation Workshop on October 25, Temecula, sponsored by the Sierra Club, Santa Margarita Group:

https://sites.google.com/view/commuter-train-via-temecula/home

Any of these options must be subjected to detailed analysis of the environmental impacts as well as cost-benefit analysis prior to approval. 

Dealing with traffic on the Interstate 15 Corridor

Michael H. Momeni, PhD

Why is it that we continue to have heavy traffic on Interstate 15 in spite of the expansion of a major portion of this corridor? It seems intuitive that to reduce the congestion, we think that either we have to decrease the number of cars or build more capacity.  But this runs contrary to what seems to happen. Observation suggests that traffic expands to meet existing capacity.  As an example, traffic on Interstate 5 between San Clemente and Los Angeles is still congested in spite of recent road expansion.

Observation indicates this transition following the highway expansion would happen quickly. The new lanes would not ease local traffic and once more congestion would return.  It is understood that by improving interstate traffic, more people would move further away from the workplace and would lead to more local congestion on the interconnecting interstate roads. The same principle equally applies to other modes of mass transit system, such as conventional commuter trains. With one exception, environmental impact and social-psychological impacts of an electric commuter train is a very small fraction of a congested highway.

The primary contributing factor appears to be the greater affordability of housing in Riverside County when compared with adjacent counties, such as San Diego County. For commuters with families, the decision of where to live is related to proximity to better schools and a willingness to accept the hardship of living far from one’s workplace. The latter consideration plays out not only in the price of gasoline and the wear and tear on one’s car, but also in the quality of life compromised by a long, time-consuming commute. While increasing the freeway’s capacity to accommodate more cars initially might decrease travel time for some, it might also make the more distant townships even more desirable. The added housing would result in more highway congestion, once again causing longer commuting time from home to the workplace. 

Clearly, accommodating more automobiles in the I-15 corridor would not be the ideal solution, either for the commuters or for the air quality in the Southern California region.   Currently, a light rail system connects several cities in Riverside County to Los Angeles, with Union Station serving as a hub. Could such a light rail system be built to serve Riverside and San Diego counties?

The housing shortage leads to more real estate development. It is intuitive that the regional population within the Temecula Valley will increase, within a short time the combined population within Temecula-Murrieta region will approach half-million people. It is imperative that we chose those modes of transportation that use clean energy, such as electric train for mass transit over fossil fuel automobiles.

Acknowledgement:
This essay way was reviewed by Elena Garcia. I am deeply appreciative of her constructive suggestions.