Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo the Dog
Also, Sopas, while the train might be faster getting from point A to B (DTLA-DTSD) one still must make connections at the train terminal, whether it's taxi, bus, trolley, rent-a-car to reach their final destination.
Nobody is going to save much time at all and will triple the cost of the trip.
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As LASportsFan said, it's all about ease and predictability. And he beat me to it by saying it in his post, but yes, when you factor in the cost of gas and the wear-and-tear/maintenance on your car, the price would probably even out, if not be lower. And you have to look at the big picture; if high speed rail did make it to San Diego, people from other parts of the state, not just LA, would have another option to get there. Even how it is now, downtown San Diego is very pedestrian and transit handy; I could take the (not so fast) train from downtown LA to downtown San Diego, get off at the Santa Fe Train Depot, and easily go to the Convention Center, or the Civic Center, or the Gaslamp, or PETCO Park, and not have to worry about driving and finding parking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spoonman
Pasadena to UTC in 90 minutes?!? Must be at 3am going 80mph the entire way. That trip is 117 miles at the shortest route.
Also it is 80 miles from Irvine to DTSD. Not happening in an hour unless it is 3am. Sorry.
I agree high speed rail would be a great alternative to driving.
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I don't know how fast or slow you drive, but when the freeways are wide open, I generally average 75-80mph. A hundred-mile trip usually does take me about 90 minutes, give or take 5 minutes, with free-flowing traffic, of course. I can make it from South Pasadena to Santa Barbara in 90 minutes (if I leave at the right time; the 101 through the San Fernando Valley can be stop-and-go during the work week), and South Pasadena to the La Jolla Village Drive exit in 90 minutes, easily. I've never encountered really heavy traffic in San Diego. San Diego locals may say they get heavy traffic, but I think a San Diegan's idea of heavy traffic is nothing compared to what we get in LA; I've never encountered stop-and-go traffic on the freeways in San Diego, at least not on weekends. It's been crowded, but not to the extent that it gets in LA or even OC, and the traffic still moves.
I used to visit a friend who went to school at, and lived adjacent to, UC Irvine. I found myself going with her down to San Diego (funny because she lives there now), and it really only took an hour, an hour and 15 minutes at the most.