Just got an email from our building’s transportation coordinator about a new website, Sacramento Region Commuter Club. Who doesn’t want to explore alternative transit solutions and be part of a neato club at the same time? I hope we get decoder rings. If you’re interested, check out the registration and see if your employer is on the cool kids list.

My brother was first in line at Fry’s this morning to snap up a refurbed GPS for under $200. He has wanted one for a year, even though he knows every street in the county and is the only one I know who can make it from Kennedy to Jesuit during rush hour in a half-hour. (He has his secrets, and won’t share them.)

He is now on his way to the airport, to pick up a friend of ours coming in from Baton Rouge. (I love saying “Baton Rouge.” So much more fun than “Red Stick,” don’t you think?)

“But … you KNOW how to get to the airport,” I said, pointing out the patently obvious. “You’ve been there a million times. Hell, you used to WORK there. You don’t need a computer to tell you the way.”

“Ahh, but does the GPS know how to get there?” he replies. “THAT’s the question!”

I’m going to assume it does, and not bother with an update. Boys and their toys! Sheesh!

(I would simply post the link, but as we’ve recently discovered, people are too busy to click links around here).

Although not quite as bad as these, guests of the Radisson Hotel risk life and limb when parking their cars, as their overflow lot is across the street with a blind curve near freeway entrances and exits.

UPDATE: Includes map…
Continue reading “Choosing Our Lot in Life: Part II” »

I’ve long lamented the fact that traffic reports/reporters in this city are almost useless to the regular driver. They don’t help you much really, when you’re already stuck in traffic. They’ll tell you you’re stuck, which you know, but don’t tell you how to get out of it, which you’d like to know. Sometimes, you just gotta learn on your own.

Recently, I found a bit of a “shortcut” - I use quotes because the route is actually a longer way around distance-wise, but it takes less time to travel during rush hour. The culprit that I try to avoid? The I-5 South connection off eastbound 50 coming from West Sacramento.

This is one spot that typically jams up, as the one lane branching off 50 East to I-5 South clogs up. What’s worse, many people won’t let you merge once the traffic comes to a standstill. If you ever find yourself in this scenario, try this solution:
Continue reading “What traffic reporters don’t tell you” »