San Marino Evades the Traffic Monster

As an "eye in the sky" reporter for CBS radio, I fly around Southern California all day and into the evening reporting on and simultaneously lamenting the myriad of collective hours lost to the traffic beast. Unbearable, energy sapping, and mind-numbing traffic is the price we pay for living in one of the nicest climates on earth. But the fortunate few who live in San Marino may very well be the bane of this monster we all hate, for most days he seems to never tread here.

This city was founded with the idea of being uniquely residential. Indeed, there are few businesses in San Marino, which in and of itself is a traffic-mitigating factor. But perhaps even more important is the city's tireless dedication to fend off population density. San Marino has not one single apartment, condominium or townhouse. You'll find nothing but single-family homes here. It's also one of the few cities in the entire state that require commercial vehicles to obtain a permit to even work in the city, which practically means zero box tail trucks or big rigs. These three factors, above all else, make San Marino an absolute pleasure for the driving enthusiast.

As a former courier, I can recall many times having to travel from Pasadena to somewhere farther east at rush hour on a Friday...how many hours did I waste on the treacherous 210 freeway struggling to move eastward? Finally, one day I hopped down to California Street in Pasadena, and as soon as I was outside the city limits and into San Marino it was as if I were in a completely different driving dimension.

Signals are synchronized, there are no big rigs, and it took but maybe 10 minutes to get from Pasadena to near the Santa Anita Racetrack. Compare that with the Foothill Freeway oozing along at 15 miles an hour if you're lucky!

And California Street is not the only saving grace in San Marino; if you are trying to get toward Downtown LA during peak times, Huntington Drive just might be one of the best-kept secrets in the region. I didn't even know of its existence for the first few years I drove around Los Angeles. But by the time Huntington meanders into Mission Road, you can see the skyscrapers and make your way to Downtown LA mostly unscathed by the gridlock monster. I actually checked this out today from the air to verify, and, indeed, both California Street and Huntington Drive were flowing nearly perfect at 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon. And traffic factoid of the day: Thursday IS the worst traffic day, not Friday.

Some have compared San Marino to Beverly Hills with its well manicured trees, wide streets and majestic estates, but San Marino can claim something Beverly Hills will probably never have; roads that actually move!

Desmond Shaw is a Southern California traffic expert for CBS radio. He can be heard giving "eye in the sky" traffic and news reports on KFWB News-Talk 980 Monday through Friday noon to 6:30 and on KNX 1070 News Radio.