Queen: Greetings, loyal subjects, and an announcement. The Queen wants to know: Does your bus line have TV sets and Wi-Fi? Did you manage to score a job three blocks from home? Or, do you enjoy the breeze and the scenery as you bike to work? If so, here's a chance to share. The Queen and her royal court are pleased to announce the Cushiest Commute Contest.
If you actually like your trip to work, for whatever reason — creative expression encouraged — let the Queen know at ccncommuter@bayareanewsgroup.com or the U.S. mail address at the end of this column. The best responses will be featured in the column, and will also get you a choice of goodies including a stuffed BART car toy and an AC Transit hydrogen bus (well, a cardboard model, anyway). So, commuters, share your stories.
Commuter: I travel through the Caldecott Tunnel daily, and several times a month I see a dangerous situation. Traveling east into the middle bore, drivers in the far left lane will often unknowingly change lanes by moving into lane No. 3 (the right lane in the middle bore). Although I am careful not to get caught in the inner lane No. 3 immediately next to another car, for those who are unaware, this is an accident waiting to happen.
Brad, Moraga
Queen: Brad, it turns out that Brigetta Smith, a Caltrans spokeswoman, takes this route to work every day. Here's her
response:
"The two outside bores are easy to transition into, but the center bore gets tricky." That's because there's a little jog to the left going into the tunnel, she said.
"As you approach the tunnel going eastbound on Highway 24, if you are going to take the center bore and you're in the left-hand lane, you need to stay in the left-hand lane," Smith said. "Move to the left as the lane feeds into the tunnel." So, loyal subjects, keep this in mind the next time you're tooling through the tunnel.
Commuter: Before the end of the last school year, it took 10 to 15 minutes to get from Miramonte High School to the Orinda BART station. Since school reopened, the time has increased to approximately 20 minutes. Most of the extra time is spent on the section of Moraga Way from Glorietta to Highway 24. In the past, once you got to Glorietta, the rest of the drive was easy; now, it is stop-and-go the entire way.
Jim G., Orinda
Queen: Jim, you're not the only one to notice this problem; Monica Pacheco, an Orinda public information officer, said others have complained.
"This arose about three weeks ago because Caltrans is doing road work on the Orinda offramp and adjusted their traffic lights to slow the flow of traffic," Pacheco said. "This had a ripple effect and created a bottleneck." The city adjusted its signals to compensate, but the problem persisted, and the city has contacted Caltrans about adjusting it.
Even if that doesn't happen, "The city expects that the lighting timing will return to its original settings after the work is completed," Pacheco said.
Commute questions? Write the Queen at The Commuter Page, c/o The Times, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, or ccncommuter@bayareanewsgroup.com. Visit her at ContraCostaTimes.com/queenoftheroad.
