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View Full Version : Drive time from DLR to Santa Ana...



acpalmer
01-30-2007, 08:05 AM
We will be at DLR in June for a week and then that weekend we are attending a wedding in Santa Ana (1010 W. 17th St, to be precise). The relative we have who lives in the area said that although they appear to be close together on a map (I ran MapQuest and it lists the distance as 5 miles, directs us to go down I-5 for a few miles, etc.) that it would actually be a 45 minute drive and so we should move to a hotel closer to the wedding for those two nights. It also appeared from the map that we could go down Harbor to 17th and then across if we wanted to avoid the Interstate, but of course, that's just how it looks on the map and maybe that wouldn't actually work.

OK, I understand that LA traffic can be bad, but seriously 45 minutes on a Saturday afternoon in June to get 5 miles pretty much south? I'm sure we could find a hotel closer to move to, but to be frank, I don't really want to move hotels in the middle of the trip. However, my ILs are a factor, as well, and they won't want to drive that if it is truly going to take that long.

So I need some honest opinions from those who know the area better than I do...(not that I don't trust this relative :rolleyes: )what is this drive time realistically? (And yes, I know accidents, etc. could happen anytime and throw all drive time estimates out the window, but on average, what do you think?)

just beatla33
01-30-2007, 08:15 AM
That's a lie, we go to DL every other Saturday and we leave SD around 12ish 1ish and we get there in an hour and 20 minutes with traffic. If you're going south that distance would be between 10-15 minutes, they probably just gave you a buffer time of 45 minutes just incase.

Darkbeer
01-30-2007, 12:02 PM
OK, I pretty much live in Tustin now, and my girlfriend works in Downtown Santa Ana. You can either go down Harbor to 17th street if you want to avoid freeways, or just take the freeway, they way I go to pick her up if I have been at the parks, get on 5 South and then take the sepcial Broadway and Main Street exit which is just PAST the 22 freeway, watch out, as the exit sneaks up on you, and then once you get placed on the side lanes, you need to merge over to the right lane, as it is also the exit ramp for those cars coming off the 22 and 57 freeways. I prefer Broadway (no option, you end up pointed southbound), just take it to 17th Street and make a right. It should be on the left side of the street in just a few blocks.

And there really isn't many nice hotels in the area, don't bother relocating. I would say leave about 30 minutes prior to when you want to arrive, just in case you get lost, but you should be able to do it in around 10 minutes in light traffic, and 20 minutes in heaver traffic.

yohomama212
01-30-2007, 04:43 PM
I would love to talk to your relative "in the area"! There is no way, even with bumpper to bumpper traffic that it would take you 45 minutes to get from DL to that beautiful church (I have an old school friend who attends there and went to school down the street, I instantly recognized the address). If you're uncomfortable with the OC freeways, then Harbor to 17th is perfectly reasonable, thought it may take you 5 or 10 minutes longer depending on traffic lights and current freeway construction. I wouldn't worry about changing hotels, you have no reason to. (If it were one of my relatives I'd worry about them wanting to control the situation or want to crash with me in a place of their choosing, but you say you trust this relative, and not everyone is related to manipultors like I am!) I'd plan 15 minutes for "bad traffic" and parking, just to be sure, but I doubt it would take that long on a Saturday afternoon. HTH!

Liz :cool:

Drince88
01-31-2007, 03:55 AM
yohomama reminded me of something that the OP might not have thought of - Does the church have it's own (adequate) parking lot, or is it street parking? I know that was a shock to me when going from a suburban area (where all churches have their own adequate parking) to an urban area (where it's all street parking). And street parking takes a little longer than being able to park in a lot.

acpalmer
01-31-2007, 07:18 AM
Thank you so much, everyone for your input. I just didn't think there was any way that it could take that long, but she insisted it wasn't as close as it looked. She lives in Tustin, but is elderly and doesn't drive hardly at all on her own, which is why I wanted to check with someone who would actually drive it.

I really appreciate the directions, Darkbeer, I will print them out for us to have. We aren't worried about the freeways, just would be nice to have an alternate if we hear they are backed up for whatever reason.

I have no earthly idea about the parking--we'll have to look into that and make sure to leave extra time for parking if we may be on the street. Thank you for mentioning that, Drince88, as I never would have thought of that issue, as the churches around here have tons of parking.

Sounds like we will be staying in the resort area the whole time (yay!!) and the ILs will just have to deal. :)

I appreciate the input--I knew I could count on this board!

yohomama212
01-31-2007, 07:46 AM
I don't know how big this wedding is.... but from what I can recall, the church has a substantial amount of parking. If they're looking at 300 guests, it might start to become a problem, but for the normal wedding of 150-200 guests, it shouldn't be a problem. (Check out Google maps for an aerial view that will give you a good idea of the parking situation.) Parking on the streets around there isn't much of a problem, just make sure you look around for any and all parking signs. And lock your car! Daytime isn't as bad as night time, but it's something you're going to want to remember to do anyway!

Liz :cool:

Koukla
01-31-2007, 09:47 AM
Another thing you can do prior to leaving for the wedding is check the radio stations for current traffic conditions. The AM stations are the best for that and are AM 640, 790 and 1070. If you hear your freeway listed, that's the time to bring Plan B (surface streets) into action. And, if you have internet access, check sigalert.com for current road conditions. That site contains maps of the Southern California area and will show you where the traffic is bogged down, accident locations, etc.

In case you find the freeway clogged. . .
Harbor Boulevard can get quite congested on the weekends and Westminster Avenue/17th Street is also very busy. An alternate route could be south on Harbor, left on Orangewood (Orangewood has fewer stops and is a faster east-west street), right on State College (which becomes The City Drive). You may hit a little slowdown around the The Block shopping center. Then left on West Memory (where The City Drive ends) to right on Bristol to left on 17th St.
Have a great time at DLR and the wedding! :D

Darkbeer
01-31-2007, 10:58 AM
Don't forget KFWB 980 AM, since KNX 1070 is doing Food and Computer shows on the weekends, you have less traffic reports.

980 does traffic on the 1's, every 10 minutes.

Koukla
01-31-2007, 11:43 AM
Don't forget KFWB 980 AM, since KNX 1070 is doing Food and Computer shows on the weekends, you have less traffic reports.

980 does traffic on the 1's, every 10 minutes.

That's the one I was thinking of! KFWB 980. Thanks Darkbeer. It's been a year since I've had to listen to those stations (I work from home now), that all I can remember is the second button from the left on my car radio is the best one for traffic. :D I still prefer sigalert.com and the CHP's Web site--never leave home without checking at least one of those sites anymore.

Malcon10t
01-31-2007, 11:54 AM
That's the one I was thinking of! KFWB 980. Thanks Darkbeer. It's been a year since I've had to listen to those stations (I work from home now), that all I can remember is the second button from the left on my car radio is the best one for traffic. :D I still prefer sigalert.com and the CHP's Web site--never leave home without checking at least one of those sites anymore.I like the CHP one also! Strange I am in Nor Cal, and still on occasion will click on Orange County, just to make sure nothing nasty is happening near the park.

Darkbeer
01-31-2007, 11:57 AM
I like both KNX 1070 and KFWB 980, they are both true news stations (versus talk shows) and both take traffic seriously (Heck, they are owned by the same company).

KNX 1070 does traffic on the 5's, but only does it a couple times an hour Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 2 PM, and also in the Late Morning hours Monday thru Friday due to the fact the time is leased out to third parties (Business, Food and Computer shows), and Sundays at 7 PM the air the audio to 60 Minutes, which also doesn't have traffic reports.

KFWB is traffic on the 1's, except when they broadcast sports. Basically they are the Dodgers Station, plus they broadcast Pro Football games from Westwood One. During the games, you won't get traffic reports.

So the vast majority of the time, you should be able to get traffic on one or the other.

My third choice is KFI 640 AM, they do traffic at the top and bottom of the hour, and sometime around 20 and 50 after (this is approximate, it depends when the talk show takes a break) also, they only do the top and bottom of the hour traffic reports during the overnight hours.

Koukla
01-31-2007, 12:33 PM
I like the CHP one also! Strange I am in Nor Cal, and still on occasion will click on Orange County, just to make sure nothing nasty is happening near the park.

Ha! You should put that on the "you know you're a DLR addict when" list! Some of my investigators (clients) frequently drive up north, mostly to the Fresno area, and whenever they get to bad traffic, they call me saying, "Hey, check that site for me and tell me what's going on up ahead." It's getting to the point where I may have to add a new charge to my fee list. ;)

P.S. Adorable service dog!!! I have four (freeloaders, all of 'em) here that I wish I could find jobs for, especially my German Shepherd. None would make good service dogs, but my GS did get to act as a temp therapy dog when my mom was recuperating from surgery in a convalescent hospital. That was fun!