Local Commutes Are Still a (Relative) Pleasure

Even though their commutes are getting longer, Ventura County motorists are still among the most satisfied and least stressed of their counterparts in five Southern California counties, a new report says.

That is in part because, compared to most of Southern California, Ventura County residents have it pretty easy on the freeways, according to a survey released Thursday by the Southern California Assn. of Governments.

Although it might not seem so to those stuck on the California 23 interchange or the Santa Clara River bridge, traffic is less frustrating in Ventura County. The commute costs less. And, all in all, Ventura County residents spend less time on the road. Even as the average one-way commute home has grown from 30 minutes in 1998 to 33 minutes in 1999, commutes are still shorter than anywhere in Southern California except rural Imperial County.

That compares with 41 minutes in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“I’m quite pleased with the results,” said Alan Holmes, account executive for the association’s Rideshare division. “The shorter the time on the road, the less stressed you’ll be feeling.”

But even commuters such as Ojai’s Jane Hill--who has a 2 1/2-hour round-trip commute every day into the San Fernando Valley--say they haven’t allowed themselves to suffer from big-city freeway frustration.

“I don’t get upset about driving,” she said. “That’s stupid. If you make the choice to drive, deal with it.”

Paul Martia commutes daily to Woodland Hills from Westlake Village--about 30 minutes, depending on traffic. His health-care industry job also requires him to drive from one end of Ventura County to the other on a regular basis.

“It doesn’t bother me much,” Martia said. “It’s a nice drive. I’d much rather commute through Ventura County than in L.A.”

The survey, which gauged attitudes, behavior and concerns among about 500 commuters polled in each of six counties, also shows that commuters here would like more information about alternatives to their cars.

“I would urge anyone who is commuting to explore car-pooling or taking the Metrolink commuter trains or express bus services,” said Mary Travis, manager of rail and regional programs for the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

The survey showed little change from previous years. Ventura County had a higher satisfaction rating than any but Imperial County with a 6.8 rating on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being most satisfied. Riverside and San Bernardino counties were next at 6.5 each. Orange County had the lowest satisfaction rating, at 6.3.

Only 23% of Ventura County residents viewed traffic as “more often” or “always” bad, compared to the next-highest ranking of 33% in Riverside County and the high of 40% in San Bernardino County.

Ventura County was also the least stressful county in which to drive--besides Imperial--with just 14% of respondents saying they were bothered by traffic “very often.” The next closest was San Bernardino County, which had a 17% stress level. Los Angeles topped the stress-meter at 21%.

Other trends include an increasing number of drivers who are no longer leaving the county for their jobs, buoyed by a healthy economy at home. Eighty percent of commuters travel within the county, and 18% head to Los Angeles County.

Eventually, the view from the freeway won’t be very blissful, analysts said.

The county has created about 10,000 jobs a year since 1996. But housing is becoming more expensive--and harder to find--so workers are moving farther and farther from their jobs, out to Fillmore and Santa Paula or, for those commuting to Santa Barbara, to Oxnard and Ventura.

That may mean the end of commuting Zen in Ventura County.

“Commutes will only get longer because of the housing situation,” said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast Project. “[Commuters] may be satisfied now, but things are changing.”

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Correspondent Jenifer Ragland contributed to this story.