Every year, around the middle of July, the weather, and traffic, heat up in San Diego. Since the horses got to town traffic on the 5 and Highway 101 have really increased. I used to drive to the Encinitas Y in about eight minutes. It now takes 15 minutes. Why? Well, when the Del Mar racing season starts, several thousand more people call this area "home" for about eight weeks. The jockeys, trainers, hot walkers, veterinarians, feed men, excercise riders and horse owners all come here with families. It's great for our economy, bad for those of us who want to get around town without a lot of stress.
All these visitors eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, visit our landmarks, go to the movies, casinos and all the other things we offer. So let's just deal with a little extra traffic for a few weeks. Keep a good book on tape in your car or some great music to listen to. Our economy needs all the help it can get. Just remember, races start at 2pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday nights start anywhere from 4-5pm. Stay away from Via de la Valle an hour before starting time and again, around 6:30pm. And stay away from the Del Mar restaurants until after Labor Day. After that, Del Mar will again be the sleepy little town we all love.
When I first moved to Del Mar nine years ago, there was very little traffic. Then, somewhere around 2003 everything changed. Traffic really did increase, so much so that everyone I talked to said they had to leave early to avoid traffic. Are they kidding? Didn't most of these people move from Los Angeles or San Francisco or Boston or New York? Talk about traffic. This is a picnic. What do you expect, living in paradise. Everyone wants to be here.
All these visitors eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, visit our landmarks, go to the movies, casinos and all the other things we offer. So let's just deal with a little extra traffic for a few weeks. Keep a good book on tape in your car or some great music to listen to. Our economy needs all the help it can get. Just remember, races start at 2pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday nights start anywhere from 4-5pm. Stay away from Via de la Valle an hour before starting time and again, around 6:30pm. And stay away from the Del Mar restaurants until after Labor Day. After that, Del Mar will again be the sleepy little town we all love.
When I first moved to Del Mar nine years ago, there was very little traffic. Then, somewhere around 2003 everything changed. Traffic really did increase, so much so that everyone I talked to said they had to leave early to avoid traffic. Are they kidding? Didn't most of these people move from Los Angeles or San Francisco or Boston or New York? Talk about traffic. This is a picnic. What do you expect, living in paradise. Everyone wants to be here.
No comments:
Post a Comment