Hi All,

For folks that live in Montara that commute to the south bay… is it faster going hwy 1 north, sharp park to 280 or hwy 1 south, 92 to 280? Hwy 1 north route is 7 miles longer in distance.

My fianc?e and I are moving into our new (and first home) in Montara at the end of this month. She works in Sunnyvale and has tried both routes during commute hrs. Shes like the drive via hwy 1 north better buts its longer terms of distance.

Thanks.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Congratulations, and welcome to the Coastside!

I’m in Moss Beach, and I’ve found that with no traffic, it’s about 7-10 minutes longer to go the “Northern Route,” through Pacifica.  So, more often than not, I go S on Hwy 1 to 92.

The South Bay commute has improved dramatically in the last few years.  The biggest boost was the extra lane going up the hill on 92 E.  Then, just recently, the addition of the 2nd left turn lane from Hwy 1 S to 92 E.  The improvement isn’t as noticeable during the summer, but during the school year, it’s a huge help.  Since there’s no school bus service from the district, parents dropping kids off at the three public schools (Hatch Elementary, Cunha Intermediate, and HMB HS) and Seacrest school, as well as all of the 92 E commuters are all converging on the 92 & 1 intersection.

When there’s beach traffic, or on warm Friday evenings during the summer, when Hwy 92 gets full, I’ll do the Northern Route (I-280 N -> Hwy 35 -> Sharp Park Rd. -> Hwy 1 S).  There’s usually far less traffic on the Northern Route than on Hwy 92 W.

I’ll usually call 511 and ask for “Driving Times” between “280-92 Interchange” and “Half Moon Bay”.  If it’s more than 20 minutes (12 minutes for no traffic), I’ll go North.  http://www.511.org is great for traffic info as well.

Look for carpool opportunities, too.  There are a lot of us SB commuters over here!

—Dan

Thanks for the info Dan.