Wal Mart Traffic - What Is Your Time Worth?
Wal Mart. I realize that the mere mention of Wal Mart in Menifee raises eyebrows and plenty of debate. Issues of the impact on local small b...
http://www.menifee247.com/2011/01/wal-mart-traffic-what-is-your-time.html
Wal Mart. I realize that the mere mention of Wal Mart in Menifee raises eyebrows and plenty of debate. Issues of the impact on local small business, increased tax revenue, the type of customers (and motorhomes parking in their lot overnight) that it will attract, the low prices, the poor treatment of their employees historically, and the fact that it will produce some new jobs. All of these issues have their own validity, and with them bring arguments for both sides. But I think there is one thing that everyone can agree upon: the traffic.
Every Menifee citizen I have spoken to regarding Wal Mart has the same concern. When will the road improvements be completed in relation to when will the Wal Mart be completed? The sad fact is that the road improvements will be completed well after Wal Mart opens it's doors, and those road improvements scheduled will not solve, but only help somewhat, to decrease the traffic in the area.
The area I am referring to is Haun and Scott Roads. Now anyone who travels Scott Road in the morning hours trying to get to either the northbound, or more frequently the southbound, lanes of the 215 knows that the traffic is already snarled where Scott Road meets Antelope Road. I have found myself sitting there for over 30 minutes just trying to get from Menifee Road to the southbound onramp numerous times. Can you just imagine what a Wal Mart on Haun and Scott will do for morning traffic?
I realize all of the benefits of opening a Wal Mart here, and my concern is truly the impact it will have on Menifee overall. If I am spending an extra 10 minutes a day in traffic just to get over the freeway, then how much money did I really save shopping at Wal Mart? If you need a glimpse of what the traffic will look like once it's built, take a look at the Newport overpass sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 pm, and multiply it by 3. Newport has two lanes going both ways, and Scott has one.
What do you think? We want to know.
Every Menifee citizen I have spoken to regarding Wal Mart has the same concern. When will the road improvements be completed in relation to when will the Wal Mart be completed? The sad fact is that the road improvements will be completed well after Wal Mart opens it's doors, and those road improvements scheduled will not solve, but only help somewhat, to decrease the traffic in the area.
The area I am referring to is Haun and Scott Roads. Now anyone who travels Scott Road in the morning hours trying to get to either the northbound, or more frequently the southbound, lanes of the 215 knows that the traffic is already snarled where Scott Road meets Antelope Road. I have found myself sitting there for over 30 minutes just trying to get from Menifee Road to the southbound onramp numerous times. Can you just imagine what a Wal Mart on Haun and Scott will do for morning traffic?
I realize all of the benefits of opening a Wal Mart here, and my concern is truly the impact it will have on Menifee overall. If I am spending an extra 10 minutes a day in traffic just to get over the freeway, then how much money did I really save shopping at Wal Mart? If you need a glimpse of what the traffic will look like once it's built, take a look at the Newport overpass sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 pm, and multiply it by 3. Newport has two lanes going both ways, and Scott has one.
What do you think? We want to know.
I agree with the premature developements going on around Haun and Scott. Like others I schedule my drives when I can to avoid certain hours around Scott and the 215 or Newport and the 215. Too bad there is no other options around Menifee to cross the 215 and even if you do there are minimum options to travel North or South to get to where you want to go without traveling an extra 5 to 10 miles. Who in the County came up with this great master plan when money seemed to be flowing ? Hope the City has a better plan. I wanted Menifee to become a City so we can take control of our developement and infrastructure difficulties of traveling around this area that the County seemed to ignore after approving developments. I'm also having a problem with the way Walmart is side steping the system to bypass the requirements from the enviornmental impact study.
ReplyDeleteWTF? There was a previous post on this very website sometime back that stated our City Council would not approve the building or should I say OPENING of the Wal-Mart UNTIL the roads and bridges were improved and completed. Now I'm hearing this.
ReplyDeleteI am so disgusted at our city council putting money first, and not even thinking about the impact and the problems with all the traffic in our area.
I moved out here 4 years ago and the traffic was fine. Since then that Dominginoni (however you spell it) opened all the way from Hemet and that screwed up Newport Rd. Then the marketplace opened without any improvements to our streets or widening of the bridge. It takes me 30 minutes or more to get over the bridge which is absolutely ridiculous. I've been using Scott Rd. and that has become a real cluster and now with the plan of this UNWANTED Wal-Mart I am going to be trapped on the Eastern half of the 215 freeway.
COME ON YOU CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE, YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO WORK FOR THE PEOPLE. It's obvious they all live on the Western side of the 215 and don't have to travel over the bridges at Scott or Newport.
I can move back to Orange County and not have to deal with as much traffic as I deal with now out here.
I have friends that want to move out here and once I showed them video of the traffic on the only 2 bridges to get over the 215 they all said the same thing. That's an extra 30 minute drive in rush hour. If I want that long of a drive I'll just move to Temecula and stay away from Menifee
Anonymous @ 12:08PM, nothing has happened on Wal-Mart as far as I know. It's still waiting to get put on public ballot.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean when you say "The type of customers".
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1:18 pm. I am quoting the individuals I have spoken to in all of the opinions I posted above. I have spoken to a great many Menifee citizens over the past 6 months regarding Menifee and have been making note of their quotes. I should have actually put all of these opinions as quotes in the post.
ReplyDeleteI just want to reiterate that these are not my opinions; these are the opinions of the Menifee residents. Certainly not all, as I am not in a position to run a formal poll.
Infer from these quotes what you will. I am not able to read minds, and I certainly did not ask anyone to elaborate when they used these words. Hope that answers your question.
I think you addressed the Issue very well. How local residents will be effected by traffic and what can be done about it, If the permits can be tied to traffic congestion issues I believe we can have honest debate about the store being built. I want the Walmart but I don't want my neighbors crushed so I can save 25 cents on a loaf of bread. I hope this can be solved.
ReplyDeleteThere's a Wally World Hemet, Lake Elsinore and Murrieta. That's enough. We have our Tarshay and Country Place or whatever it's called that I sometimes can't get into because friggin' traffic is backed up to Evans Rd. Now some idiot(s) thinks we need a town center to clog up our already disasterously planned infrastructor. When I first moved to Menifee in 1997 the Newport going over the 215 was 2 lanes. And it work!! Now it's 9 (next time your sitting at Haun and Newport, count 'em, left to right or right to left) and it's a nightmare. They put Wal-Mart here, someones getting their palm greased!
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how you feel about Walmart..the traffic is a real concern to everyone...the other day it took almost an hour just to get over the Newport bridge to our bank inside Ralphs...we are going to have to change banks as its ridiculous..during Christmas it was even worse trying to get into the Marketplace to shop....the traffic problem should come before anything else...
ReplyDelete8:02PM is so correct! Our city council has got to be corrupt to not address the traffic issues first.
ReplyDeleteI'm at the point now that I am seriously considering moving from Menifee because of the traffic issues and with the current plans in place it is going to get worse.
I've had to add an extra 30 to 45 minutes (each way) for my commute every day. If anyone has ever lived or traveled in the San Jose area, this is how bad it is becoming. When you live and work 5 miles away and it takes almost an hour to get to and from is ABSURD!
I've been in much smaller communities that have wider roads with more lanes and wider bridges than Menifee.
There's no need for a Wal-Mart in Menifee. The traffic is horrible in Menifee and we have a super
ReplyDeleteTarget in the shopping center. Plus, we have three Wal-marts nearby (elsinore, murrieta and hemet
City council needs to focus on the roads, and bringing other business (i.e. a theater, bowling, more restaurants) and no more houses to be built.
I am not a fan of Walmart and don't care to have one nearby BUT even moreso, I am sooooo sick of people exaggerating the time it takes for them to cross over the highway. I live off of Menifee and Scott Road, so I have to travel Scott Road to the 215 everyday. NEVER has it EVER taken me 30 minutes to get across. Be for real!!! I have traveled it at every hour of the day, including the peak of traffic, and it has never taken that long. C'mon people! It is hard to make "real" decisions when blogs and articles are filled with biased information meant to schew your thoughts. If you have a valid point then you shouldn't have to exaggerate your experiences.
ReplyDeleteTo 10:57
ReplyDeleteHave you tried making a right hand turn from South bound Antelope to Scott during traffic when Antelope backs up? Since the overpass turns into a single lane everyone tries to get into the intersection causing that right turn to block up. Yes you can spend a lot of time trying to make that right turn. Coming from the other directions it doesn't seem as bad until your on Antelope's right turn lane during traffic.
at 7:56am, yes I have and 30 minutes is an exaggeration to say the least!
ReplyDelete30 min may be a stretch but not too overly exaggerated some days. I leave my house and travel S on Antelope and make a R on Scott. If I am heading to Temecula, the trip (which shouldn't take more than 15-20 min) can take me 30-45min just from Scott traffic. I dread the new shopping center, with or without the Walmart they need to fix that traffic problem.
ReplyDeleteIf your coming from Menifee and Scott Rd theres no reason to drive South on Antelope and turn right onto Scott.You have a straight shot driving West to the onramps....I wasn't the one who mentioned 30 minutes but since you brought it up I have waited over 15 coming onto 30 minutes depending if people let me in and not grid lock the intersection....I've also given up and drove straight South to Clinton Keith and by passed Scott altogether.
ReplyDeleteI was driving a Riverside County vehicle a few months ago. I am required to keep track of delays. It was 46 minutes from Wickered Farms(?) to the 215. While 30 minutes may not be the rule, it is definately not an exaggration.
ReplyDeleteTo the Anonymous individual who posted this:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
I am not a fan of Walmart and don't care to have one nearby BUT even moreso, I am sooooo sick of people exaggerating the time it takes for them to cross over the highway. I live off of Menifee and Scott Road, so I have to travel Scott Road to the 215 everyday. NEVER has it EVER taken me 30 minutes to get across. Be for real!!! I have traveled it at every hour of the day, including the peak of traffic, and it has never taken that long. C'mon people! It is hard to make "real" decisions when blogs and articles are filled with biased information meant to schew your thoughts. If you have a valid point then you shouldn't have to exaggerate your experiences.
January 27, 2011 10:57 PM
My goodness! You are doing nothing less than flat out calling me a liar. And while it is your right to have an opinion about your own experiences, you have no right to judge me or my opinion unless you have spent every minute of your life in my shoes. I was not exaggerating, I was simply sharing with you my experience. My exact quote was, "I have found myself sitting there for over 30 minutes just trying to get from Menifee Road to the southbound onramp numerous times."
I did not say it took that long every time I passed through that area. I did not say it took YOU that long to pass through that area. A year ago, I took that route daily to get to work in Murrieta, and there were times it took over 30 minutes.
What a shame that a person cannot express an opinion, share her experience, and engage in a discussion without being called a liar, by someone who has never met her. It is even a greater shame that the only thing you had to contribute to this discussion was to attack me and call me a liar.
I have personally spent 28 minutes trying to get over the 215 on Scott Rd. Okay, so 30 minutes is an exaggeration, by 2 minutes. I have also spent more than 30 minutes trying to get over the bridge on Newport Rd. These are not exaggerations. The traffic on Newport Rd over the 215 backs up for almost a mile. I've personally spent 15 to 20 minutes on Newport Rd. just to get over the bridge from Haun Rd. to Antelope Rd. Now, if you consider a person might be coming from Menifee Rd. or Bradley Rd and the traffic is backed up for quite a ways it can easily take 30 minutes to go 2 miles total.
ReplyDeleteI happen to like WalMart and will actually drive to Perris to shop because it is 'easier' to get to and get in and out of than the Murrieta WalMart and esp the Lake Elsinore WalMart.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the Perris WalMart has been a habit of mine since it was first built. I don't/won't go to Winco because of the confusing traffic lanes and directions. I feel like I am taking my life in my hands with the confusing lane directions or rather.. lack of. So, you decide from where the city planners and traffic manager/controllers sit as to whether I would be 'drawn to a local WalMart' or.. if I would still drive to Perris to avoid traffic boondoggles.. like that stupid parking lot layout on Haun Rd.
I am a senior citizen... I shop WalMart because I can't afford to go to Macy's and la de da stores. It's life and it is the way it is... Deal with it.
It's a shame that Wal-Mart profits off of all those who just give up and say "it's just the way it is". Sorry to ruffle feathers, but a store that lives off of selling cheap products to people who say this is an unwelcome addition to the area. We don't have to be high-brow to dislike Wal-Mart and all the things it brings to the towns it visits. There will be fewer jobs created than lost. Those who lose their jobs will be the more established, older crowd who have worked hard to create small businesses here and the new jobs will be for high-school checkout clerks. Is the trade-off worth it?
ReplyDeleteAdd to that the congestion that will clog an already funneled traffic area and I think not. No matter if you bicker over the difference between 15 and 30 minutes of sitting in traffic or not, the truth is that the intersections heading over the 215 are awful. The consequences of congestion add to accidents, and mental well-being as well as your daily schedule.
If you are in need of cheaper products than the stores in the area offer, then by all means visit the numerous Wal-Marts that already exist within 20-30 minutes of us. I can't imagine much that Target does not offer and they're already here.
Let's get the "city" we have together and operating in a better manner than it already is before letting the giants in the door. It's up to us as the people to decide these matters, not some city council. They have to listen or they loose their jobs. That is, if we actually do more than just discuss it as "anonymous" faces on the internet...