CSULB commuters deal with traffic woes

Angelica Coronado, a senior journalism major at Cal State Long Beach, struggled with traffic for at least 45 minutes four days a week during her first semester.

“I couldn’t bring myself to come to class every day,” Coronado said via email.

This year, she bunched her classes to only two days a week just to minimize the stress of traffic.

“It’s worked pretty good for me so far,” she said.

She isn’t alone; countless other CSULB students share her grief in commuting.

Kendra Ablaza, senior political science and journalism double major, lives in West Covina and has to drive for nearly an hour to reach campus.

“I would leave my house on time,” she sad via email. “But waiting to exit off Palo Verde would make me late.”

With traffic seemingly so unpredictable, students have learned to expect the worst.

“I have to wake up almost an hour and a half before my class,” sophomore journalism major Jennifer San Jose said via email.

There are certain times in which traffic seems to be less paralyzing than others, but even for the more fortunate, traffic can be unpredictable.

“One morning the traffic will be flowing perfectly, other days it’s miserably bumper to bumper,” journalism major Jasmine Hamilton said via email.

But commuter patterns may change for future students, that is, if the bullet train proposal, which may help lesson traffic since there may be less cars on the road, isn’t further postponed.

The Obama administration is trying to lessen traffic by allocating $476 billion in the proposed budget, to fund road development over a six-year period — $47 billion of which will be absorbed by the proposed California bullet train.

However, there is debate over whether the money would be better spent finding a more immediate solution to getting cars off nearby freeways, especially the I-405.

“I think the bullet train is a good idea,” Ruby Ruelas, a junior journalism major, said via email. “But it’d be best if we kept [the funds] local and took care of our roads and freeways first.”

Many students agree that the bullet train would be quite convenient. However, they may not reap the benefits while attending school.

With construction expected to end in April 2016, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, even freshman commuters cannot expect to witness its effects. Moreover, there are still multiple processes post-completion before service can begin.

According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has still pushed for initiating the bullet train project, despite the proposal looking progressively dim with recent increased changes in its estimations, including price and expected time of completion.

One thing is for sure: Rising gas prices can only expedite the decision one way or the other.