Trav

I need to be in Santa Francisco for an event that begins at 7PM on a Tuesday evening. I can not leave Santa Cruz until 4PM. Mapquest is directing me to take Hwy 280 but I'm wondering how the drive would be if I just took Hwy 1 all the way up. Would someone give me some insight as to traffic and the amount of time this route would take? Also, I will need to return to Santa Cruz the same evening after 11PM. Thank you.

Trav

Typo, San Francisco.

viamar

If it was me I wouldn't chance taking 1 if I had to be some place in 3 hours. All it would take is 1 accident on 1 and you could be tied up for quite awhile. The traffic through Santa Cruz on Mission St. at that time will be pretty bad too. If your appointment is in the west side of the city than maybe you can chance it but if it's downtown than I wouldn't.
I'd take 17 to 85 north to 280 north. That should take you an hour and 45 minutes, which will leave you plenty of time to find a parking place.

DavidDJ_

17 to 280 north would be the best route however, is there any way that you can leave before 4 pm? It will take about an hour to get into San Jose which puts you right in the middle of the evening commute traffic leaving the city and going up toward San Francisco. It will probably be another 1.5 - 2 hrs. to get to SF from SJ. Therefore, you should plan on the entire trip taking 3 hrs. from Santa Cruz, and that is assuming no real traffic problems.

zooey91

I beg to differ. Highway 1 will be a more pleasent way to go. With no traffic it takes 1 1/2 hours. Leaving at 4 will add to that, but I think you'll still have time to spare.

A more plesant alternative than stop and go traffic most of the way up if you go through San Jose.

Yes, an accident can really slow things down, but that's true on 17, 85, and 280 as well.

Delvecchio

I do not know of anyone who would advise taking highway 1 all the way from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, especially with only 3 hours to spare. You are lucky to average about 35 or 40 miles per hr. on highway 1 with the traffic and since it is a one lane narrow and winding road in each direction. Yes, accidents can happen on 280 and 17, but those are mutilane freeways. If there's an accident on highway 1 the road will be closed entirely until it is cleared.

Trav,

Forget route 1 and stick to the previous suggestions of 17 to 280.

zooey91

Too much coffee today, Delvecchio?

Maybe things have changed since I lived in Santa Cruz a few years back, but Hwy 1 is 55 (or faster) much of the way. You'll hit traffic between half moon bay and Pacifica, but it's not like Hwy 1 south of Big Sur.

But I'm not in the majority here, so I guess Trav should go with the flow (or serious lack thereof) and take the big roads through rush hour traffic.

Delvecchio

Zooey,

I do not know of anyone who takes highway 1 unless they have lots of time. Doing 55 mph on a narrow and winding road like route 1 is nothing but suicidal. If you go to mapquest or Yahoo maps they give you the fastest route which turns out to be 17/280.

curmudgeon

The only bad section on Hwy 1 is around Devils slide. I think it would take a bit longer for the drive, though. Hwy 1 is at its worst on a sunny weekend around Half-moon Bay with traffic jams. On a Tuesday evening, either route should work.

BTW - Mapquest can come up with some pretty bizzare routes sometimes, especially in the mountains; take it with a grain of salt.

zooey91

Uh . . . have you ever been on this streach of highway 1? It sounds like you've taken it south from Big Sur and are assuming the whole coast is the same.

Yes, a few small portions are narrow and windy, but most of it has a posted speed limit of 55 and a flow of traffic that often exceeds that. Most of the route North of Santa Cruz is straight with many passing lanes and some parts that are 4 lanes.

Delvecchio

Zooey,

Yes, I have been on this part of route 1. But just becase the speed linit posted is 55 mph it does not mean that traffic necessarily moves that fast. Most people who travel route 1 take it for the scenary, and as such tend to drive slow in order to enjoy it, which is why this tends to be a slow road.

J_Correa

Just throwing my opinion into the mix.

I think it's probably a crap shoot as to which route would be better. It also depends on which side of Santa Cruz you are starting in and which side of SF you are going to.

Hwy 1 through the west side of Santa Cruz will be very clogged - it's the main artery through that side of town and there are many traffic lights and only 1 lane in each direction. If you are starting from the west side though, you'll be in that traffic anyway. North of Santa Cruz it's pretty much smooth sailing until you get to Pacifica. The people driving that road for the scenery usually aren't out on Tuesday evennings and even if you encounter a few slow pokes there are plenty of passing lanes. You should be able to do 55 (or more) most of the way up. Then there is the matter of getting through SF to wherever you are going.

The other route - 17/85/280 - you will encounter traffic. Going over 17 should be smooth sailing since the commute is the other direction. 85 shouldn't be too bad - heavy traffic, but still moving. I don't travel all the way up to SF during commute traffic very often though, so once you get onto 280, I don't know what the traffic will look like.

Coming back, I would recommend going the 280/85/17 route - no question. Hwy 1 is pretty lonely for large sections and since you will be travelling late at night, I would stick to the more populated areas.

traveler24

I totally agree with J_Correa
I have gone from NORTH Santa Cruz to San Francisco State Univ. (sort of
south-western SF) in about 2 hrs. on Highway 1--however if you add possible slow trafic out of Santa Cruz with destination of downtown SF--I'd go 17-85-280.
Good luck

SFer

Definitely 17/280. No way I'd take a chance on highway 1 when you need to be in SF at a certain time.

Trav

Thank You! I thought it was a toss up until the last few posts. I did forget to mention there will be two of us so we'll be able to take advantage of a commute lane. 17/85/280 it is. Thanks.