SANDAG's I-15 Interregional Partnership (IRP), formed in 2001 between elected officials of SANDAG and the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) to address the imbalance of jobs and housing, recently released a preliminary draft of an Existing Conditions report (pdf, 352k) .

The report outlines significant findings based on data from the 2000 U.S. Census, an evaluation of land use, economic and transportation data from both regions, and a telephone survey of western Riverside County residents who commute on I-15 between San Diego and Riverside Counties. The report finds that:

• Greater housing availability and lower housing prices in southwestern Riverside County are key factors in the growth of interregional commuting.
  
  
• Ownership of a single family detached home is very important to I-15 interregional commuters who will not compromise housing type to be closer to work.
  
  
• There are a growing number of interregional commuters. Most have moved from the San Diego region.
  
  
• I-15 commuters are concentrated in the Temecula/Murrieta area and are traveling to employment destinations in the San Diego region.
  
  
• I-15 interregional commuters like living in western Riverside County.
  
  
• A high percentage of interregional commuters drive alone.
  

Next steps for the I-15 IRP include releasing the Final Existing Conditions Report later this month, implementing an outreach program, and developing and implementing short and long-term strategies to address the imbalance of jobs and housing.

Project manager: Jeff Martin
(619) 595-5358 or
jma@sandag.org