Arriving on 91

[mwrogers]

We are now AP holders, so we'll be making the trip from AZ more often. We normally go the 10 - 60 - 91 - 57 route. Part of the 91 has a toll section that we avoid as you must have a pass installed in your car. But at the toll plaza that reads those passes, there is a lane with a "3+" sign. I haven't seen any other signs about this option. Does this mean we can use that toll section and go through the "3+" lane since we have 5 people in our car? Or will Jon and Poncho pull up behind me? That would have saved me an hour or so Saturday afternoon.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We are now AP holders, so we'll be making the trip from AZ more often. We normally go the 10 - 60 - 91 - 57 route. Part of the 91 has a toll section that we avoid as you must have a pass installed in your car. But at the toll plaza that reads those passes, there is a lane with a "3+" sign. I haven't seen any other signs about this option. Does this mean we can use that toll section and go through the "3+" lane since we have 5 people in our car? Or will Jon and Poncho pull up behind me? That would have saved me an hour or so Saturday afternoon.

is this something new?????? I have never had to go through the toll booth at all coming from moreno valley...

 

[LavenderPeach]

No, that's part of the toll lanes. I don't know if you would have Ponch riding up behind you but you would get a ticket sent to your house for not having the transponder. Also, I'm not really sure why the 3+ lane is there because from what I can tell, it only goes maybe 1/4 or 1/2 a mile and then ends so it seems pointless to me. I drive by it at least once a week and I've always wondered what the point is.

 

[PHXscuba]

Unless you have one of the transponders and an account, you can't ever use the 3-plus lanes.

Check the FAQs at the 91 Expresslane website. It says the 3-plus lanes get you through free (or at 50 percent during peak times), but only if you have an account and a transponder.

At least Saturdays are better than weekdays using the 91.

PHXscuba

 

[LavenderPeach]

Unless you have one of the transponders and an account, you can't ever use the 3-plus lanes.

Check the FAQs at the 91 Expresslane website. It says the 3-plus lanes get you through free (or at 50 percent during peak times), but only if you have an account and a transponder.

At least Saturdays are better than weekdays using the 91.

PHXscuba

Ah, that makes sense. Now I know why it's there! I don't have a transponder so I didn't know about that. Interesting.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

You absolutely should not use the fasttrak lanes if you do not have the transponder. The 3+ lane allows you to go through without a charge to your account as long as it isn't between 4-6 pm. Otherwise we get charged 1/2 of what the toll is. But even so they still send the signal to the transponder whether you are getting charged or not. We have yet to hit really bad traffic on the 91 unless there is an accident. Lucky I guess. But they sure don't call it the orange crush for nothing lol I've heard it can get pretty bad!

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Also wanted to add that you can buy the transponder at costco 44 bucks for 50 dollars in credits I think. And just go to the site and link it to your car. Was so simple!

 

[LavenderPeach]

You absolutely should not use the fasttrak lanes if you do not have the transponder. The 3+ lane allows you to go through without a charge to your account as long as it isn't between 4-6 pm. Otherwise we get charged 1/2 of what the toll is. But even so they still send the signal to the transponder whether you are getting charged or not. We have yet to hit really bad traffic on the 91 unless there is an accident. Lucky I guess. But they sure don't call it the orange crush for nothing lol I've heard it can get pretty bad!

I guess you've never driven through Corona on a Friday afternoon. Usually I go during non-peak drive times but we had an unavoidable appointment in Orange on a Friday afternoon so we were driving back to the IE around 4pm. At first it wasn't too bad and we saw that they were charging $10 for the toll lanes! We said, who is crazy enough to pay that much to drive on a few miles of road? Well, after sitting in the traffic for awhile that $10 didn't sound so bad after all!

 

[lulubelle]

I drive the 91 everyday to work from the Inland Empire and it is AWFUL! But unless there is an accident it will only be unbearable during rush hour. 7-9 am and 4-7 pm. It's the main artery that links OC with IE. What everyone said about the FastTrak lanes is correct. And the "Orange Crush" refers to the 5 freeway where it meets the 57. And since they widened the 5 through there, it's not that bad anymore. I would take the 60 to the 57 south to Katella, take a right/west and stay on Katella until you hit Harbor or hop on the 5 north from Katella and get off at Harbor. That's what I would do.

Have a great trip.

 

[Mortimer Mouse]

I would take the 60 to the 57 south to Katella, take a right/west and stay on Katella until you hit Harbor or hop on the 5 north from Katella and get off at Harbor. That's what I would do.

I second this statement.......

 

[Krissy Marissy]

It sounds like she has directions down just asked about the toll lanes. And sorry, we're pretty new down here but all of our neighbors call the 91 orange crush so I'll let them know they're wrong lol

Lavendar we usually are only on it 1-2 times a week...usually redlands to dl and we have only been in horrible traffic once. Of course we avoid rush hour. But the toll lanes do seem to move faster than the reg traffic does. And we have yet to be charged since we always use the 3+ as we have 4, and never go during rush hour. Paying 10 dollars is nuts but traffic must have been awful!!

 

[LavenderPeach]

It sounds like she has directions down just asked about the toll lanes. And sorry, we're pretty new down here but all of our neighbors call the 91 orange crush so I'll let them know they're wrong lol

Lavendar we usually are only on it 1-2 times a week...usually redlands to dl and we have only been in horrible traffic once. Of course we avoid rush hour. But the toll lanes do seem to move faster than the reg traffic does. And we have yet to be charged since we always use the 3+ as we have 4, and never go during rush hour. Paying 10 dollars is nuts but traffic must have been awful!!

Yeah, it would be nice to be able to take the toll lanes sometimes but I'm just too cheap! And it's usually just me and DS because he goes to feeding therapy at CHOC once a week so no 3+ lanes for us. I'm glad I finally know what that point of those lanes are though. We're usually driving through that area around 10am so traffic isn't bad and we can use the carpool lane which helps. You're in redlands? We're in yucaipa! We spend a lot of time in redlands though since yucaipa is terribly lacking in non-fast food restaurants and good shopping.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Yes we are! My husband works in loma linda redlands is a small town compared from where we lived before but we love it. The mountains are beautiful and I am truly enjoying this weather!

 

[Diznut84]

I would get a FastTrak transponder and use the 91 toll lanes for free. Sure you have to pay a deposit for the transponder, but you will get to use the toll lanes for free because you have at least 3 people in the car.

You must have a transponder in the car to use the toll lanes. About halfway through, you either go through the regular lane (which incurs the toll charges) or the 3+ lane (which does not). That is why the lane is so short. It is for billing purposes only.

We go to DL weekly from Redlands as well. We always use the toll lanes, and appreciate when there are three of us because then it is free.

 

[mwrogers]

Thanks for the tips. On the 91 website, there's a small section about special users who always have 3+ in the vehicle - I assume this is for vanpools, small group home busses, etc. I've emailed them to see if I qualify. I'm not too keen on paying the $75 up front fee to use it several times over the next year, but the Costco option may be viable too. If nothing else, I can skip the 91 completely.

 

[LavenderPeach]

We go to DL weekly from Redlands as well. We always use the toll lanes, and appreciate when there are three of us because then it is free.

Yes we are! My husband works in loma linda redlands is a small town compared from where we lived before but we love it. The mountains are beautiful and I am truly enjoying this weather!

Well, hi Redlands neighbors!

Krissy, we spend a lot of time in Loma Linda too because of all of DS's crazy medical issues. Does your DH work at the hospital? I love the views of the mountains too. In fact we have a great view of them looking down our street. But I'm not a big fan of the never ending heat. Warm weather is fine but I get tired of so much heat. I liked our fall-like weather we had last week. We used to live in South Orange County and I much preferred the weather there (10 minutes from the ocean so that was nice).

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I know what you mean about the heat! I am so glad it's october! We haven't ventured over to yucaipa yet but I thought of heard of a pumpkin farm or patch over there that's neat? So perhaps this weekend we might look for it.

My husband actually works in a nuclear pharmacy there, kinda close to the university. They do provide stuff for the radiology dept at many hospitals though

How is your son doing btw? I remember reading about him in a really old thread about using the handicap bathroom stall without a wheel chair...anyway, hope he is doing well!

 

[LavenderPeach]

I know what you mean about the heat! I am so glad it's october! We haven't ventured over to yucaipa yet but I thought of heard of a pumpkin farm or patch over there that's neat? So perhaps this weekend we might look for it.

My husband actually works in a nuclear pharmacy there, kinda close to the university. They do provide stuff for the radiology dept at many hospitals though

How is your son doing btw? I remember reading about him in a really old thread about using the handicap bathroom stall without a wheel chair...anyway, hope he is doing well!

We went to the pumpkin patch for the first time last year and it was nice. We're going to try going again this year but not sure when. They do Christmas trees in nov/dec too but we haven't seen that. Have you been up to Oak Glen? It's a cute little apple town and it's apple season right now which means that they have a lot of activities going on (also lots of people there too so go early). We like going up there year round to do a little hiking. They get snow up there every year too. It's enough to play in but not enough to make it hard to drive around and melts fairly quickly.

I think you're thinking of someone else's DS. My DS has a lot of medical issues but isn't in a wheelchair. The main thing my DS is working on right now is learning how to eat. He's always had a feeding tube and eating is not a particularly fun thing for him but he's eating everything by mouth now and we aren't using the feeding tube at all right now! He doesn't know how to chew yet so everything is pureed (like baby food).

Okay, now I really got off topic!

 

[Krissy Marissy]

No I know your son isn't. But that was the point of the thread. Someone was mad at a lady who took her child in that stall and a loooooong argument ensued over whether or not it's okay to do so. And you explained that even though a child looks perfectly healthy they may have special needs etc. But that was forever ago!

Snow! Yay...will check that out this winter then! We had too much in portland last year so just enough to play in sounds perfect! Have you been up to big bear? Gosh there are so many things we want to see here. And btw...I saw, finally, baaaaad traffic on the 91. We went to dl for a few hours and left later than we normally do. Thankfully the toll road was fairly empty

 

[LavenderPeach]

No I know your son isn't. But that was the point of the thread. Someone was mad at a lady who took her child in that stall and a loooooong argument ensued over whether or not it's okay to do so. And you explained that even though a child looks perfectly healthy they may have special needs etc. But that was forever ago!

Snow! Yay...will check that out this winter then! We had too much in portland last year so just enough to play in sounds perfect! Have you been up to big bear? Gosh there are so many things we want to see here. And btw...I saw, finally, baaaaad traffic on the 91. We went to dl for a few hours and left later than we normally do. Thankfully the toll road was fairly empty

Oh, okay. Yes, I do sort of remember writing that but forgot about what the issue was. Yeah, DS has really helped me see things in a different light so I try to give people the benefit of the doubt since I don't really know what their situation is. DS looks perfectly normal and healthy but he has a lot of issues going on. People who have read his medical history before meeting him can't believe it's the same kid.

Yeah, we even get snow at our house every couple of years (maybe 6 inches at the most). There is a place up in Oak Glen called Los Rios Ranch. It's an apple orchard place but on the weekends they have the BBQ going (kind of expensive but I figure we're helping the local economy) and they have a little hiking trail open that is pretty nice. They also have a big grassy area out front that is good for picnics and then when it snows there is a big open area for playing in. If you want a little more snow you can go up to Forest Falls where there are places people go sledding but it's in the National Forest so you have to get a parking pass from their little building on the way up. It can also get really crowded after it has just snowed and there is only one way to get in and out.

Big Bear is nice. We haven't been up there in the winter but have gone up in the spring. They have some good restaurants and little shops. We went up a few months ago to see their Air Fair at the airport since DS is into airplanes right now but didn't look around the rest of the town this time. I keep wanting to go back up to Big Bear to look around some more but we haven't gotten around to it. Lake Arrowhead also has a cute little area to walk around with shops and restaurants.

As for the 91, if we go during the week to DL then we try to leave around 2 at the latest or we feel like we've missed our window of opportunity. If we miss that window we stay until around 7 since we figure we would rather be at DLR than waiting in traffic. It's times like that that I wish we had a transponder but we wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost. Glad the toll lanes were empty for you so you didn't have to sit in too much traffic.

Let me know if you want any more info on local places around. I don't know everything about the area but we've lived here about 7 years now. Oh, have you been to the Gourmet Pizza Shoppe yet? If you haven't, you must! It's on State Street in redlands and they have another store in yucaipa. It is SO good.