DRIVEN TO THE LIMITS SUMMER MONTHS MEAN MORE SNARLED HIGHWAYS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

It's summer, and Southern California's freeway gridlock has started to spike - an annual phenomenon that makes July and August the cruelest traffic months, with up to 25 percent more drivers at some hot spots, even more on weekends.

The Golden State Freeway just north of the San Fernando Valley has seen summer weekends when nearly 40 percent more drivers jam the freeway, as visitors drive in and residents get out of town.

``I can believe that,'' said Jim D'Addario, who makes the weekday trip from his home in Castaic to his job at Disney offices in North Hollywood.

``Anything that makes your commute slow down is a little frustrating,'' said D'Addario, a seasoned commuter who's honed his 33-mile trip to a near science.

``I think people schedule their time - they know when to get up, when to get on the road, when they'll get to work. It would be helpful to know. Maybe I would adjust my schedule.''

Caltrans says that, without a doubt, August remains the busiest month on the state's highways - January tends to be the most quiet - pointing to records dating back to 1972.

``People are doing so much recreational driving (in August),'' said state Department of Transportation spokesman John Robin Witt in Sacramento.

A spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California says that, in the wake of 9-11's air tragedies, the club has seen more interest in perceived ``safe'' vacations, like ocean cruises or car trips.

Many travelers make their summer travel plans in spring, and this year, as the nation was at war with Iraq, some were hesitant to trek far from home, said Auto Club spokesman Paul Gonzales.

``It was a time of great anxiety and stress, so a cruise to Mexico or Alaska, or a trip to Yosemite, sounded really good,'' he said. ``There's a pent-up demand for leisure travel, and it's coming out this summer.''

Representatives for Caltrans caution that its monitoring station data is just one piece of the puzzle of compiling traffic trends.

Still, agency reports show that, already in May, the 5 Freeway just north of the Valley, at the junction with Highway 126 in Santa Clarita, saw as many weekday drivers as in June 2002.

That monitoring station saw a 25 percent spike in both July and August last year, when about 106,000 drivers passed through each month, compared to 84,400 during January. Similar spikes were posted back to 2000.

Other hot spots around Southern California show similar summer jumps. Further north, traffic through the monitoring station on the 101 Freeway in San Luis Obispo jumped about 26 percent in July compared to January of last year. The 5 Freeway in Encinitas spiked about 14 percent.

Some desert communities, however, including Palm Springs, see their peak month earlier in the year, Caltrans said.

Still, last July, the state highways overall registered a 17 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled, compared with January of that year.

What the department could not say is whether the spikes result in increased gridlock.

Some commuters, like Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth, who heads to Burbank each weekday morning on the 5, say they don't feel much difference in their daily drives.

The 110 Freeway south of downtown Los Angeles, for example, registered only a 6 percent increase in weekday drivers last July compared to January - though its weekend numbers spiked 10 percent.

``The reason seems to be the traffic spreads out in the summer,'' said Witt, the Caltrans spokesman.

``It's not concentrated during those rush times,'' he said. ``It just spreads out that time in which people are all trying to get on the I-5 at the same minute.''

Weekends, in fact, are when drivers may feel the crunch the most.

The 5 often experiences more traffic on Saturdays and Sundays during summer than during the regular weekday commute in Santa Clarita, according to Caltrans. It can see nearly 240,000 drivers on Saturday and Sunday combined at the Santa Clarita monitoring station.

That region is further hit by ongoing freeway construction.

``I can see it,'' said Smith, whose gym is within eyesight of the freeway, adding his city is opening two new business parks in hopes of bringing 15,000 more jobs that would keep residents closer to home.

``Sunday afternoon traffic on the 5 looks like Monday morning,'' he said. ``It's packed. If I am going (on the freeway), you do it early.''

Or stay home.

That's what D'Addario and his family do most weekends.

``Fourth of July was stopped out there,'' said D'Addario, also a member of the Castaic Town Council. ``We try to stay away from it on the weekends.''

Caltrans officials note that the spike in summertime drivers generally tends to drop come September, once school resumes and families are back in their routines.

But the department's reports show that traffic overall on the state's highways remains on a steady climb summer after summer, year after year.

Statewide since 1972, the number of vehicle miles traveled has increased each year except for 1973, the year of the oil embargo, officials said.

With 6 million more people expected to come to Southern California in the coming decades, no slowdown is expected.

``What I have noticed over the last five years,'' added D'Addario, who started making the commute on the 5 after moving to Castaic from Chatsworth, ``it's gotten worse.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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SUMMER GRIDLOCK