Ten Tips For Surviving Fix50

1. Avoid the construction zones. Fix50.com has suggested detours, but they all boil down to just avoiding that strip of highway. So if you’re coming from Davis, take Interstate 80 and loop around. Cut across town if you’re coming from Elk Grove, basically avoid that strip of I-80 Business and U.S. Highway 50 as best you can during construction.  

See the red and blue areas? Just steer clear. 

2. Join or start a carpool. Now is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the money-saving, earth-friendly practice of carpooling. Different Transportation Management Associations incentivize carpooling differently. South Natomas TMA offers subsidies for carpooling and Sacramento's TMA has a free emergency ride program if you have leave before your carpool. 511 has a list of the different regional TMAs, check out what programs you can take advantage of. Ask around at work, as some workplaces have programs to encourage carpooling. Also, co-workers make the most obvious carpool buddies. 

3. Try vanpooling. If you work a pretty steady schedule this might be a great option. Commuter Club has a list of van pool companies and answers some frequently asked questions about the service. Van pools vary in price from $90 to $160, monthly, and usually work best for commutes longer than 20 miles. 

4. Buy a motorcycle. We’ve all seen those guys weaving in and out of traffic, risking their lives just to be not stuck in traffic… weigh your options, it might be worth the risk.

5. Check out public transit options. Sacramento's Regional Transit has a mobile app to help with trip planning, as well as a new rider's guide specifically for Fix50. If you live far from a light rail stop, you can always bike to the station and put your bike on the train. Yolobus has pretty direct routs from Woodland, Davis and West Sacramento right to Downtown. 

6. Skip the whole thing and work from home. Telecommuting is easier than ever, with chat programs, FaceTime, mobile project planning, and cloud storage. If you don't currently work from home, this week might be a good time to look into getting set up to do so. According to Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, every car you take off road traffic congrestion reduces by three.  

7. Shift your schedule so you aren’t traveling at peak times. This isn’t an option for everyone, but the more people who shift, the more people aren’t on the roads, clearing things up for everyone.

8. Hop on a bike. The weather is getting better and it’s not too hot yet, so why not tune up your wheels and combine your workout with your commute. Check out this bike commute check list and map your route using the google maps bike route option. 

Plus, you'll get a head start toward participating in May Is Bike Month.

9. Try Amtrak - You know what doesn't care about freeways? Trains! The Capitol Corridor amtrak route make stops in Davis, Sacramento, Roseville and Rocklin and has free Wi-Fi. 

10. Take deep breaths. If none of those ideas are options for you, we're sorry. Stay calm, budget lots of time to get to work, go pee before leaving the house, pack a snack, give the other drivers grace, and make sure the radio's tuned to Capital Public Radio for soothing music and the latest news. Or you could listen to this playlist of driving/traffic songs we made up just for this occasion.

Ok, yeah, we totally stole this idea from the Business Journal, but we tried not to use the same songs so you have even more music to get you through the construction.