CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

All I Wanted Was a Salad from TJ’s

I just spent 30 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic, all in the hopes of getting lunch.

Of course, I knew about the Caltrans roadwork this month on East Coast Highway near Crystal Cove; I wrote about it here.

But I figured it wouldn’t be that big a deal to turn into the shopping center, pick up a salad at Trader Joe’s and head back to Corona del Mar.

I didn’t figure that the asphalt trucks would be blocking every single left turn lane. I realize it was unfortunate timing, because some cars were able to turn. I was not. I was forced to drive to Laguna Beach before I was able to turn around. And then I was stuck in traffic that went to one lane — for more than a mile.

Roadwork is inevitable, I suppose. But I do not understand why Caltrans could not insist that if left turn lanes into a popular shopping destination are going to be closed, that the construction company has people out there to direct traffic.

I wasted a bunch of time, and I’m still hungry.