Shortcuts: 54th Street

Who: Thom Hogan

Car: 2004 Toyota Tundra (company vehicle), 66,000 miles.

Previous cars: 1998 Ford F150 (company vehicle) and 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier (personal vehicle).

Drive where? I drive all over the county of San Diego as a part of my employment.

Cheapest gas? Arco AM/PM at Fairmount and Orange or Main and Jamacha

What’s wrong with your car? Needs a tune-up and oil change.

Listen to when driving? Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw on Jack FM or CDs

Cell phone? Yes, with a hands-free device. For updates on my assignments for the day.

Hitchhikers? It’s a company vehicle, so no unauthorized passengers.

Speeding tickets? No.

Accidents? On Interstate 8 during a heavy downpour, I was struck from behind.

Worst Traffic? Many places including the Golden Triangle and La Jolla, but the worst would be around the universities because of young people unfamiliar with driving, with driving in California, or just basically getting lost in their own neighborhood.

Most changed streets? Massachusetts Ave. in Lemon Grove, since the parking and bicycle lanes narrowed the street. The residents love it but commuters don’t.

Favorite drive? State Route 78 east from Escondido to Ramona at midday in the spring because of the winding road and the scenery.

Least favorite? Both El Cajon Blvd. and University Ave. at afternoon-drive time. University is too narrow for the amount of traffic that must move through. El Cajon has too many traffic lights that may or may not be deliberately out of time with each other.

Shortcut? Because I travel the whole county, I know many shortcuts but I will offer the shortcut I use for my least favorite drive. In order to get from North Park to Rolando, I use Lincoln Ave. until Boundary Dr. north to Howard, which becomes Orange Ave. to 54th St. After that there are a number of zigzag streets around Crawford High to get to Adelaide Ave. and College Blvd.