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Gas Prices Won't Keep Drivers at Home This Memorial Day: BAY AREA: Millions of Americans Will Hit the Road This Memorial Day

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 15:01 CDT

By Clanci Cochran, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

May 26--Northern Californians are keeping high gas prices on their minds as they drive down on-ramps this Memorial Day weekend.

Three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is altering, but not derailing, travel plans, according to the American Automobile Association.

"People are traveling closer to home and taking fewer road trips," said Cynthia Harris, Northern California AAA spokeswoman.

About 5 million Californians will journey at least 50 miles from home, according to an AAA news release. Four million will be in cars.

The number of travelers will barely increase compared with last year, Harris said.

The annual increase is usually two to three percent, but the auto group expects less than one percent positive change this year. Expensive hotel rates, rental car prices up almost 20 percent, and fewer and higher priced domestic flights are persuading people to stick closer to home, Harris said.

Northern Californians who do venture into the stream of people taking the first holiday of summer like to drive to popular destinations such as Southern California and Las Vegas or fly to Hawaii and Europe, according to the release.

To get in touch with nature, others will visit popular campgrounds such as Yosemite National Park. Yosemite has some incredible waterfalls this year due to a deep snow pack, said park ranger Adrienne Freeman.

About 309,160 people visited the park in May 2005.

Memorial Day weekend is "always a popular time to come," Freeman said, but there are ways to avoid crowds.

"We obviously advise visitors to come in as early as possible," she said. Peak arrival hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

She also suggests people traverse the campgrounds in free buses or rented bikes rather than in vehicles.

Highway 140 to Yosemite has reopened for daytime traffic in both directions, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. The highway is closed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Those who will be driving this weekend should watch out for increased police presence on the roads. Some 125 Bay Area law enforcement agencies have combined in a Bay Area-wide Avoid the 125 campaign, to crack down on intoxicated drivers.

"This is a time when we come together to tackle the DUI problem," said Contra Costa County Sheriff Department spokesman Jimmy Lee.

Contra Costa County law officers arrested more than 100 intoxicated drivers during Memorial Day weekend last year, Lee said. About 200 intoxicated drivers were arrested by Alameda County law enforcement last Memorial Day weekend, said Marty Neideffer, the county Avoid the 21 public information officer.

"A lot of drivers don't think it could happen to them," but with the increase in street patrols, there is a "very, very good chance that you can get arrested," he said.

A strike team will target intoxicated drivers in East Contra Costa today, and San Pablo Police will set up a sobriety checkpoint Saturday.

Officials expect about 265,000 passengers to travel through the Oakland International Airport through May 30, according to a news release. About 48,000 passengers will utilize the airport today and Monday, up by about 8,000 from the average daily traffic.

Travelers should call the traffic information line 511 for parking availability and road conditions when they are about 30 minutes from the airport, said airport spokeswoman Joanne Holloway.

Passengers should arrive 90 minutes early for domestic flights and two to three hours early for international flights.

Reach Clanci Cochran at 925-943-8163 or ccochran@cctimes.com.

WEEKEND TRAVEL

-- Nearly 5 million Californians plan to travel this Memorial Day weekend.

-- 4 million will drive.

-- 722,000 will fly.

-- 247,000 will travel in boats, trains or buses.

-- Road information available by dialing 511.

-- For a list of local and regional Memorial Day weekend observances and events, please see Page A7

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Copyright (c) 2006, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

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