The AMBAG planning area is situated between Silicon Valley (San Francisco Bay Area) to the north and San Luis Obispo County to the south in California's North Central Coast area. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are situated along the coast and contain most of the area's population and employment. Monterey County also supports a significant agricultural industry that is generally located in the Salinas River Valley. San Benito County is located to the east of Monterey County and is mostly rural. Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties tend to include more higher-income households.
In 2005 the population of the AMBAG region was just over 740,000 with an average of 3.1 persons per household. Most of the population (nearly half a million) is concentrated into the 18 cities covering approximately 65,000 acres. In 2035 the population is expected to exceed 920,000, representing a 24% increase from 2005 an average of 3.0 persons per household and a population density of 179 people per square mile. Employment in the region is expected to increase from over 326,000 in 2005 to approximately 405,000 in 2035 representing a 24% increase.
Households with incomes less than or equal to $75,000 had an average travel time to work of 17 to 20 minutes, whereas households with incomes greater than $75,000 were observed to have an average travel time of just over 34 minutes. Travel times for all other trip purposes averaged between 10 and 13 minutes.
In addition, the AMBAG region has the following characteristics that affect travel behavior:
Four main arterials connect the region. Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 link north/south travel. Hwy 68 and Hwy 152 serve as east/west connectors. Hwy 101 is expected to see more congestion as population moves to more rural areas. Hwy 101 is also constrained by law from widening in the rural areas.
