Traffic Predict
Petco Park Traffic: Game Days vs Normal Days
On weeknight Padres games, the freeways where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off average 62 mph in the hour before the start, compared with 62 mph at that time on a normal weeknight (661 games from 2010 to 2026).
Next games
No home games are scheduled right now (off-season).
Weekday afternoon games, hour by hour
Average speed on the freeways where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off, 148 games from 2010 to 2026, measured readings only. Most start at 1:10 pm (58 of 148), so the times below are for that start; each game is compared at its own start time.
| Time | Normal day | Game day | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 am (3 h before) | 64 mph | 64 mph | 0 mph |
| 11 am (2 h before) | 65 mph | 64 mph | 0 mph |
| 12 pm (1 h before) | 64 mph | 64 mph | -1 mph |
| 1 pm (start) | 63 mph | 63 mph | 0 mph |
| 2 pm (1 h after) | 60 mph | 61 mph | +0 mph |
| 3 pm (2 h after) | 57 mph | 57 mph | 0 mph |
| 4 pm (3 h after) | 56 mph | 53 mph | -2 mph |
| 5 pm (4 h after) | 57 mph | 54 mph | -4 mph |
Leaving after the game, SR-94 East at G St is the slowest: about 7 mph slower than normal around 5 pm.
Freeway by freeway
| Freeway | Hour before the start | Worst hour after |
|---|---|---|
| SR-94 East at G St | 0 mph | -7 mph at 5 pm |
| I-5 South at Imperial Ave | -2 mph | -6 mph at 5 pm |
| I-5 North at Imperial Ave | -1 mph | -2 mph at 5 pm |
| SR-94 West at G St | -1 mph | 0 mph at 4 pm |
Difference from a normal weekday afternoon, in mph.
Extra cars on the ramps
Cars per hour at the busiest time, game days vs normal days.
| Ramp | When | Normal | Game day |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-ramps to SR-94 East at G St | 5 pm (4 h after) | 1,052 | 1,202 (+150) |
Weeknight games, hour by hour
Average speed on the freeways where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off, 661 games from 2010 to 2026, measured readings only. Most start at 7:10 pm (288 of 661), so the times below are for that start; each game is compared at its own start time.
| Time | Normal day | Game day | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 pm (3 h before) | 55 mph | 55 mph | +0 mph |
| 5 pm (2 h before) | 56 mph | 57 mph | +1 mph |
| 6 pm (1 h before) | 62 mph | 62 mph | -1 mph |
| 7 pm (start) | 66 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 8 pm (1 h after) | 67 mph | 67 mph | 0 mph |
| 9 pm (2 h after) | 67 mph | 67 mph | 0 mph |
| 10 pm (3 h after) | 68 mph | 67 mph | -1 mph |
| 11 pm (4 h after) | 68 mph | 67 mph | -1 mph |
Game days barely change freeway speeds here; the surface streets and parking lots are where the wait is.
Freeway by freeway
| Freeway | Hour before the start | Worst hour after |
|---|---|---|
| SR-94 East at G St | +2 mph | -2 mph at 10 pm |
| I-5 South at Imperial Ave | +1 mph | -1 mph at 10 pm |
| I-5 North at Imperial Ave | 0 mph | -1 mph at 10 pm |
| SR-94 West at G St | -4 mph | 0 mph at 10 pm |
Difference from a normal weeknight, in mph.
Extra cars on the ramps
Cars per hour at the busiest time, game days vs normal days.
| Ramp | When | Normal | Game day |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-ramps to SR-94 East at G St | 10 pm (3 h after) | 425 | 676 (+251) |
Weekend evening games, hour by hour
Average speed on the freeways where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off, 200 games from 2010 to 2026, measured readings only. Most start at 5:40 pm (102 of 200), so the times below are for that start; each game is compared at its own start time.
| Time | Normal day | Game day | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 pm (3 h before) | 65 mph | 65 mph | 0 mph |
| 3 pm (2 h before) | 65 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 4 pm (1 h before) | 66 mph | 64 mph | -2 mph |
| 5 pm (start) | 66 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 6 pm (1 h after) | 66 mph | 66 mph | +0 mph |
| 7 pm (2 h after) | 66 mph | 66 mph | 0 mph |
| 8 pm (3 h after) | 66 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 9 pm (4 h after) | 68 mph | 67 mph | -1 mph |
Game days barely change freeway speeds here; the surface streets and parking lots are where the wait is.
Freeway by freeway
| Freeway | Hour before the start | Worst hour after |
|---|---|---|
| SR-94 East at G St | 0 mph | -1 mph at 9 pm |
| I-5 South at Imperial Ave | -3 mph | -1 mph at 9 pm |
| I-5 North at Imperial Ave | -1 mph | -1 mph at 8 pm |
| SR-94 West at G St | -3 mph | 0 mph at 8 pm |
Difference from a normal weekend evening, in mph.
Extra cars on the ramps
Cars per hour at the busiest time, game days vs normal days.
| Ramp | When | Normal | Game day |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-ramps to SR-94 East at G St | 8 pm (3 h after) | 528 | 742 (+214) |
Weekend afternoon games, hour by hour
Average speed on the freeways where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off, 195 games from 2010 to 2026, measured readings only. Most start at 1:10 pm (125 of 195), so the times below are for that start; each game is compared at its own start time.
| Time | Normal day | Game day | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 am (3 h before) | 67 mph | 66 mph | 0 mph |
| 11 am (2 h before) | 66 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 12 pm (1 h before) | 65 mph | 64 mph | -1 mph |
| 1 pm (start) | 65 mph | 65 mph | 0 mph |
| 2 pm (1 h after) | 65 mph | 65 mph | 0 mph |
| 3 pm (2 h after) | 65 mph | 65 mph | 0 mph |
| 4 pm (3 h after) | 66 mph | 65 mph | -1 mph |
| 5 pm (4 h after) | 66 mph | 65 mph | 0 mph |
Game days barely change freeway speeds here; the surface streets and parking lots are where the wait is.
Freeway by freeway
| Freeway | Hour before the start | Worst hour after |
|---|---|---|
| SR-94 East at G St | 0 mph | -1 mph at 4 pm |
| I-5 North at Imperial Ave | -1 mph | -1 mph at 4 pm |
| I-5 South at Imperial Ave | -2 mph | -1 mph at 4 pm |
| SR-94 West at G St | -2 mph | 0 mph at 3 pm |
Difference from a normal weekend afternoon, in mph.
Extra cars on the ramps
Cars per hour at the busiest time, game days vs normal days.
| Ramp | When | Normal | Game day |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-ramps to SR-94 East at G St | 4 pm (3 h after) | 590 | 838 (+248) |
How this is measured
Road sensors report how fast traffic is moving and how many cars pass. We use the ones where Petco Park's traffic gets on and off the freeways (SR-94 at G St, I-5 at Imperial Ave) and the ramps there: averaging every freeway for miles around would hide a jam at the stadium exit under traffic that never goes near it. For each past home game we compare them, hour by hour, with the same weekday one to four weeks before and after when there was no game, leaving out holidays. Game times come from the teams' published schedules. Road sensors: Caltrans PeMS. Concerts and other events aren't included yet.
Only readings a working detector actually measured are used. Many Caltrans detectors are broken (how the sensors have declined), and PeMS fills them in with estimates that can't know a game is on, so this page leans on the years when more of them worked. Each sensor is compared only with itself, and a game is left out when too few were measured.