Population Shift

California keeps booming, of course, and the focus often is on the growth of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. But look where the population has been going most recently. According to the state Department of Finance, the three fastest-growing cities in California during 1988--those of 50,000 population and more--were in Riverside and San Bernardino counties: Corona, up nearly 17% to 61,000; Fontana, up 11.6% to 78,000 and Moreno Valley, up 11.5% to 101,300. Riverside County went over the 1-million mark at the end of last year.

No. 4, Lancaster, is in Los Angeles County, but on the Mojave Desert in the far northern section of the county. No. 5 was Vista in San Diego County, and No. 6, Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County.

An exodus of sorts from Orange County, partly in search of more reasonable housing prices, contributed to the rush to Riverside County. One recent survey showed that of 200 new homes bought in Riverside, 25% went to Orange County residents. The California Assn. of Realtors reported recently that the median home price in the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino was $119,884 compared with $238,807 in Orange County. The Los Angeles median price was $210,029.

Many of the new Riverside County residents have maintained their jobs in Orange County. The result has been an escalation of traffic congestion on the Riverside Freeway, the only direct link between the mushrooming Riverside County communities and the major job centers in Orange County. Commuting from the Riverside and San Bernardino areas into Los Angeles also is increasing dramatically.

The solution is not necessarily planning for the future because this population explosion already is fully in bloom. State highway officials and other transportation planners are being forced to play a catchup game on a playing field that always keeps moving.