County leads in cars per capita

Sonoma County has more vehicles per capita than any of the nine Bay Area counties - nearly one for every man, woman and child living here.

The county's rural landscape with almost 1,400 miles of roads, lots of parking in its far-flung nine cities and a patchwork of public transportation are all factors in the reliance on cars.

"Public transportation is not really a viable option for people - it doesn't go to where they want to go, when they want to go," said Robert Cervero, chairman of the City and Regional Planning Department at UC Berkeley.

Sonoma County has more than twice as many road miles on average as any other Bay Area county, meaning residents have to cover more ground to get where they want, and need, to go.

"The geography of our county certainly comes into play," said Janet Spilman, deputy director of the Sonoma County Transportation Authority. "People live everywhere in the county - they live in concentrated areas and they live all over the countryside."

Sonoma County has .975 vehicles per person. In comparison, San Francisco County has the lowest per capital vehicle tally, while boasting an extensive bus, rapid transit and train system. There are nearly .6 vehicles per person in San Francisco County.

The figures include business vehicles, trailers and motorcycles - anything registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. When only those vehicles used exclusively for household use - cars, trucks and vans - are counted, Marin County tops the list. Sonoma County ranks second in that count.

What that means for Santa Rosa's Menjou family is that a car per person is not a luxury, but a necessity.

The Santa Rosa family of five - Roanne and Rich Menjou have three daughters - drives five cars. Each of the girls and Roanne has a car, and Rich drives a company car.

"Everybody is doing their own thing," he said.

His twin daughters, Megan and Jenna, both go to Santa Rosa Junior College and work at Safeway - but unlike when they shared a car in high school, their schedules are different and not conducive to one set of wheels.

The eldest daughter, Emily, attends Sonoma State University and works as a teller at Exchange Bank, further complicating carpool options, he said.

With college classes, work and home responsibilities, public transportation doesn't cut it, Rich Menjou said.

"I don't see transit getting close enough to home, especially in the winter," he said. "I don't think it would fly."

Most Sonoma County residents might have little choice but to use their car on a daily basis, said Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California.

"If you are living in Cotati and commuting to Marin County, you may not have the same kind of options as someone living in urban environments who often have more mass transit," he said.

Experts contend that the number of cars in a family, or community, is directly related to income. The higher the level of disposable income, the more cars you will see in neighborhood driveways.

But Sonoma County ranks eighth out of the nine Bay Area counties for median household income at $53,076. Only Napa County's numbers are lower: $51,739, and they rank second on the per capital vehicle count.

Santa Clara County tops the income chart with $74,335 per family, but ranks 7th in number of vehicles per capita.

That disparity could be accounted for by the inclusion of business vehicles, trailers and motorcycles - anything registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles - in the tally. The state Controller collects the annual vehicles numbers from the DMV for revenue allocations.

For Pasta King Art Ibleto, his fleet has transformed from a massive collection of antique vehicles to one dominated by catering vans.

He still owns a 1950 Lincoln, a 1961 Corvette and a 1973 Mercedes, among others, but most of the time he can be found behind the wheel of a delivery van.

"And we have a Toyota minivan because we have grandkids to haul around," he said.

Even advocates of alternative transportation say options are limited in Sonoma County.

"It's not the best place to live without a car," Chuck Purvis, principal transportation planner with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said of Sonoma County.

Still, the numbers are a disappointment to Christine Culver, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, and others with a bent toward a less auto-centric society.

Even in the face of obstacles, Sonoma County residents should and could cut back on their reliance on automobiles, she said. "I think people do need them, but they use them more than they need to. It's a mindset."

County | Population | Registered vehicles | Cars per person

Sonoma | 468,450 | 456,947 | .975

Napa | 132,339 | 128,515 | .971

San Mateo | 699,216 | 668,942 | .9567

Marin | 246,045 | 226,338 | .919

Solano | 412,970 | 354,776 | .859

COUNTIES WITH THE MOST CARS

Sonoma County is tops in the Bay Area for number of registered vehicles per capita. The total includes any vehicle registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, including trucks, trailers and cars used for business. Statewide, Sonoma County ranks 26th.

County | Population | Registered cars | Cars per person

Alpine | 1,190 | 2,139 | 1.797

Plumas | 21,359 | 33,968 | 1.59

Sierra | 3,490 | 5,420 | 1.55

Mariposa | 18,003 | 26,606 | 1.477

Calaveras | 45,939 | 67,553 | 1.47

Source: State Controller's Office, The Press Democrat