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# Drivers have had their fill of gas prices
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/drivers-have-had-their-fill-of-gas-prices/
- Published: 2007-04-11T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:06:50.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: local, Downtown, #archive-import

*Fuel costs expected to decrease during summer driving season*

CITYWIDE With her hand on the nozzle, Angela Small could barely watch as the price on the gas pump flitted upwards and the gallon indicator slowed to a crawl.

The daily commute from Santa Monica to Downtown LA in her minivan is burning a hole in Small’s wallet.

“It keeps going up and down,” Small said of gas prices, while filling her tank at the Arco station at the corner of Cloverfield Boulevard and Michigan Avenue. “It’s ridiculous.”

Between driving back and forth for her job in Los Angeles to picking up and dropping off her four children at daycare, Small estimates that she fills up the tank at least twice a week.

“I think it will hit the $4 mark,” Small said of gas prices. “I think Iraq has a lot to do with gas prices going up.”

The national average for regular unleaded gas was $2.792 as of Tuesday, up from $2.537 one month ago. In California, the gas situation is even more dismal, with the average price for regular unleaded in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area standing at $3.262 on Tuesday, up from $3.001 one month before, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Santa Monica is no exception, with gas prices citywide lingering in the low to mid $3 range. The Arco gas station at the corner of Cloverfield Boulevard and Michigan Avenue offers one of the lowest prices in the city at $3.17 a gallon for regular unleaded. Other cheaper gas stations include the 76 at 2120 Lincoln Blvd., where drivers can fill up for about $3.18 a gallon, and the Chevron at 1732 Lincoln Blvd., for $3.19 a gallon.

Some of the most expensive gas prices are found in Downtown Santa Monica. The Chevron at 432 Wilshire Boulevard charged $3.35 a gallon for regular unleaded on Tuesday and the Mobil on Santa Monica and Lincoln boulevards was serving it up for $3.49 a gallon.

Filling up his Honda Accord on Tuesday at the Mobil station on Santa Monica and Lincoln boulevards, Belizario Santiz said he is considering riding his bike to his job as a food server in Malibu to cut back on gas expenses.

The Santa Monica resident said he stops for gas every three days to fill up for his commute.

Whether it’s because of the war in Iraq or problems in the country’s refineries, gas prices across the U.S. have skyrocketed in the past few months, causing consumers nationwide to groan and bicyclists to thank their lucky stars that they don’t have to deal with the expenses of owning a car.

The cause is a combination of increased demand for gas, coupled with tight supplies and problems in refineries in Bakersfield and in the Texas panhandle, said Carol Thorp, spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

“Demand for gasoline in general in California is up and nobody knows for sure why,” Thorp said. “Some of it could be more people coming into the state and more people are driving. It could be more people buying houses further and further out (of the cities).”

In California, about 66 percent of gasoline comes from within the state or from Alaska. Approximately 33 percent comes from overseas, with the largest suppliers being Venezuela and Nigeria. Contrary to common belief, California is not as impacted by events in the Middle East as other states.

National average gas prices are projected to peak at $2.87 a gallon in May, with gas prices expected to average about $2.81 for the summer, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, the statistical agency for the Department of Energy.

The gas prices have forced consumers to cut back on expenses and become creative with their finances.

A woman who was filling up at the Arco station on Cloverfield and Michigan works as a messenger by trade and, as a result, spends about $50 a day to fill up her van.

“It’s getting to the point where I might not be able to afford food,” said the woman, who asked not be identified.

Though gas prices are a pain in the neck for many, it has not hurt everyone financially.

Brentwood resident Mario Valente was among the many drivers who filled up his tank at the Arco station on Cloverfield, taking advantage of the cheap gas price. He fills up at Arco stations whenever he can because of its reputation for selling gas at less expensive prices. “(Gas prices) hasn’t impacted me,” Valente said.“But I feel sorry for people who are forced to commute.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 11, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)