RIVERSIDE – Explosive growth in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is keeping mapmakers busy with the addition of more than 2,700 new streets in recent years.
Twenty-seven inland communities have grown at a double-digit pace during the past five years, with Murrieta nearly doubling its population during that period, state Department of Finance figures show.
"We are putting in more time in making maps for the two counties," Rand McNally Vice President Nancy Yoho said. Rand McNally, publishers of Thomas Bros. map books, has added an average of 2,000 streets per year in Riverside County and up to 800 per year in San Bernardino County, Yoho said.
It can be a struggle for homeowners trying to get pizza deliveries or emergency services.
"That's been a major hassle. You definitely can't order out unless they are calling you every two or three blocks for directions. Even the gas man got lost," said Orangecrest homeowner Mark Kepler.
Neighbor Charles Monroe called police recently to report a swarm of bees in his backyard and a county crew dispatched to take care of the pests had trouble finding the new house.
"I had to talk them in," said Monroe, 52, describing how the crew trying to locate the home called him by cellular telephone for help.
Police, fire and ambulance services are continually updating their maps.
"I normally have the (new) map pages in the books before they break ground," said Art Bishop of the Apple Valley Fire Protection District in San Bernardino County.
The American Medical Response ambulance company has its own computer-aided dispatch system that is regularly updated by Thomas Guide maps, said Bruce Barton, the company's Riverside County operations director.
