Getting Serious About Gridlock : Cities Posting Signs Warning of $500 Fine

“If the damn county had worked on the roads years ago, this wouldn’t be happening. It takes three lights to get through here sometimes.”

--Driver of a low-slung sports car that sped off when the light changed at Fairview Road and the San Diego Freeway.

County and city officials are escalating their war against gridlock with a sweeping program to post signs at 260 heavily traveled intersections, warning drivers that they can be fined up to $500 for blocking the road.

Taking advantage of a state law that made it illegal to block crossing traffic in an intersection, the Orange County Transportation Commission has issued 700 warning signs that city and county officials will soon place at their most troublesome intersections, said Ed Mountford, special events coordinator.

“We’re hoping the increased posting”--fewer than 50 signs are currently in place--”will increase awareness of the law,” he said. “The idea is to catch the driver’s attention by putting the large (fine) amount on the sign.”

Under the Anti-Gridlock Act of 1987, which went into effect Jan. 1, 1988, cities can impose a stiffer fine in high-traffic areas when the warning signs are posted.

“Prior to 1988 the law only allowed for parking violation,” said Mark Goodman, executive assistant to commission chairman and county Supervisor Thomas F. Riley. “This law makes it a moving violation if the intersection is posted.” Goodman said violators may now be charged as much as $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second, and $500 for any subsequent violation.

The signs, which read “Do Not Block Intersection” and “Fine up to $500,” cost the commission $13,058 but were made available free to participants in the commission’s anti-gridlock program. The cities must pay the cost of installing the signs.

Maintenance crews in several cities will begin placing the signs immediately, but it may be June before all are posted, officials said.

Several cities have already posted “Do Not Block” signs at troublesome intersections. In Santa Ana, for example, officials say the signs have been especially effective.

“I think (the signs) have been very helpful,” said Sgt. Dick Faust of the Santa Ana Police Department. “The gridlock law has worked very well, and I think we get about 90% compliance.”

Faust said that enforcement has made drivers aware of the law and that gridlock has decreased at some of the city’s major intersections since the city put up its signs just months after the law went into effect.

To save money in cities that already have “Do Not Block” signs, the $500-fine signs will be placed underneath existing ones, officials said.

Among the cities participating in the program, Santa Ana will lead with 50 signs. The city already has about 30 signs posted at its busier intersections, said Ruth Smith, associate traffic engineer. The $500-fine signs will be added to these, and both signs will be placed at 20 new intersections, she said.

“We have a problem where people don’t observe the state law,” she said. “The signs are there to remind them that (blocking the intersection) is against the law.”

In Santa Ana, signs will be posted at several intersections on targeted thoroughfares such as Grand Avenue and 17th Street.

In Orange, 43 signs will be placed along streets that include Chapman Avenue, Glassell Street and Tustin Street. At least 16 intersections along Chapman will bear signs, including the intersection of Chapman and the City Drive.

In Costa Mesa, signs will be placed at 13 intersections along Harbor Boulevard, with others along Bristol Street and Sunflower Avenue. Several of Costa Mesa’s 39 signs will be placed near freeway ramps, office plazas and shopping centers.

“I think it’s great,” said Sara Gomez of Laguna Beach, who was interviewed as she waited in heavy rush-hour traffic near the Costa Mesa intersection of Fairview Road and the San Diego Freeway. “The cops should be around here more often. People purposely run yellow lights and block the intersections.”

A driver at the intersection of Anton Boulevard and Bristol Street, however, had a different opinion.

“It’s a bad idea,” said motorist Kurt Leininger, “Drivers are being penalized for traffic planners’ mistakes,” he said. “The solution is to rethink the traffic patterns. When you have one road leading into South Coast Plaza and all these office buildings, this is our problem?”

While no statistics were available from cities that currently have warning signs, law enforcement officials said the number of gridlock citations issued varies from intersection to intersection.

But authorities say the signs will make it easier to enforce the law--though blocking an intersection is a violation regardless of whether a sign is posted or not--because motorists will be made aware of their responsibilities.

“You’ve got the responsibility now as a driver to make sure the intersection is clear before you get in it,” said Lt. Jim Winder, traffic supervisor for Brea and Yorba Linda. “That’s what courteous drivers have been doing for years.”

Winder said both cities have a problem with gridlock during rush hour because some motorists think that it’s fine to enter an intersection when the light is green even if it means getting trapped there when the light changes. But with the new legislation, he said, “We can make traffic flow more smoothly.”

Staff writer Marcida Dodson contributed to this report.