New Ramp Slows Some but Eases Commute for Many

Dear Street Smart:

Recently, Caltrans completed road improvements by which a new off-ramp was designed and constructed from MacArthur Boulevard (northbound) to University Drive. The new “T-style” intersection forces cars to slow or stop before turning right onto University, thus backing up traffic. It seems a shame that a right-turn merge lane was not added, as there would appear to be abundant space.

George J. Jeffries

Newport Beach

As you’ll recall, cars used to be able to drive down that ramp and merge onto eastbound University without stopping. No doubt, you and others miss that convenience, which the new ramp lacks.

The wide merge was eliminated so that the ramp could handle more traffic. Now, cars can go from MacArthur to westbound University and from University to northbound MacArthur. Previously, only cars coming off MacArthur to eastbound University could use it.

There wasn’t enough room to retain the merge feature and add a new lane, although it may look like there is, according to Tom Mazzola, a principal project engineer with the city of Irvine.

To expand the ramp, workers would have had to cut into a bluff, which would have meant design changes, higher construction costs and the need to purchase right of way from the property owner, UCI.

While the new ramp slows down some people, drivers trying to go northbound on MacArthur from University probably love the new ramp. No longer must they use an old ramp that required them to wait to make a left turn, which makes things much easier for the commuters taking MacArthur the short distance to the Corona del Mar Freeway--and the San Diego or Costa Mesa freeways after that.

Dear Street Smart:

Recently, I was driving my 2-year-old over to the sitter’s. I pulled into the intersection at Canyon View Avenue and Newport Boulevard in Orange as the light turned green. A driver came through the intersection from my right, apparently trying to make a very late yellow light, and nearly hit us.

I’ve been observing the light changes at this intersection. There appears to be no lag time between red and green light changes. It was my understanding that about three seconds lag time is normally present for safety between light changes. How can this situation be rectified?

Paula Cook

Orange

That intersection does have an “all-red” period between light changes, according to Dennis Schmitz, an Orange traffic operations engineer. After Canyon View traffic gets a red light, there is a one-second pause before the left-turn arrows on Newport Avenue turn green. This is to give cars turning left from Canyon View onto Newport Avenue a chance to complete their turn.

However, there is no pause once Newport Avenue through traffic gets a red light; Canyon View’s signals immediately go green, Schmitz said. There is no need for an all red because cars on Canyon View are at a standstill before the change, giving drivers plenty of time to ensure that Newport Avenue traffic has actually stopped, Schmitz explained.

Still, for safety reasons, why not put in a lag period? Two reasons against--it takes time away from the general traffic flow, and drivers begin to use all-red periods as an extension of the yellow light, Schmitz said.

First the traffic delay. Traffic engineers allocate so much time to light changes. The yellow lights last four seconds. Add another second of all-red time, and you’ve stopped traffic for a healthy chunk of time.

Then there’s the all-red abuse syndrome that Schmitz says occurs.

“Believe it or not, but when you start putting a lot of all-reds, people learn that they have that, and they run it all the more. You try not to use it as a crutch,” Schmitz said.

That’s not to say an all-red period won’t be added, however. Schmitz would like you to give him a call. Although he’s not aware of any accidents occurring at that intersection, he would like more specifics about where you were and what you have observed, so that he can check it out further. If warranted, a lag-period could be added.

By the way, an “all-red” period between light changes generally lasts one-half second to 1 1/2 seconds. In Orange, one second is about the norm, but two seconds will be used if an intersection is extra wide, to give cars, bicyclists and pedestrians more time to clear the way, Schmitz said.