Something Old, Something New in Cities’ Traffic Signals

Dear Street Smart:

I have been noticing that old traffic signals are being replaced with new traffic signals, such as at Fairview Street and Alton Avenue in Santa Ana or East Mesa Verde Drive and Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa, to name two.

The new signals seem to do the same job as the old signals, and I’m sure they cost a lot of money. I just want to know the reason they change over signals that are already there.

The new signals could go somewhere where one is needed.

Stephen Clark, Santa Ana

You may be surprised to know that in Santa Ana, much of the “old” signal equipment was incorporated into the new setup there. Meanwhile, in Costa Mesa, changes were made to improve safety and signal reliability.

At the Santa Ana intersection, the existing signals were upgraded so they would provide protected left turns from Fairview to Alton. But that does not mean that the old equipment was tossed away, according to Al Mesch, an associate traffic engineer with the city.

“You just don’t trash the whole intersection. There’s a lot of stuff that’s salvageable,” Mesch said.

New equipment installed included longer poles, so that signal heads for the left-turn lanes would hang in front of waiting vehicles, Mesch said. The traffic signal controller was also upgraded, he said. But much of the equipment--signal heads and wiring, for example--may have been incorporated into the new design.

The work was done to meet traffic demands, Mesch said. Several other signals soon will also receive the same sort of treatment, which can cost about $50,000, Mesch said. Upgrading is cheaper than installing a new signal from scratch, Mesch added.

In Costa Mesa, the intersection you mention was changed to help reduce accidents. But in this case, there was not much to salvage, since most of the equipment was 25 to 30 years old, according to Dave Sorge, an associate engineer with the city.

There had been problems with people hitting the signal poles in the street median, so the signals were relocated to overhead poles, Sorge said. Meanwhile, the aging, obsolete signaling equipment was scrapped, replaced by more reliable stuff.

In this case, you are right that the signals are performing the same job. But since they will break down less often and be knocked down less often, it certainly seems an improvement.

Dear Street Smart:

I frequently drive north on Irvine Center Drive. I find that there is no sign at the corner where it crosses Alton Parkway in Irvine, indicating that the Santa Ana Freeway is a short distance to the right. Can this be corrected?

Julia Herzberg, Laguna Hills

Irvine’s transportation department is looking into it, and it sounds hopeful--though that’s not a guarantee that a sign will appear.

“It would seem that it’s a reasonable request,” said Conrad Lapinski, the city’s traffic engineer.

If the city agrees with you, a new sign will appear in a couple of weeks, since it will have to be ordered. If nothing appears, the city has decided against the sign, Lapinski said.

In that case, you might try lobbying Caltrans, although the agency said it is up to Irvine to install a sign that is beyond the main freeway right of way. Or, the Orange County Transportation Authority might be able to help, since that agency was instrumental in getting over 100 freeway directional signs installed throughout the county.

Dear Street Smart:

Can you check out the traffic maze getting into and out of the new Price Club at Weir Canyon Road and the Riverside Freeway? The last time I was there, I attempted to take the freeway but could not find the freeway entrance and ended up right back at the Price Club. I must be missing something, but my husband had the same kind of experience.

Betty Barr, Orange

Yorba Linda’s traffic engineer, Jerry Crabill, admits that the ramps and underpasses may be unusual out there. The engineers were trying to avoid requiring new traffic signals, which would create congestion. However, Crabill said the existing signs should provide plenty of notice to drivers both coming and going to the center.

Crabill recommended taking another look around for the signs, which should be there. If that does not work, give the city a call. It could be that you have discovered something that has been overlooked by the planners.