Traffic-Signal Changers on Every Fire Engine Proposed

Dear Street Smart:

On many occasions, emergency vehicles leaving the Orange County Fire Station on Beverly Manor Drive in Seal Beach must come to a full stop when trying to cross nearby Seal Beach Boulevard. The vehicles must blow air horns and run their sirens until motorists clear out of the intersection. Late at night, this is not appreciated by the sleeping residents of Leisure World.

The station should have a remote signal control so that cross-traffic will be stopped by a red light by the time the emergency vehicles arrive at the intersection.

Robert S. Anthony, Seal Beach

Some cities have devices mounted on their firetrucks that do exactly what you suggest. These remote signal-changers transmit light or radio waves to receivers mounted on traffic lights. When a truck is coming, the receiver gets the signal and changes a red light to a green light.

Only five cities in Orange County have these type of devices right now: Stanton, Buena Park, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Clemente. All use receivers at key intersections that are triggered by strobe lights. Not any strobe light will work, only those flashing in a particular frequency.

It costs about $4,000 to $5,000 to equip an intersection with receivers, according to Ron Garrett, a traffic engineering technician with Newport Beach. Garrett said his city’s firefighters love the devices because they help them move through the city quickly.

More cities may be getting signal changing devices in the future. In November, the Orange County Fire Chiefs’ Assn. will discuss expanding the use of the devices throughout Orange County, according to Bob Hennessey, assistant chief with the Orange County Fire Department’s prevention bureau.

It is hoped that a regional plan can be developed that would pinpoint locations for receivers, ensure that all departments use the same technology and set up a timeline for the project. Funding might come from local or federal transportation programs, Hennessey said.

Meanwhile, what about the signal near your home? Unfortunately, you’ll have to endure the noise until a plan can be put together. “The transmitters are very expensive,” Hennessey said. “To do it for just one signal would be very prohibitive.”

On the bright side, your intersection will have a high priority to be equipped with devices once a plan is put into action, Hennessey said.

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Dear Street Smart:

There is no barrier or guardrail along the right side of the southbound Orange Freeway near the Orangethorpe Avenue off-ramp. What if a car or truck loses control or an accident forces a car off the roadway? There’s the chance a vehicle could fall onto the surface street below.

Also, there is no effective center divider along the Riverside Freeway between the Orange Freeway and Glassell Street. There are only metal posts that used to hold together a wire fence. Why can’t Caltrans put some of those portable concrete barriers down the middle? Is Caltrans waiting for an accident to happen first? Doesn’t Caltrans care about safety?

Karl Pagel, Anaheim

Caltrans checked out that area near Orangethorpe and agreed with you that it could use a guardrail. Funds for the 1992-93 fiscal year are already earmarked for projects, so it will be submitted as a project for the 1993-94 fiscal year.

As for your center divider question, those metal posts are called a “cable” barrier. They have small, steel cables running between them, and Caltrans said this type of divider works as an effective barrier. However, the cable barrier will be upgraded to concrete barriers as part of the car-pool lane project along the Riverside Freeway. The project will begin in April, 1993, and will last for two years, according to Caltrans.

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Dear Street Smart:

The traffic signal on Imperial Highway immediately west of Harbor Boulevard apparently serves no purpose other than to stop traffic on Imperial so that cars can leave a Target store on the street, but it continues to stop traffic long after store hours have ended. This is not only an annoyance--it also contributes to air pollution from unnecessary idling. Can anything be done to switch this signal to an “after-hours” mode?

James Weiner, La Habra

Caltrans said it was previously alerted to that signal’s troubles and found that the detector in the pavement was broken, causing it to malfunction as you described. Caltrans plans to have the signal repaired by the end of the month.