SEAL BEACH : Plan to Synchronize Traffic Signals OKd

Over the objections of one councilman, the City Council this week gave initial approval to a plan to synchronize traffic signals on Seal Beach Boulevard.

The seemingly routine item produced an unusually heated discussion among council members after Councilman Frank Laszlo expressed concern that the synchronized signals might force College Park East residents to wait longer at an intersection.

Laszlo said a similar synchronization program about eight years ago “screwed up” the signals at Seal Beach Boulevard and Lampson Avenue, which many College Park East residents use to get to and from the San Diego Freeway and central Seal Beach.

That synchronization effort reduced the allotted time that drivers had to turn from Lampson Avenue onto Seal Beach Boulevard, making them wait longer at the intersection, Laszlo said.

“Our residents look at this with a wary eye,” he said.

Laszlo said the city should retain the power to modify traffic-signal timing if residents complain.

“I want the city to have control. I don’t want to rely on some government agency,” he added.

But other city officials said that not taking part in the program might worsen Seal Beach traffic because the city’s signals would be out of sync with those of surrounding communities.

Councilman William J. Doane said there is a clear need for synchronization. On a recent drive along Seal Beach Boulevard, Doane said, he was forced to stop at eight traffic signals.

Doane, along with Mayor Gwen Forsythe and Councilman George Brown, voted to approve the plan. Laszlo voted against it, and Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings abstained.

Several other cities, including Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach, have taken part in a countywide synchronization program. The goal of the program is to improve the flow of traffic on major roads that traverse different cities.