Costa Mesa Freeway Car-Poolers Must Plan Ahead to Exit at 17th

Dear Street Smart:

I have two questions about the car-pool lane on the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway. When will the potholes between MacArthur and Warner be repaired? They have been there since last rainy season.

Second, there used to be a car-pool exit for 17th Street. Are there any plans to stripe it and add it back?

Diane Lissner Santa Ana Car-pool lanes on both sides of the Costa Mesa Freeway in the area between MacArthur Boulevard and Warner Avenue are slated for a long-term rehabilitation project, said Rose Orem, a Caltrans spokeswoman. On Dec. 5, as a quick fix, potholes were patched through that segment northbound and southbound. The larger project will begin next year as funds become available, she said.

To answer your second question, the car-pool lane on northbound Costa Mesa Freeway at 4th Street used to open to let traffic leave the car-pool lane, merge into the regular lanes and have enough room to exit at 17th Street. But reconfiguring this area was necessary to accommodate construction of the Santa Ana Freeway connectors, Orem said.

When the connectors are finished in mid-1995, they should provide car-poolers with a smoother transition from the Santa Ana Freeway to the Costa Mesa Freeway, according to Caltrans.

Now, to access the 17th Street exit, car-poolers need to get out of the car-pool lane at the Santa Ana Freeway / Costa Mesa Freeway interchange and enter the regular flow of traffic, Orem said.

Dear Street Smart:

I have been in many traffic jams on Interstate 5 from San Clemente to the El Toro “Y.” When there is an accident and traffic is barely moving, why do they leave the on-ramps open to add to the congestion?

In November, there was a three-car accident on northbound Interstate 5 at the La Paz exit. The traffic jam started at the Avery Parkway exit and was literally stopped. All of the on-ramps remained open with cars pouring onto the freeway, trapped!

Why can’t the “powers that be” either close the on-ramps or at least warn the drivers of the traffic jam so they can take alternate routes?

Margaret C. Bucher San Clemente The California Highway Patrol typically closes on-ramps only when there is police activity, an investigation, a chemical spill or an emergency in which all lanes are closed, said Officer Rick Soto of the CHP in San Juan Capistrano.

Caltrans does use changeable message signs to alert drivers to upcoming freeway conditions, Orem said. The problem with closing an on-ramp, and the reason it’s not standard practice, she said, is that traffic could start to back up onto city streets.

One way to avoid frustration is to tune to any of a number of radio traffic reports before entering the freeway, she said. Most radio stations broadcast traffic information on freeway congestion via the Caltrans Traffic Management Center’s bulletin board listing all SigAlerts in effect. News radio station KFWB-AM also provides up-to-the-minute traffic information.

Dear Street Smart:

I live in Costa Mesa at the end of the Costa Mesa Freeway and I feel that I am being punished when I try to get on the darn thing. When the extended freeway opened, everything was fine. Now when I try to make a right turn from 19th Street to northbound Newport Boulevard, I must wait for a green light (there is no turn on red).

These signs were put up recently and the right-turn lane backs up constantly. When it does turn green, it doesn’t stay green long enough to accommodate more than three or four vehicles.

Many people are turning down residential streets or cutting through a gas station on the corner to avoid waiting for two signal changes. We don’t even get a green arrow when the Newport traffic is turning left onto 19th Street.

Please ask Caltrans if they have plans to alleviate this situation or if they will continue to punish us for using 19th Street to get on the freeway. After all, they built it and they knew we would come.

Perhaps they could restrict the right turn prohibition to certain peak hours and at least let us turn right when there is no cross traffic.

Howard T. Hoffman Costa Mesa Caltrans won’t consider changing the “no right turn on red” at 19th Street and Newport Boulevard, Orem said. The sign was installed to avoid conflict between east and westbound 19th Street drivers turning onto northbound Newport Boulevard, she said.

Eastbound 19th Street traffic has three left-turn lanes that flow into the three lanes of northbound Newport Boulevard. It would not be safe for westbound 19th Street motorists to turn right onto Newport Boulevard at the same time, she said.

Extending the green time for westbound 19th Street right-turners also is not going to happen. Orem said Newport Boulevard has more traffic than 19th Street and needs a longer green light.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to Caroline Lemke, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.