Whom to Flag When They Should Be Working on the Railroad

Dear Street Smart:

Please advise what the procedure is to register a complaint with Union Pacific Railroad to repair the track crossing on Dale Street between Malvern and Artesia avenues in Buena Park. The surface consists of wood and paving material and is so broken, bumpy and in bad shape that it is especially hard on tires and alignment. It would be so much better to have a grating-type crossing, such as the one on Western Avenue, which can’t get torn up by heavy trucks and long, hard use.

Virginia J. Hand

Fullerton

The railroad crossing in that location is owned by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. To report the problem, call (800) 333-2383. This is the railroad’s 24-hour number, which taps into the communications center in Topeka, Kan. Employees there will relay the information to local repair crews.

Dear Street Smart:

What purpose is served by those blank, green signs posted on Harbor and MacArthur boulevards in Santa Ana?

Margot Johnson

Irvine

Those are the “trailblazer” signs recently installed by the city of Santa Ana, and they won’t be blank for long. By February, city traffic engineers will be able to display electronic messages on the 42-by-84-inch signs to alert drivers to construction detours and alternate routes to the San Diego Freeway.

There are eight signs, two on Harbor and MacArthur boulevards, three on Fairview Street and MacArthur, and three on Bristol Street and MacArthur.

City traffic engineers will be able to broadcast messages via remote control from the traffic management center at Santa Ana City Hall, said Vinh Nguyen, associate transportation engineer for Santa Ana. The messages, in white lettering, will include arrows.

Dear Street Smart:

Several months ago, a metered on-ramp light became operable at the Avenida Pico entrance to the northbound side of the Interstate 5 freeway in San Clemente.

Unfortunately, one straight limit line keeps cars even with one another until the light changes.

Then it is out of the pits in high gear or get trampled. It’s whoever has the fastest car goes first, making a very dangerous beginning to each day.

Wouldn’t it be better and isn’t it possible to have a left side stop ahead of the right side, such as the Tustin Avenue on-ramp to the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway?

I dread each morning now, knowing that, regardless which lane I’m in or how long I’ve waited for the light change, the guy next to me is going to gun it and peel out, leaving me along the side of the road in his exhaust.

Karen Reisdorf

San Clemente

Caltrans traffic engineers believe that a staggered limit line doesn’t make a significant difference in helping drivers merge from two lanes to one, said Pam Gorniak, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

One of the benefits of this system is that it allows more cars to queue up than would a staggered line, said Rose Orem of Caltrans. But, generally, one driver is more aggressive and will proceed ahead of another, Orem said. It is best to yield to the driver who accelerates more, she said.

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The Orange County Transportation Authority buses will operate on a special holiday schedule today and next Monday, Jan. 2. Limited service will be provided on 21 routes.

For information on specific schedules or information on OCTA’s services during the holidays, call OCTA Customer Relations at (714) 636-RIDE.

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.