Steps for Altering Traffic Patterns OKd

A plan that establishes the steps residents must follow to have traffic patterns altered in their neighborhoods--through the use of traffic diverters, right-turn-only lanes and the like-- has been approved by the City Council.

The council revised the plan after some residents complained the city made changes--at the request of some neighbors--without notifying the whole neighborhood. That issue was addressed in the revised plan, passed by the City Council Tuesday, by elaborating on the notification process.

About a half-dozen residents addressed the council. Many predicted problems, such as how to establish which residents would be affected by proposed changes.

One resident pointed out that people sometimes don’t even agree a problem exists.

“We have people who think that one car going by that they’ve never seen before is a disaster,” resident Stan Long told the council. “Other people . . . don’t get upset until it takes them 40 minutes to get out of their driveway.”

The council approved the plan in a 5-2 vote and said it will deal with any further problems as they arise. Council members Ted R. Moreno and Tony Espinoza opposed the plan because they said some of the language was vague.