Approach to John Wayne Leaves Driver Up in the Air

Dear Street Smart:

I have a question about the traffic patterns on the departure level at John Wayne Airport. Some time ago, plastic orange markers were positioned on the roadway directly in front of the passenger loading and unloading areas at both terminals A and B. At first, I thought this was a temporary measure intended to prepare us for some more permanent change. But the setup hasn’t changed in months, which is a problem because it is quite confusing.

Drivers coming up to the departure area have one goal in mind--to find the proper location and discharge their passengers--but clear and unambiguous visual guidance on how to actually get to the loading and unloading area is absent. If this truly is only temporary, how much longer can we expect to wait for things to return to normal?

Barbara Becker

Irvine

If normal means the way things were before, you have a very long wait, according to Pat Ware, an airport spokeswoman.

The markers were put up about six months ago at the suggestion of the Sheriff’s Department, Ware said. Their purpose was to improve the flow of traffic by directing faster through-traffic to the left, while cars traveling more slowly, usually to drop off passengers, veer to the right toward the drop-off areas.

Ware acknowledges that the markers can be confusing unless you know their purpose.

“Most people have found them of some help,” Ware said. “In our opinion, they especially help people who are familiar with the airport and know where they’re going.”

The airport is designing a permanent traffic control system consisting either of constructed barriers or pavement markings, Ware said. The new system is six months to a year away from being done.

In the meantime, she said, if you need help in finding your way around the airport, call (714) 252-5171 and “we’ll be happy to send you a map.”

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Dear Street Smart:

I’ve noticed that quite a number of sodium vapor lights seem to be malfunctioning on major thoroughfares in South County. For example, along a relatively small stretch of Moulton Parkway between Via Iglesia and Santa Maria Avenue, more than half a dozen appeared to be burned out. Who should be monitoring street lighting? Aren’t there automatic sensors that indicate when street lights have failed?

Lewis Polin

Laguna Hills

The short answer is no, according to Terry Kerr, a spokesman for Southern California Edison Co. There are no automatic sensors to indicate when and where bulbs have burned out. The company maintains a crew of about eight people to circulate throughout Orange County replacing bulbs whose seven- to eight-year lives have run their course. But the company also strongly urges its customers, which means virtually everybody, to report burned-out bulbs for quick replacement by the crew.

“We appreciate customer calls on failed street lights that are out in front of their houses or anywhere in their neighborhoods or cities,” Kerr said.

Edison will replace the failed lights on Moulton Parkway, Kerr said.

The number to report burned-out bulbs is (800) 655-4555.

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Dear Street Smart:

My question regards the exit from the southbound Santa Ana Freeway onto eastbound 4th Street in Santa Ana. There are two lanes that can turn left onto 4th Street. If both cars follow the turn lines marked on the street, the car in the left-most lane appears to be forced into a turn lane heading back onto the northbound freeway. Why?

Jim R. Williams

Irvine

The problem is in the Botts dots, according to a spokeswoman for Caltrans. Those little dots are supposed to guide drivers exiting the freeway into the two through-traffic lanes on the right-hand side. But a field inspection by a Caltrans engineer prompted by your letter revealed missing Botts dots at the end of the turn, which may be causing the confusion, according to spokeswoman Rose Orem.

Caltrans will replace the missing dots by the end of the month, Orem said.

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NOTED IN PASSING: The Lake Forest Drive onramp to northbound Interstate 5 is expected to close permanently Tuesday. The closure will allow construction crews to begin working on a new road system that eventually will let drivers bypass the infamous El Toro Y.

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 David Haldane, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, fax him at (714) 966-7711, or e-mail him David.Haldane@latimes.com. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.