Questions and Answers About Your Commute : Motorist Finds Tight Spot on Sayre Street

Dear Traffic Talk:

When the Sylmar Metrolink rail station opened, San Fernando Road was extended from Sayre Street to Hubbard Street. This made the one-block section on Sayre from San Fernando to Ralston Avenue a nightmare.

It’s too narrow for two cars to pass, cars are always parked on the street and children continually play in the street. This really turns that street into a parking lot.

I have called my city councilman, my state senator and the street department, to no avail. The street desperately needs to be widened, and if it can’t be, there should not be any parking allowed on the street. Please help. I’ve had enough.

Sandra K. Mantik

Sylmar

Dear Sandra:

Irwin Chodash, a city transportation engineer, said that he checked with the city Bureau of Engineering, and the bureau does not have any plans to widen Sayre. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the city would have the money to widen Sayre.

Chodash said he checked the situation last week and didn’t notice much of a problem there. However, if you still want to try to improve traffic flow, he suggests that you get two-thirds of the residents on that block to sign a petition requesting the removal of the parking spaces on the north side of Sayre.

For more information, call Chodash at (818) 756-8441. According to Chodash, you should think carefully about whether you want to do this, because he believes that parking is needed in that area.

Dear Traffic Talk:

The afternoon “quitting time” traffic southbound on De Soto Avenue often ends up blocking the intersection of De Soto and the westbound Ventura Freeway offramp because cars enter the intersection without knowing they can clear it. When this happens, it is impossible for cars exiting the offramp to turn left to go southbound on De Soto.

If any intersection needed a sign saying “Keep Clear,” this one does.

I also have another question. When southbound De Soto Avenue drivers approach Ventura Boulevard, they encounter the following: two left-turn lanes leading to the Ventura Freeway onramp, and to the right of these lanes, two additional left-turn lanes leading to Ventura Boulevard. (There are also a through lane and a right-turn lane.)

In the past, it was bumper-car city with inattentive or unaware drivers doing all kinds of last-second lane swerves to get to the needed lane. However, the situation has improved in recent months, and I was wondering whether the city had done this through better timing of the traffic signals along De Soto.

Mike Peck

Woodland Hills

Dear Mike:

City transportation engineer Ray Wellbaum said that there are already “Do Not Block Intersection” signs posted at the intersection of De Soto and the westbound freeway offramp. He also said he sent transportation inspectors to that intersection to check on the situation, during the afternoon rush hour, and they did not see the problem that you speak of.

Regarding your second question, yes, the city did resynchronize all of the signals on De Soto from Burbank Boulevard to Ventura Boulevard, which allowed the traffic to flow more smoothly through the intersection.

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