Resident Urges Sound Wall Along Freeway

Dear Traffic Talk,

I want to find out why a sound wall has not been built on the Hollywood Freeway going south at Lankershim and Barham boulevards.

That area is wide open and the noise is horrendous going up to the Hollywood Hills where I live. It has been for years.

Right across from my condominium, there is a clear strip without bushes, trees or buildings that allows the sound to come right through.

The noise often wakes me up at night and is driving me crazy.

Allan Kneip

Studio City

Dear Allan,

The buildings immediately adjacent to the Hollywood Freeway in your neighborhood are all commercial buildings.

As a matter of policy, Caltrans does not build sound walls for commercial areas, according to Pat Reid at Caltrans.

The department’s top priority is to build sound walls for residential areas, Reid said.

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Dear Traffic Talk,

I am surprised that I have seen no attention paid to the worst of all traffic hazards in the San Fernando Valley (and elsewhere).

That hazard stems from many motorists’ total disregard for red lights.

The stop implied by red seems to have become another communication barrier in our society!

I see at least one driver daily totally disregarding a red light when proceeding directly through the intersection.

Green has also lost its meaning. It is too dangerous to assume that a green light implies a right-of-way.

Instead, one must inch into an intersection, checking to the right and left with fingers crossed that some madman is not breaking the law again.

This morning I witnessed the same car run two consecutive red lights at 7 a.m. on busy Saticoy.

I would recommend a RED MEANS STOP campaign be undertaken by the Police Department.

Surely the extra effort spent at intersections for a month or two apprehending and heavily fining the offenders would more than balance the cost of lost lives, productivity and nerve for law-abiding residents.

Anne Harbison

West Hills

Dear Anne,

I shared your letter with Capt. Alan B. Kerstein of the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division, and he agreed with your sentiments.

Red-light violations, along with speeding and right-of-way mishaps, are the top three accident-causing driving violations, he said.

“No intersection is worse than any other,” Kerstein said. “The average red light is only 30 seconds long. Drivers should know that 30 seconds is not worth risking their lives over.”

Although Capt. Kerstein did not think a RED MEANS STOP campaign would be effective--”I’ve yet to meet the person who doesn’t already know that,” he said--he advised drivers to be patient yet defensive.

Incidentally, two months ago, the Valley Traffic Division reinstated a work policy for its ticketing officers: Now, their sole duty is writing tickets.

As a result, citations have increased 55%, and serious and fatal accidents have dropped 25% in the last 60 days, Kerstein said.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley. Please write to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to valley@latimes.com