Growth Can Trip Up Signal Coordination

Dear Traffic Talk:

Several years ago there were promises made that all traffic signals in the San Fernando Valley would be coordinated.

By use of sophisticated computer technology one could drive at a certain set speed and face only green lights.

I have traveled most of the streets in the Valley, and except for Ventura Boulevard eastbound prior to 9 a.m., I have yet to experience a sequence of green lights.

I drive from one red light to the next red light.

Stan Lopata

Encino

Dear Stan:

In the last six years, the lights of many San Fernando Valley streets have been coordinated to allow driving with minimal interruptions--under the right traffic conditions, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

Between 1990 and 1992, 750 signals were coordinated, said Farhad Zaltash, an engineer with the city’s transportation department.

That work was done with federal funding for a program partially aimed at reducing fuel consumption.

Since then, the city has added those and other streets to their own timing program called the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control System. ATSAC is a central computer-based system that constantly monitors traffic, adapts to real time traffic conditions and changes signal timing to minimize delays and stops.

Examples of some of the streets that currently benefit from this system include Barham and Reseda boulevards, and Woodman, Coldwater Canyon and Laurel Canyon avenues.

The department is also fine-tuning the system along Sepulveda Boulevard between Burbank Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway ramps and on Burbank Boulevard between the Hollywood Freeway and Sepulveda.

Coordinated timing ordinarily allows motorists to drive with fewer stops, Zaltash said. However, increased traffic, demand for left turns and an increasing number of lights have made the Valley’s once relatively simple traffic patterns more complex, making it nearly impossible to drive without delays, he said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

My husband and I have inherited a house in the Walnut Acres area of Woodland Hills.

We are considering a major remodel of this 1948 tract house, as it is our first opportunity to own a home.

Because we both love peace and quiet, however, we are concerned about the freeway noise that permeates this otherwise beautiful neighborhood.

Does Caltrans have any plans to erect a sound wall east of Valley Circle Drive for neighborhoods north of the Ventura Freeway?

Janet Hall

Woodland Hills

Dear Janet:

Caltrans engineers reviewed the location of your house and have determined your neighborhood is not a candidate for a sound wall.

The house is approximately 800 feet away from the freeway and is not considered a “front receptor”--a residence immediately adjacent to the freeway, said Pat Reid, a spokeswoman for the agency.

The front receptors in your area consist of commercial structures that don’t qualify for sound wall projects, according to state and federal noise pollution guidelines.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers may submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your name, address and phone number. 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