Minor Street Signals Should Go With Flow

Dear Traffic Talk:

The city is increasingly installing traffic lights at minor intersections. Many of them are supplied upon request from citizens.

But the lights are set on regular cycles rather than to respond to traffic and pedestrian demand. This not only impedes traffic, it also increases air pollution.

How can we get the city to reset the signals so they respond only to need?

John Kroll, Sherman Oaks

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Dear John:

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation ordinarily does not set lights serving minor streets on regular cycles, according to authorities.

People who notice such a site working on a cycle rather than responding to demand are encouraged to call the agency at (213) 580-1177. An engineer will inspect the intersection.

The majority of new lights around the city, indeed, are being installed at points where minor streets intersect major streets, said Brian Gallagher of the department’s traffic lights division. The locations are usually spots where traffic on the major streets is too heavy and continuous to allow vehicles on the small streets to enter the flow.

But such intersections feature vehicle and pedestrian detectors designed to service the minor streets. This helps minimize interruptions to traffic on the major streets.

The detectors should react only when there is demand on the minor street, Gallagher said.

Residents should call the agency only when a light at a small street appears to repeatedly get a green signal when there are no cars or pedestrians waiting.

If detectors are found to require repair at an intersection, the minor street will usually be set on a 10-second green per cycle until the detectors are repaired or replaced, Gallagher said.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

After the Northridge earthquake, Caltrans fixed the connector road from the northbound San Diego Freeway to the westbound Ronald Reagan Freeway. But recently, I have noticed that the sections of the junction are not level with each other anymore.

Metal edges at the ends separate the sections. Because one section is higher than the other, when motorists’ tires hit the gap, they feel a thump.

It’s slowly getting worse.

Caltrans should check into it, because, at best, vehicles will be damaged. At worst, the structure might collapse.

Ray Santos, North Hills

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Dear Ray:

Caltrans engineers have determined that some settling is occurring beneath the structure causing movement of the sections. And although the structure is uneven, the engineers say it is sound, said Pat Reid, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Repaving over the connection is not an option because the problem involves the structure itself.

The only solution is expensive structural repairs that the agency would like to perform but which are not planned because there are no funds available, Reid said.

She said other freeway locations around Southern California are in need of more urgent repair and are of higher priority for Caltrans.

Engineers will monitor the junction and the connector road itself for safety, according to the agency.