Westminster to Curb Street House-Marking Murals

Dear Street Smart:

I was wondering why is it on Springdale (north of the San Diego Freeway) in Westminster, the curbside markings for house numbers have murals? Some of them have palm trees, fish, whales, etc. I was told only numbers can be painted, not palm trees and murals. What’s the story there?

Mario Luna

Anaheim

The curbside murals are illegal. Westminster municipal code requires curb markings to consist only of 3-inch block numbers in white paint over a black background. According to city engineer Marwan Youssef, the murals were probably put there by people who go door to door offering to paint curb markings for a fee. These painters are required to have permits issued by the Police Department, post $500 bonds with the city and represent nonprofit organizations. They are also supposed to follow the city’s codes regarding what they may paint.

Youssef said that his office would inspect the murals before deciding what to do. Residents observing curb painters breaking the law should report them to the city Public Works Department, he said.

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Dear Street Smart:

I have a question regarding this new law concerning school bus safety. The law states that if a school bus stops to pick up or let off children and its lights are flashing, all oncoming traffic is supposed to stop. Does this also include the traffic across the street if there is a median or double-double yellow lines, broken or otherwise?

C. Paul Schremp

Westminster

No, it doesn’t. The requirement to stop for a school bus displaying a flashing red light does not apply to traffic on the other side of a highway separated by a median or double-double line, according to Steve Kohler, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

But that’s no different from before, he says. The new law simply requires school buses to flash their red lights more often, whenever they load or unload passengers instead of just when a child is crossing the street.

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Commuters who hate getting stuck behind semi-trucks on local streets and freeways might find some help in a recent study by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

The Orange County Goods Movement Study traces commercial traffic patterns countywide including those of trucks, which the study says move the majority of goods in the county.

Among its findings:

* The largest number of trucks--an average of 19,529 a day--is on the Orange Freeway, between Yorba Linda Boulevard and Birch Street.

* The highest percentage of trucks is on the Santa Ana Freeway near Beach Boulevard, where they make up 10.6% of the traffic.

* The streets bearing the highest percentages of trucks are Valley View Boulevard north of La Palma in Buena Park (7.2%); Jamboree Road north of Tustin Ranch in Tustin (6.6%); and Orangethorpe Avenue west of Harbor in Fullerton (5.7%).

A word to wise should be sufficient here--plan your trips accordingly.

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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 Edition, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, send faxes to (714) 966-7711 or e-mail him at 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.