Just Wait for Light to Change

Dear Traffic Talk:

I leave from my workplace at 10 p.m. to enter the eastbound on-ramp of the Ventura Freeway at De Soto Avenue. I rarely hit the green light at the left-turn lane. Because of this, I usually have to wait two minutes or so. Most of the time, traffic is very light in all other directions while the left-turn lane fills up with vehicles.

Can someone adjust the light so that our wait is shorter during this light traffic hour?

Thanks.

Katie Adamson

Encino

Dear Katie:

As it stands, most of the traffic signals along major arterial streets in the city of Los Angeles, such as De Soto Avenue, are synchronized 24 hours a day, said Brian Gallagher, a transportation engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. At this particular intersection, the maximum waiting time is 84 seconds, he said.

A study by LADOT and UC Berkeley has identified the conflict between synchronized signals along major streets and minimizing waiting time. The results of the study, titled “Control Strategies for Signalized Intersections in Coordinated Systems,” enables engineers to identify when the signals should be synchronized and when it’s better to abandon synchronization and optimize the signal timing at each intersection separately, Gallagher said.

Based on the results of the study, LADOT is in the midst of implementing “late night” signal timing strategies along selected streets. However, a citywide implementation of this program is considered a low priority at this point as LADOT is concentrating its efforts on addressing peak-hour problems, Gallagher said.

In any event, most of the time, the benefits of coordinating the signals for the through traffic usually outweigh the inconvenience to drivers waiting for the left-turn arrow, he added.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

I am aware that carpool lanes should be entered or exited only at places where they are separated from the other traffic lanes by a broken white line and not across the continuous double yellow lines.

However, I recently saw a police car with flashing red lights using the carpool lane and it raised a few questions.

While in the carpool lane, how do I yield to official vehicles using flashing red lights and / or sirens?

Should I cross the double yellow line to yield, or should I wait until the broken white line?

Bill Newbold

Chatsworth

Dear Bill:

Anne Richards, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, referred to the situation of yielding to a patrol vehicle as a “common sense-type question.”

When it is safe to do so, drivers in the carpool lane should merge to the right, even if it means crossing the double yellow line that divides the lanes, Richards said.

CHP Officer Bill Preciado put it this way: “When a patrol vehicle is in the carpool lane, even though you’re crossing the yellow dividers, you’re not breaking the law but assisting the responding unit by clearing the road for them.”

Richards also emphasized that when there’s an approaching vehicle with flashing red lights, you should always move to the right.

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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