Going Solo in Lane for Carpools

Dear Traffic Talk:

Under what conditions can a solo driver be allowed to use the carpool lane? A while back, I was caught in a Sig Alert on the northbound San Diego Freeway where traffic could only get through the carpool lane and the adjacent lane.

Could I have used the carpool lane in this situation?

Anita Hoogasian, Santa Clarita

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Dear Anita:

In your particular situation, in which there were only two lanes open, you may have used the carpool lane to get around the immediate problem, whether it were a collision or other obstacle, said Wendy Moore, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol.

However, once a single-passenger vehicle moves around the problem area on the freeway, that vehicle must immediately pull out of the carpool lane, Moore said.

She added that this is the only situation in which a single-passenger vehicle can use the carpool lane.

In the case in which only three lanes of a five- or six-lane freeway are open as a result of a Sig Alert, the carpool lane is to be used only by vehicles with two or more passengers, she said.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

As I drive around the city, I notice that there are many intersections where stop signs and other advisory signs are hidden from view by shrubbery and other types of foliage.

Whom should I contact to remove the offending greenery?

Joseph E. Ellis, Woodland Hills

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Dear Joseph:

You can contact the city of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Maintenance at (800) 996-CITY for assistance. The hotline is staffed between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but you may leave a message 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Messages are taken from the voicemail every two hours and put into the bureau’s computer system, which keeps track of all service requests, said Debbie DiPrimio, an executive secretary at the bureau.

The messages are then sent to the appropriate crews, who are dispatched to trim the excess foliage, DiPrimio said. She encourages citizens to notify the bureau on matters pertaining to shrubbery covering street signs. The bureau also handles potholes, she added.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

About six months ago, the Bureau of Street Maintenance started putting in wheelchair ramps and black asphalt topping on the section of Calvert Street, bordered by Wilbur and Tampa avenues, in Reseda.

This project, however, was discontinued at Vanalden Street, the easternmost section of Calvert Street. That section is currently without wheelchair ramps or black asphalt topping.

Why was the work discontinued?

Ed Kysar, Tarzana

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Dear Ed:

The Calvert Street Project, funded by the Inter-Model Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, was discontinued at Tampa Avenue on that section of Calvert Street due to a lack of funding, said Richard Evans, superintendent of the city’s West Valley Street Maintenance, which handles street repair work in areas west of the San Diego Freeway.

However, Evans said the addition of wheelchair ramps and street repaving on Calvert Street east of Tampa Avenue will be recommended for inclusion in a future resurfacing program.

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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, CA 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.