Signals Send Conflicting Message

Dear Traffic Talk:

The intersection of Hazeltine Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks is very confusing. When you have a green light on the northbound Hazeltine signal, you have a flashing red light exiting the Ralphs supermarket parking lot north of the intersection.

A flashing red light is the equivalent to a stop sign and should mean that people exiting the parking lot yield the right-of-way to those on Hazeltine. They don’t.

This light should either be changed to read green, instead of flashing red, or there should be a sign posted on the Ralphs side to indicate that vehicles have to yield the right-of-way to motorists on Hazeltine.

I haven’t seen any accidents at that intersection, but I’ve seen people on Hazeltine making left turns on the green and being honked at by those leaving the parking lot. I’ve also seen people too timid to make their left on the green wait until the oncoming traffic exiting the parking lot had passed.

If it’s not dangerous, at the very least it’s anxiety provoking. Can something be done?

--Tina Hirsch

Sherman Oaks

Dear Tina:

“Watch opposing traffic” signs will be installed in the shopping center parking lot opposite Hazeltine to reinforce state vehicle laws, said Irwin Chodash, an engineer with the city transportation department.

The flashing light signal, which is red, flashing red and yellow, cannot be changed to a conventional traffic signal because of where the driveway is located, Chodash said. A conventional light also could confuse pedestrians crossing the driveway, he said.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

The traffic light at Woodman Avenue and Sherman Way in Van Nuys favors Woodman, not the heavily traveled Sherman Way. Can it be fixed to favor Sherman Way?

--Edward H. Joseph

Agoura Hills

Dear Edward:

The light can’t be fixed because Woodman, compared to Sherman Way, at times has more or a similar amount of traffic, said Bill J. Shao, an engineer with the city transportation department.

On weekday mornings from 7 to 8 a.m., southbound traffic on Woodman is about 12% higher than either west or eastbound traffic on Sherman Way, Shao said. From 8 to 9 a.m., Woodman’s southbound traffic is about the same as traffic on Sherman Way.

During morning rush hour, more green time is also given to Woodman because it has only two travel lanes in each direction--in contrast to Sherman Way, which has three travel lanes in each direction, Shao said.

But during afternoon peak hours, Sherman Way gets more green time because its traffic is about double that of Woodman’s, he said.

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