Change Due for Tujunga Intersection

Dear Traffic Talk:

At the intersection of Tujunga Canyon Boulevard and Foothill Boulevard in Tujunga, there is a three-way traffic signal. Would it be possible to add an arrow to the signal for northbound traffic turning left onto Foothill from Tujunga Canyon Boulevard?

Right now, there is only a green light for such northbound traffic. Often people don’t seem to realize that only northbound traffic on Tujunga has the right of way on that light, and traffic turning left onto Foothill is held up.

There is a green light and an arrow for southbound traffic on Tujunga, why not the same for the opposite direction?

Mylene Grossnickle

Sunland

Dear Mylene:

Northbound traffic turning left onto Foothill from Tujunga Canyon is going to get an arrow, but the intersection’s crosswalk will have to be relocated first, said Irwin L. Chodash, a district engineer for the city transportation department.

In about six months the marked crosswalk will be moved from the west side to the east side of Foothill, Chodash said. This change will favor northbound Tujunga, he said, which has twice as many vehicles as southbound.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Last year signs were put up prohibiting a right turn from southbound Kester Avenue to westbound Camarillo Street in Sherman Oaks between 7 and 9 a.m. Curiously, left turns from northbound Kester to westbound Camarillo are still permitted.

This has resulted in virtual gridlock every weekday morning as southbound traffic backs up on Kester all the way from Ventura Boulevard past Kester and often well beyond the Ventura Freeway.

Opening westbound Camarillo is the only reasonable way to relieve this backup and allow commuters to get to their offices on Ventura Boulevard between Kester and Sepulveda via the other southbound streets. What can be done?

--Mark Hubbard

Sherman Oaks

Dear Mark:

In three to six months the city is planning to install an additional westbound lane on Ventura Boulevard during the morning peak that should reduce traffic delays on Ventura and Kester, said Chodash of the city transportation department. This lane will serve as a parking lane during other hours, he said.

According to Chodash, the city prohibited right turns from southbound Kester to westbound Camarillo from 7 to 9 a.m. because an average of 1,000 cars were turning right during those hours, prompting complaints from residents.

As a residential street, Camarillo should carry about 1,000 vehicles in a 24-hour period, Chodash said. In contrast, every hour about 50 motorists turn left from northbound Kester to westbound Camarillo and they aren’t creating a problem, he said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

We have lived in our house for 30 years. In all that time, Sunnyslope Avenue, between Valley Vista Boulevard and Contour Drive, has been repaved once, and that was shortly after we moved here.

Huge chunks of pavement are missing from the middle and both sides of Sunnyslope, causing drivers to move erratically to avoid the deep potholes. I have left messages on the city’s pothole hotline machine three times and nothing has been done.

Can you find out if the residents of this area have any reason to hope?

--Judi Birnberg

Sherman Oaks

Dear Judi:

There is at least reason for hope because that stretch of Sunnyslope is scheduled to be repaved as part of the 2000-2001 plan, said Cora Jackson-Fossett, a spokeswoman for the city public works department. But the City Council must first approve the budget and funding for resurfacing that part of Sunnyslope, she said.

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. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to valley.news@latimes.com.