Right Turn Lane Gets Green Light

Dear Traffic Talk:

I have a question about how to turn the right lane of the Foothill Freeway’s west Sunland Boulevard offramp into a right-turn-only lane.

The one lane exiting Sunland becomes three lanes at the traffic signal. The left lane is left turn only, the center lane is straight only, and the right lane is straight or right turn. Invariably, someone who wants to go straight in the right lane gets caught at a red light.

The center lane stays empty and a line of vehicles six to 10 deep forms in the right lane. The majority of vehicles exiting turn right there. A right-turn-only lane would remove both the backup and the danger of vehicles stopped on the offramp.

Chris Waldheim

Sunland

Dear Chris:

Engineers agree with your suggested change, said Joe Brazile, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation. Changing the offramp’s right lane into a right-turn-only lane will improve efficiency and traffic distribution during peak hours, he said. New signage and striping should be finished by mid-July, Brazile said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Why are there double parallel solid lines in the carpool lanes? I can understand the solid line to keep others from entering the lane improperly, but why isn’t there a broken line inside?

That way you could get out when your exit is approaching, or better yet, when the vehicle in front of you is going 60 mph while the speed limit is 65 mph.

Gwen Rea

Burbank

Dear Gwen:

According to the state vehicle code, carpool lanes have double parallel solid lines to discourage dangerous weaving between lanes, said Brazile at Caltrans. Vehicles may cross the striping only when it has broken lines inside the double lines in areas designated for entering or exiting carpool lanes, he said.

Otherwise, some drivers would travel as long as possible in the carpool lane before getting out and trying to cross several lanes to reach an exit on the far right in a short distance, Brazile said.

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