Adjustments Made at School Light

Dear Traffic Talk:

Just west of Balboa Boulevard on Victory Boulevard, there is a traffic light for vehicles going to and from the Birmingham High School parking lot. The light is also for pedestrians crossing Victory.

Often, the signal will turn red when the school parking lot gates are closed, when school isn’t in session and when there are no pedestrians. Sometimes that light can back up westbound traffic on Victory to Balboa.

Why can’t the light be activated by a pressure sensor for vehicles exiting the lot or by pedestrian buttons for those crossing Victory?

Edlyne C. Lloyd

Valley Glen

Dear Edlyne:

Southbound right-turning drivers leaving Birmingham may be triggering the loop detectors while driving over them, said Transportation Engineer Bill Shao at the Los Angeles transportation department.

If that’s happening, the signal will serve southbound traffic long after southbound motorists have turned right onto westbound Victory, he said.

Following adjustments by engineers, now motorists who don’t stop for long before turning right to leave the school will not trigger the detector, he said.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

Most stop sign intersections have a warning hexagonal street sign several hundred feet before approaching the stop sign.

There is a warning hexagonal sign near a four-way stop at Wells Drive and Mecca Avenue in Tarzana, but it is entirely shrouded by trees and leaves. Can anything be done?

Carol Imlay

Van Nuys

Dear Carol:

Crews will trim the tree obstructing the warning sign on northbound Mecca, said West Valley District Engineer Ken Firoozmand of the city transportation department. The city will also relocate the warning sign for southbound traffic on Mecca to make it more visible, he said.

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Dear Traffic Talk:

I commute daily on Valley Circle Boulevard, around Chatsworth Reservoir, until I reach Topanga Canyon Boulevard. This little road was never designed to handle heavy north-south traffic between West Hills and Chatsworth.

It is full of large potholes that are periodically patched. In the 12 years I have lived in this area, I can’t recall a time when this stretch of roadway was ever thoroughly graded and repaved.

Is there any plan to repair this section of Valley Circle?

Julie Nagel

West Hills

Dear Julie:

There is a proposed plan to repair Valley Circle from Roscoe Boulevard to Plummer Street, but not until 2010, said Cora Jackson-Fossett, spokeswoman at the city Department of Public Works.

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