Signal’s Timing Will Be Modified

Dear Traffic Talk:

The signal at Winnetka Avenue and Ventura Boulevard at Taft High School is badly coordinated. The left-turn green arrow from Winnetka south onto Ventura east appears immediately after the light turns red for drivers who are turning left on a green or yellow light from Ventura east onto Winnetka north.

Motorists in the intersection completing left turns from Ventura east onto Winnetka north risk getting hit by drivers turning left from Winnetka south to Ventura east during their left-turn arrow.

--Anita Gitnick

Woodland Hills

Dear Anita:

The problem is not the signal coordination but drivers who can’t turn left in time, said Bill Shao, a transportation engineer with the city Department of Transportation.

Some eastbound left-turn vehicles cannot complete their turns in time, possibly because of the heavy westbound traffic on Ventura, Shao said. This is a common problem in heavily traveled intersections throughout Southern California, he said.

Engineers will modify the signal’s timing to help people clear the intersection, Shao said. Under the state vehicle code, it is the responsibility of drivers to enter an intersection, even if the light is green, only if they can cross it safely without creating gridlock, he said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Can a crosswalk, stop sign or traffic signal be installed near the bus stop near Sunland Boulevard and Helen Avenue? I see people dashing across the street to get to the bus stop there.

--Ellen Snortland

Shadow Hills

Dear Ellen:

A traffic signal will soon be installed at Sunland and Stonehurst Avenue, a three-way intersection one block west of Sunland and Helen, said Irwin Chodash, East Valley district engineer with the city Department of Transportation.

The signal will have a protective left-turn arrow, meaning drivers going north on Sunland will be able to turn left onto Stonehurst only during a green arrow.

Neighbors had also been requesting a signal for the location after a 20-year-old North Hollywood man was killed there Oct. 10 in an accident.

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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.