Left-Turners Need Help at Intersection

Dear Traffic Talk:

There seem to be numerous accidents at the intersection of Reseda and Rinaldi boulevards.

They put in two left-turn lanes for people heading north on Reseda, but there are no left-turn signals for drivers going south.

Why? Who can authorize a request for a left-turn signal there?

Sheila S. Moss

Northridge

Dear Sheila:

The Bureau of Street Maintenance is the place to go for such requests, so I called Ray Wellbaum, head of the West Valley division, with your question.

His office actually investigated the safety of the southbound Rinaldi-Reseda intersection last year at the request of another area resident. Investigators found that the traffic volume and accident rate did not justify a left-turn arrow. To install one would simply lead to undue congestion there, Wellbaum said.

The situation for northbound traffic is a different story. Just north of Rinaldi, Reseda Boulevard curves to the right and goes up a hill, making it tough for southbound drivers to see left-turners heading north. As a result, there was a serious accident problem that was corrected when a left-turn light was installed, Wellbaum said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

I am having problems seeing the white lines on certain freeways.

The westbound Hollywood and Ventura freeways are very bad. The Ventura Freeway is especially bad in the North Hollywood/Studio City area.

At night and when the sun is setting you can only slightly see the bumps. Most of the paint has worn off.

It’s time to paint the lines!

Geri Jacobson

West Hills

Dear Geri:

Caltrans maintenance crews are scheduled to repaint the striping on the Ventura Freeway in the North Hollywood/Studio City area within a month, according to Pat Reid, spokeswoman at Caltrans.

But raised pavement markers must be installed to make the lane markings permanent, and the work on that has not yet been scheduled, Reid said.

With 615 miles of freeways to maintain in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, compounded by limited resources at Caltrans, it is simply impossible to keep all freeway markings in perfect condition, Reid said.

Now for an update on a past question:

On May 3, we printed a letter from Terry Stanger of Tarzana who requested the installation of concrete barriers to prevent illegal left turns out of the Encino-Tarzana Medical Center onto Burbank Boulevard.

After studying the scene, Bureau of Street Maintenance officials said they found no chronic accident problem at that location.

Putting barriers in would require that the bureau remove much-needed parking spaces on the north side of the street, according to Wellbaum, of the West Valley division. And the concrete road blocks would likely prove to be more of a traffic hazard than safety measure, he said.

He suggested requesting more enforcement from Valley Traffic at that location. Capt. Alan B. Kerstein said he had alerted his officers to patrol that location more vigorously.

If need be, he said he will assign officers to wait near that turn and enforce the “No Left Turn” sign.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley. Please write to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to [email protected]