No Plans to Improve Poor Interchange

Dear Traffic Talk:

By far one of the most consistently bad interchanges is the transition between the northbound San Diego Freeway and the east- or westbound Ventura Freeway.

At the best times, it is bad or dangerous, particularly because impatient drivers cut into the backed-up traffic lines at the bottom of the hill.

The onramp that shares the transition only makes it worse.

It is my understanding that this interchange was an inadequate design even from its inception, since it was never intended to service the huge population that eventually settled in the San Fernando Valley--west of the San Diego Freeway--and the burgeoning population of Agoura and Thousand Oaks.

Since it’s not in the game plan of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop any meaningful rapid transit service for Valley traffic traveling to West Los Angeles, UCLA or the greater LAX area, does Caltrans plan a rework or upgrade to this interchange to speed up traffic there?

Joseph Jurick

Canoga Park

Dear Joseph:

No plans are in place to reconstruct the transition between the northbound San Diego Freeway and both directions of the Ventura Freeway in Sherman Oaks, according to authorities, citing funding constraints.

But two other projects are in the works to increase freeway capacity in that area, said Pat Reid, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

A yearlong project to widen the northbound Ventura Freeway between the Haskell Avenue onramp and the Hayvenhurst Avenue offramp is scheduled to begin this summer, Reid said.

Also, a $15-million project to add an eight-mile stretch of carpool lane to the southbound San Diego Freeway from the Ventura Freeway to Wilshire Boulevard should begin by the end of 1998.

That project is scheduled to end in 2002, Reid said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

We have had a lot of rain lately, and consequently there have been a lot of accidents.

I believe at least some of the accidents happen because drivers don’t turn on their headlights even though visibility is poor.

In the last month I have almost crashed into two or three cars because I could not see them in the rain. People have also almost run into me when I turned in front of them because I could not see them coming.

On average, less than half of the vehicles on the road on a rainy day have their headlights on.

Is turning on your lights during bad weather an option or the law?

Sam Donelson

Van Nuys

Dear Sam:

The California Vehicle Code states that motorists are required to have two headlights on half an hour after sunset and up to half an hour after sunrise, but no law dictates that headlights must be turned on during rainy days, according to authorities.

The California Highway Patrol recognizes that stormy weather reduces visibility and strongly recommends that motorists turn on their headlights, said Officer Frank Sandoval, a spokesman for the agency.

However, accidents on rainy days are also caused by other factors, such as motorists driving too fast or failing to look before turning, he 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. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to [email protected]