2nd Lane of Repaved Street to Be Restored

Dear Traffic Talk:

About three months ago the section of Platt Avenue north of Sherman Way to Cohasset Street was resurfaced.

Shortly afterward, temporary lane markings were painted. However, there are two problems with the project:

First, due to the length of time since the temporary paintings were installed, the lane designations have faded and are virtually invisible at night.

Secondly, an even more dangerous problem is that the number of northbound lanes has been reduced to one--and drivers are often ignoring that change.

Previously, there had been two lanes southbound and two lanes northbound and there had even been room for turning lanes at various intersections.

Now there is a wide median strip, two lanes south and only one lane going north, which goes up a hill.

Motorists wishing to pass cars going too slowly up the hill often use the poorly marked median strip.

Combine these two situations and you have a serious accident waiting to happen.

What was the reasoning that caused the reduction of lanes in an uphill stretch of a heavily traveled road? Will this be corrected and when will the project be completed?

Owen Delman

West Hills

Dear Owen:

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is wrapping up a project there to address several traffic concerns, according to authorities.

Some of the work has already been done, said Ray Wellbaum, a transportation engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

He said when the project concludes shortly it will feature permanent restriping of two northbound and two southbound lanes, a narrower median and bike lanes in both directions.

Among the problems the agency addressed was the availability of parking--some of which was kept and some removed, Wellbaum said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Cars traveling east on the Ventura Freeway get off at Coldwater Canyon Avenue, come down to the signal and make right turns going south without waiting for a signal change.

The constant flow of traffic makes it impossible for residents of side streets to enter Coldwater Canyon.

Can a sign be put up that says “No Right Turns” against the signal?

Louis Horowitz

Sherman Oaks

Dear Louis:

A recent field investigation does not support the installation of a “No Right Turn” sign at that location, according to authorities.

The study determined that Coldwater Canyon has a continuous feed of traffic--particularly during rush hour--from vehicles coming off the eastbound freeway, said Irwin Chodash, a transportation engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

The installation of a sign prohibiting vehicles from turning right on red onto Coldwater from the exit could cause traffic to back up onto the freeway, authorities said.

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