Category Archives: Highways

Advocacy, Highways, North Park, Road Signs, San Diego, San Diego County

New Stop Sign in North Park – San Diego

July 21, 2014 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

The intersection of Howard Avenue and Alabama Street is a fairly normal intersection. Until today, it was a two-way stop where Alabama St stopped for Howard Ave. This configuration hasn’t been all that successful. Since 2005, there have been four collisions, two of them with injuries. Visibility isn’t great and speeding is common. During peak times, particularly afternoons, traffic can back up on Alabama St due to Howard Ave being busier. To make matters worse, changes resulting from the busway on Park Blvd have added to the traffic on Howard Ave.

A few years ago, I petitioned the City of San Diego to install a stop sign at this intersection. I did so following the first collision and after having a few near collisions of my own. The City initially denied the stop, citing a lack of collisions. They did, however, add two red zones at the intersection on Howard Ave to help increase visibility. It helped for a while. People driving on Howard Ave would still honk at those pulling out from Alabama St that had a hard time seeing traffic coming. Two more collisions occurred before I decided to petition the City again a few months ago. Not long after I did this, yet another collision happened.

After I had sent the City the request, I had a phone conversation with the traffic engineer handling the request. I explained the situation, mentioned the collisions, and the pending traffic pattern changes caused by the construction on Park Blvd. They told me they would inspect the intersection and get back to me. In late June, they called me back. This time, the call was to tell me they had approved the stop sign. It seems that with the four collisions, it now qualified for the upgrade. The next day, I saw the traffic engineer marking locations for the limit lines and signs. I spoke with them, thanking them for the approval. In the process, I was also able to convince them to remove the two red zones since they would no longer be necessary. They did agree to remove them and marked the pavement accordingly.

Last Tuesday, July 15, a City crew came out to install signs informing the public that new stop signs would be added soon. Today, July 21, another crew came out to install the signs. I had the chance to speak with them and thank them for coming out. The crew that installed the signs was very friendly and worked quite efficiently. They added the signs, lines, and legends to the intersection as well as cleaned up one of the regulatory signs. It didn’t take long for people to start to stop at the intersection. Pedestrians can now cross the intersection easier, traffic on Alabama St can cross Howard Ave easier, two more parking spots have been added, and traffic is now slowed on Howard Ave.

Crew working on the eastbound side - adding striping and removing the red curb. — Crew working on the eastbound side – adding striping and removing the red curb.

Painting over the red curb on the westbound side.

The new sign makes its first appearance.

Raising the new STOP sign on the eastbound side.

Limit line on the east side being striped.

Installing the westbound sign and STOP legends.

It has always been my goal to help improve where I live. Those improvements can come in many ways. Getting potholes filled, signs replaced (or even added in this case), cleaning up trash, having graffiti removed, and even helping neighbors when possible are things that anyone can do. I strongly encourage everyone to help improve their neighborhood and make everyone’s lives better. Together, we can all make our cities a great place to live.

Bonsall, Highways, San Diego County, SR-76

State 76 – Salvage Rail Bridge

July 21, 2014 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

Construction, or replacement, of bridges during WWII was not without its problems. As most materials were set aside for the war effort, highway departments had to get creative. In California, one of the materials chosen was salvaged railroad rails. This style of rail was in use mostly during the mid-late 1940’s. I haven’t seen it used after 1950, at least not yet. Other state highways in San Diego County have similar bridges, such as State 79 near Santa Ysabel. Most have been replaced or upgraded since construction. This bridge, along State 76 near Bonsall, is slated to be removed when the highway is upgraded to expressway standards on a new alignment in the next couple years.

Live Oak Creek Bridge (57-0070) looking west.

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Old Bridge, Pacific Electric, Railroads

Pacific Electric – Soto / Huntington Bridge

June 24, 2014 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

The last large Pacific Electric railroad grade separation, located in the El Sereno area of Los Angeles, is scheduled for removal in the near future. Last week, I took the opportunity to take photos of this structure while I still could.

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Located at the flag on the map.

View from the eastern side. Steps lead to the passenger platform for northbound trains.

The structure is located along the former PE Northern District’s main line. The rail line here had four tracks. Outer tracks for local trains, inner tracks for express trains. Trains passed through here bound for downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Monrovia, and Alhambra. It was built in 1936 as an upgrade to alleviate traffic congestion along busy Mission St. Passenger platforms were constructed at both ends of the structure, both of which exist today.

Passenger platform on the northbound side.

Former catenary poles and rail used as a light pole and barrier.

Concrete approaches with a painted clearance sign.

1936 bridge plaque. Visible in the top left side of the steel girder.

Closeup of the steel spans crossing Mission / Huntington.

After the tracks were removed in the 1960’s, the bridge was rehabilitated for highway use. The fill at both ends was partially removed and the bridge deck was paved. The former catenary poles remain as light posts.

Slowly, the remnants of the Pacific Electric in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area are going away. While it is a loss of history, Los Angeles is working toward a future with more rail lines. It won’t ever be the “PE”, but it will go a long way toward a better future.

Bicycling, Highways, Roads, Sharrow

What is a “Sharrow”?

May 23, 2014 Michael F Ballard 1 Comment

Sharrows. I’m sure you’ve seen them. Perhaps you’ve even heard about them. What do they mean? A “sharrow” or Shared Lane Marking is a newer addition to roadway striping. They are designed to be along major bicycle routes where a bicycle lane is impractical. The markings show that motorists should not only expect to see cyclists but they should also be further out in the lane.

The rules behind these markings are fairly simple. They must be 13′ from the curb and beyond the “door zone”. These sharrows cannot be on roadways with a speed limit greater than 35 mph, though there are some exceptions such as Park Blvd through Balboa Park, which is signed as 40 mph. When a roadway is not marked with sharrows, the rules are still the same. According to the California Vehicle Code (CVC 21202(a)), a cyclist doesn’t always have to ride to the right side of the roadway. The term used is “as far right as practicable”. This means that if roadway conditions warrant, a cyclist may travel away from the right side. When a roadway is marked with sharrows, cyclists should ride with the tires lining up with the arrows.

So, Sharrow or no, a roadway must be shared with cyclists.

Reference:

California MUTCD 2014 – Part 9, Ch. 9A, Section9C.07 – pg 1384

Page 1406 shows proper placement locations

Highways, Old Alignment, SR-178, Updates

Out of the Lake: Old Highway 178 and the town of Isabella

May 17, 2014 Russ Connelly 1 Comment

Long before the Isabella Reservoir was built in the 1950’s, State Highway 178 passed through the Kern River Valley on an alignment much different than it is today.

With the current drought, Lake Isabella is a puddle of what it used to be…but it’s amazing what the lake has hidden all these years. The lake has not been this low since 1977 and is the second lowest level since the dams were finished in 1953.

In April, I took two trips back to the areas near where the original towns of Isabella and Kernville stood before the lake covered them and their history. Unfortunately during my visit, the actual townsite of Isabella was still under several feet of water but the remains of the trees that use to shade the town are clearly visable sticking out of the lake in several photos.

Map to April 2014 photos