Why traffic is being slowed at one San Jose intersection: Roadshow
Q: Why were the right-turn islands removed at Williams Road and Winchester Boulevard in San Jose? It seems to have made traffic worse in an area where there will soon be even more traffic with the monstrosity of an apartment complex being built there.
Kathy Bousquet
A: The goal is to slow traffic and reduce collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists. No longer will cars be able to travel at often high speeds when making right turns in that area.
As of Saturday, there have been 56 traffic-related deaths in San Jose this year, an all-time high. In 2018, there were 52 traffic deaths in San Jose, and nearly half of them, 23, were pedestrians and cyclists.
Q: Driving south on Interstate 280 and exiting to Highway 87, there is always water on the roadway, any season, any time of day. It seems to be flowing from the vegetation on the right side of the ramp. It’s been like this for over a year. I suspect that it is caused by irrigation that should be turned off or should have timers adjusted.
Michael Silver
A: That’s not the problem. The underground water level is very high here after two winters of heavy rain. There is a pumphouse located next to the freeway that Caltrans will check.
Q: We got stuck in the mess that was the Christmas Day shutdown on Interstate 5 over the Grapevine. I was very frustrated by the lack of consistent information on the closures. The worst offender was 511.org. On Friday evening, Dec. 27, a full 12 hours after TV stations were showing traffic once again flowing over the Grapevine, 511.org was still showing I-5 closed.
Tim Reiner, Fremont
A: L.A. Metro manages go511.org and keeps up with Southern California closures, but 511.org is a Bay Area service and focuses on Bay Area traffic.
Q: Greetings, fixer of all things wrong on the roads. A new freeway sign appeared recently on Highway 101 south on the Embarcadero overpass. It shows the distances to the next three exits, but unfortunately, all of the distances are over a mile off. Is there any way you can get the powers that be to move that sign or fix the distances on it?
Mark Robichek, Sunnyvale
A: A fix-it request is in.
Q: As of Jan. 1 of this year, all new or old cars must display dealer-issued DMV temporary paper plates when purchased. Every day I see cars with missing temporary plates.
Virendra Jain, Concord
A: Whoa! You’re seeing something very different from what I am. Mrs. Roadshow and I took a recent drive to San Francisco to see Christmas lights and I did not see one car with illegal dealer plates during our entire three-plus hour trip. Are you sure that’s what you’re seeing?
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.